Monday, February 18
American Bach Soloists, Jeffrey Thomas, conductor
“Bach to the Beginning” Nola Richardson, soprano; Jay Carter, countertenor; Zachary Wilder, tenor; Tyler Duncan, baritone; and the American Bach Choir perform 4 of Bach’s masterpieces, Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10; Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78; Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80; and Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140.
“Bach to the Beginning” presents a renewed focus on the invaluable gems found in Bach’s cantatas. When ABS was founded in 1989, its mission included a primary emphasis on that repertoire of more than 200 works, each containing exquisite and dramatic music that often calls upon the virtuosity of individual members of an ensemble — singers and instrumentalists alike — to display their talents in the expression of each mini-drama that is at the heart and soul of the cantatas by Bach. For both cantata devotees and those new to this music, the passion and the soul-searching impetus found in these beautiful works are both compelling and exciting.
7 PM
Davis Community Church
412 C Street at Fourth
Tickets online $35 to $89
800-595-4TIX (-4849), [email protected]
http://americanbach.org
Tuesday and Thursday, February 19 and 21
Amateur Music Network
“Discover Mendelssohn Octet with the New Esterházy Quartet” A two-session workshop for intermediate/advanced string players (you will attend both nights). Join the New Esterházy Quartet to take a deep dive into Mendelssohn’s masterpiece. You’ll learn how Classical-period bowing and performance practice illuminate phrasing, balance, and style in this great work. Break-out coaching sessions will focus on the first two movements of the Octet, and the workshop will culminate with a reading of the entire work. A partnership of Amateur Music Network, the Northern California Chamber Music Academy, and Drew School.
7 PM
Drew School
2901 California St, San Francisco
$120 workshop fee. Advance registration required
https://amateurmusic.org/info/workshops/
NO ONE is turned away for lack of funds. Please contact [email protected] to apply for a scholarship or waiver of the registration fee.
Wednesday, February 20
Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra
Regular meeting, for players of recorder, early winds or early strings. Bring your instrument(s) and music stand.
7:30–9:30 PM
Trinity Church, Angus Hall
330 Ravenswood Ave. (at Laurel), Menlo Park
650-591-3648 or mpro-online.org
Sunday, February 24
SFEMS Baroque Workshop
“Opulence and Splendor: the Italian Influence” Soprano Rita Lilly, cornettist Bruce Dickey, recorder player, Clea Galhano, cellist/gambist Bill Skeen, trombonist Linda Pearse, and harpsichordist Peter Sykes will perform dazzling works by seventeenth-century Italian composers, including Giovanni Paolo Cima, Nicolò Corradini, and Sigismondo d’India. The evening of sweet musical indulgences will be followed by a champagne and dessert reception!
Doors open at 7:15 PM The performance will begin at 8 PM, and there will be no late seating.
Concert at private residence-studio in San Francisco’s Mission District.
A $50 suggested donation is requested to support the Robert M. Dawson Baroque Scholarship Fund.
Please RSVP to [email protected] to reserve your spot and gain access to the venue address.
The Arts at St. Bede’s presents MUSA, Derek Tam, Director
“Chinese Baroque” Under the direction of Derek Tam, MUSA will present a program of European music written in and for Chinese courts, as well as Chinese music transcribed by European visitors of the 17th and 18th centuries. “Chinese Baroque” explores the dynamic and complex cultural exchanges between Western Europe and China in the 17th and 18th centuries through the lens of music. Despite mutual fascination, it was often difficult to surmount linguistic and cultural differences to reach a true understanding of each other. Works performed will include a violin sonata written by the missionary Teodorico Pedrini, as well as transcriptions of Chinese tunes through Western ears.
4 PM
St. Bede’s Episcopal Church
2650 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park
$15–$20
[email protected], 650-854-6456
Cantata Collective
San Francisco Bay Area’s only professional Ensemble dedicated solely to the performance of the Cantatas of J.S. Bach proudly invites you to their next concert. Tonia D’Amelio, soprano; Heidi Waterman, alto; David Kurtenbach, tenor; and Sepp Hammer, bass, are featurd soloists in J.S. Bach’s cantatas Schwingt freudig euch empor (Soar joyfully upwards), BWV 36; and Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht (I will not let go of my Jesus), BWV 124. Cantata Collective aims to present the Bach cantatas free to the public, as the equivalent of a World Heritage Site, a collection of masterworks belonging to all people. Bach’s greatest body of work will be heard as vocal chamber music featuring local and internationally recognized artists. Further performances will take place in February, March, and April. Although admission to the concerts is free, membership in the Collective will be offered so that listeners and performers may join together to make this music available to all.
5 PM
St. Mary Magdalen Parish
2005 Berryman St., Berkeley
FREE, donations accepted.
845-323-2361, http://cantatacollective.org/
Faythe Vollrath, harpsichord
“The Dutch Influence” Ms. Vollrath will perform works by Sweelinck, one of the best known Dutch composers, as well as those directly influenced by him from Germany and England. Pieces will include “Unter den linden grune” and “Mein Junges hat ein end” by Sweelinck, “Prelude and Canon” by Heinrich Scheidemann, “Pavane and Galliard Dolorosa” by Peter Phillips, and “Fantasy on a Fugue by Sweelinck” by John Bull. The instrument is a one manual “Mersenne” model by Wilbur Martin 1992.
3 PM
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
7850 Watt Ave, Antelope (near Sacramento)
Admission is free, donations welcome.
Continue reading next week’s calendar . . .
