New Century Chamber Orchestra and Awadagin Pratt
Pianist Awadagin Pratt joins the New Century Chamber Orchestra for three concerts this week, playing Rounds, for piano and string orchestra – a work that won composer Jessie Montgomery a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition just a few months ago. Pratt premiered the work in 2022, and it’s Montgomery’s first work with the piano at the center. It’s inspired by both T.S. Eliot’s poem Four Quartets and the idea of fractals, repeating nested shapes that can be found throughout nature. Also on the program is a work by David Diamond also called Rounds (though just for strings); Adoration, for violin and strings by Florence Price; and Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade, which has been described as “a declaration of love through music,” as well as “a musical dinner party.” The concerts are Thursday at 7:30 at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church, Friday night at the Green Music Center in Rohnert Park, and Saturday afternoon at 3 at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco.
Messa di Gloria
The Golden Gate Men’s Chorus and Peninsula Women’s Chorus come together for music by Puccini not originally written for the operatic stage: his Messa Di Gloria. It was written as part of the conclusion of his studies at the Istituto Musicale Pacini in 1880, when he was in his early twenties. Tenor Alex Boyer, a resident tenor with Opera San Jose, will be the soloist. In addition to the Mass, the two groups will sing more mixed chorus works, as well as presenting pieces on their own: the PWC will give the world premiere of Night into Dawn, dedicated to the community of Lahaina, the site of Hawaiian wildfires last August. The piece is by Teresa Wong, their composer-in-residence. The GGMC solo set will include a bicentennial celebration of Anton Bruckner, with his sacred motets. There are two performances, Saturday evening at 8 at Mission Santa Clara de Asis in Santa Clara, and Sunday afternoon at 4 at the Mission Dolores Basilica.
FREE:
Musicians of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble play a free concert called “Borealis” as part of the San Francisco International Arts Festival this week, with a performance 6pm on Thursday at El Rio in the Mission District. It will bring together violist Phyllis Kamrin, double bassist Michel Taddei, and flutist Stacey Pelinka. They’ll play works by Saariaho, Schulhoff and Komschlies, “inspired by physical phenomena (the northern lights), physical experiences (sweet torment) and quirky humor.” While the music is being played, visual artist Adrian Arias will be accompanying them, painting. Tickets are free, RSVPs are recommended.
