Noble Trumpets added a special flourish to San Francisco's top social event of 2013 - the 80th birthday party of philanthropist, composer and Conservatory alumnus and Trustee Advisory Board member Gordon Getty. As the cake was cut, faculty member and San Francisco Symphony principal trumpet Mark Inouye led the ensemble in a fanfare penned by Getty himself and specially arranged for Noble Trumpets. Among the 600 guests celebrating in December at Getty's Pacific Heights home were alumni soprano Lisa Delan '89 and San Francisco Symphony principal keyboardist Robin Sutherland '75. Also in December, the Conservatory Orchestra performed a reading of Getty's A Prayer for My Daughter in advance of its San Francisco Symphony premiere on January 6.

When Barry Phillips '90 spent three days recording Ravi Shankar playing sitar at home in 2011, he didn't imagine he was producing the master's final CD, much less that it would win one Grammy Award and be nominated for another. Read more

Musicianship and Music Theory Chair Scott Foglesong '77 is writing the liner notes for the San Francisco Symphony's monumental 15-CD set of recordings made under former Music Director Herbert Blomstedt. The recordings will be released on the Decca label in April. Foglesong also taps his interpretive gifts as a pianist when he performs a sold-out Faculty Artist Recital at the Conservatory on January 12.

The Conservatory's youngest musicians possess talent well beyond their years. Students from the Pre-College Division frequently appear as soloists with regional orchestras, at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and on National Public Radio's From the Top. The Pre-College takes center stage this month with its annual Showcase Concert featuring works for strings, piano, guitar and flute performed by students ages 9 to 17.

Saturday, January 11, 5 p.m., Concert Hall, Free
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Christopher Basso '04

Alumna and new woodwind chamber music faculty member Carmen Lemoine '05 presents a solo recital on January 14. Alumnus and Conservatory staff member Christopher Basso '04 is joined by a coterie of Conservatory alumni including Krista Bennion Feeney '81 violin, Ivo Bokulić '14 viola, faculty member Jennifer Culp cello, Tian Yang Liu '13 double bass and Keisuke Nakagoshi '06 piano for an all-Schubert recital on January 18.

 

Carmen Lemoine '05 flute

Tuesday, January 14, 8 p.m., Recital Hall, Free

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Christopher Basso '04 piano and friends

Saturday, January 18, 8 p.m., Concert Hall, Free

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View our performance calendar for complete information including concert changes and updates.

In This Issue

A Holiday Recap (1:01)

Conservatory brass players rang out the old year playing street corner carols in December. The performances were part of Holiday Lights and Fanfare 2013, a project of the Civic Center Community Benefit District.

Three Conservatory concerts and a performance featuring alumni were among the most memorable musical events of 2013 according to Examiner.com critic Stephen Smoliar. 
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CORRECTED DATE: Symphony Parnassus, led by Music Director and Conservatory bassoon faculty member Stephen Paulson, presents an all-Viennese program of Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms on Sunday, January 19 at 3 p.m. in the Conservatory's Concert Hall.