Wielding pens instead of instruments, four SFCM students will be among 17 students from five schools to compete for a $10,000 prize during the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, held from from November 5 to 10 at SFCM. They'll draw on the expertise of writers from noted publications, including The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle, who will discuss their craft in public panel discussions and pre-concert lectures. Armchair critics will also have a chance to take part by submitting reviews in competition for the $1,000 Everyone's a Critic Audience Review Prize. The Institute kicks off with a keynote address by Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic of The New York Times, on Wednesday, November 5 at 5 p.m. Events include performances presented by the San Francisco Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Francisco Opera and Cal Performances. The San Francisco Chronicle's Joshua Kosman, Rubin Institute critic-in-residence, previews the symposium, makes a case for good music criticsm - and calls out some bad examples - in this article from sfgate.com. Find details about events and instructions for submitting audience reviews at the Rubin Institute website.

Faculty Recitals Feature Cook and Lemoine 

Catherine Cook Voice department chair  Catherine Cook, a mezzo-soprano frequently heard at the San Francisco Opera and Metropolitan Opera, takes the stage at SFCM this month to perform Schumann's Frauenliebe und leben and Jake Heggie's The Deepest Desire with Keisuke Nakagoshi '06, piano and Elisabeth Lowry '11, flute. The concert is free, but reservations are required. Also in November, flutist Carmen Lemoine '05 performs premieres by Robert Pierzak and Steven Rice, as well as works by Kaija Saariaho, John Orfe and others, backed by ensembles including piano, guitar, electronics and sextet.

Carmen Lemoine, flute
Friday, November 14, 8 PM
Recital Hall, Free
More information

Catherine Cook, mezzo-soprano
Monday, November 17, 8 PM................
Concert Hall, Free RR*
More information

Game On! Rescheduled for Nov. 25
Game On! Video game industry insiders, composers and performers discuss creating music for new audiences at Game On!, a free event exploring careers in video game and film music (previously scheduled on November 1 and 2). A collaboration between SFCM, American Composers Forum and Game Audio Network Guild, Game On! features a "demo derby" critique of participants' recordings and a performance of string quartets by game and film composers Austin Wintory, Lennie Moore, Dren McDonald and composition department chair David Conte. Guests also include Jonathan Mayer, senior music manager at Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC, and Mike Morasky, director and programmer at Valve software and entertainment company. Composers may submit demos for consideration by midnight, November 16, to rbrown@sfcm.edu.

Tuesday, November 25, 6:30 PM
Recital Hall,  Free
More information

BluePrint New Music Series Two Premieres from BluePrint 

The BluePrint New Music Series presents two premieres and a collaboration with noted choreographer KT Nelson in its second concert of the season. Artistic director Nicole Paiement conducts Natural Systems, a BluePrint commission and world premiere by composer John Glover based on the writings of eighteenth-century botanist and pioneer Carl Linnaeus. Nelson and dancers Vanessa Thiessen and Dudley Flores add movement and percussion to a West Coast premiere performance of Terrestre by acclaimed composer Kaija Saariaho. The work, inspired by an aboriginal tale about a dancing bird, also features SFCM concerto composition winner Bethanne Walker '15 on solo flute. Another fairy tale, Rapunzel, is recounted in excerpts from two operas, one by Lou Harrison and the other by former SFCM faculty composer Conrad Susa.

Saturday, November 15, 8 PM*................
Concert Hall, $20/15
More information  Purchase tickets

*Audience members are invited to join John Glover for casual conversation and a glass of wine at BluePrint's pre-concert Tȇte à tȇte event, held at 7:20 p.m. on the Conservatory's Deleage level. Glover will also discuss his work at Creative Conversation Fridays, a free event held on November 14 at 5 p.m.

Baroque Suites and Sonatas 

The Conservatory Baroque Ensemble, co-directed by Corey Jamason and Elisabeth Reed, kicks up its heels with a joyous program featuring Vivaldi's Concerto in G Major, "alla rustica", Telemann's Ouverture-Suite in C Major, "Lustige", Lully's Passacaille from Armide and J.S. Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor, with  Bethanne Walker '15 on traverso. In another celebratory concert, guest artist and baroque harpsichord cellist Jennifer Morsches joins Jamason on harpsichord to mark the tricentennial of C.P.E. Bach with a performance of his sonatas in C major and D major.


Baroque Ensemble
Sunday, November 16, 7:30 PM.............
Concert Hall, Free
More information

CPE Bach Anniversary Celebration
Sunday, November 23, 2 PM
Recital Hall, Free RR*
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A Trio of Vocal Treats  

Mozart, Britten and Coward Three composers who took musical theater to sublime heights are honored in three separate concerts this month. The Historical Performance Program offers opera lovers the chance to hear a recital of rarities penned by a tween-to-teenage Mozart, including arias from works such as Bastien und Bastienne, Mitridate, Ascanio in Alba and Lucio Silla, accompanied by fortepiano. The Conservatory Opera surveys works of Benjamin Britten, performing scenes from The Rape of Lucretia, Billy Budd, A Midsummer Night's Dream and other operas, conducted by Curt Pajer and accompanied by Darryl Cooper. And keeping a foot in mid-twentieth-century Britain, SFCM's Musical Theatre Workshop presents Oh Coward!, a revue sparkling with the musical charm and wit of Noel Coward, directed and choreographed by Michael Mohammed with music director Lauren Mayer.

Opera Program | Scenes of Benjamin Britten
Thursday, November 6 and
Saturday, November 8, 7:30 PM
Concert Hall, Free
More information

Historical Performance Series | Young Mozart
Monday, November 10, 8 PM
Recital Hall, Free
More information

Musical Theatre Workshop | Oh Coward!
Friday & Saturday, November 14 & 15, 8 PM
Osher Salon, Free
More information

Upcoming Concerts
 
NOVEMBER

5 Wednesday, 5 PM  FREE
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Keynote Address: Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times

5 Wednesday, 8 PM   FREE
Piano Department Recital

6 Thursday, 2 PM  FREE
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Public Panel: Introduction to Criticism

6 Thursday, 7:30 PM  FREE
Opera Program | Benjamin Britten Scenes

6 Thursday, 7 PM
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Pre-Concert Lecture: Alex Ross of The New Yorker at San Francisco Symphony

7 Friday, 7:15 PM
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Pre-Concert Lecture: Heidi Waleson of The Wall Street Journal at Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

7 Friday, 8 PM  FREE
Viola Department Recital

8 Saturday, 2 PM  FREE
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Public Panel: Everyone's a Critic

8 Saturday, 7:30 PM  FREE
Opera Program | Benjamin Britten Scenes

8 Saturday, 6:35 PM
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Pre-Concert Lecture: Anne Midgette of The Washington Post at San Francisco Opera

9 Sunday, 11 AM  FREE at UC Berkeley
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Public Panel: Criticism and Creativity

9 Sunday, 2 PM 
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Pre-Concert Lecture: John Rockwell, writer and arts critic, at Cal Performances

9 Sunday, 2 PM  FREE RR*
Oral History Project | Elinor Armer, composition

9 Sunday, 5 PM  FREE
Horn Department Recital

10 Monday, 10 AM  FREE
The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism
Closing Remarks and Awards Ceremony

10 Monday, 7:30 PM  FREE
Master Class | Richard Fleischman, viola

10 Monday, 8 PM  FREE
Baroque Ensemble | Young Mozart

10 Monday, 8 PM  FREE
Composition Department Recital

11 Tuesday, 7:30 PM  FREE
Master Class | Michael Norsworthy, clarinet

11 Tuesday, 8 PM  FREE
Voice Department Recital

12 Wednesday, 7 PM  FREE
New Music Ensemble Concerto Competition

12 Wednesday, 8 PM  FREE
Accompanying Department Recital

13 Thursday, 8 PM  FREE
Clarinet Department Recital

13 Thursday, 8 PM  FREE
String and Piano Chamber Music

14 Friday, 5 PM  FREE
Creative Conversations
John Glover, composition

14 Friday, 8 PM  FREE
Faculty Artist Series
Carmen Lemoine '05, flute

14 Friday, 8 PM  FREE
Musical Theatre Workshop | Oh Coward!

15 Saturday, 8 PM  $20/15....................
BluePrint | Nicole Paiement, director
"Natural Systems"

15 Saturday, 8 PM  FREE
Musical Theatre Workshop | Oh Coward!

16 Sunday, 2 PM  FREE
Percussion Department Recital

16 Sunday, 7:30 PM  FREE....................
Baroque Ensemble
Corey Jamason and Elisabeth Reed, co-directors

17 Monday, 8 PM FREE
Accompanying Department Recital

17 Monday, 8 PM  FREE RR*....................
Faculty Artist Recital
Catherine Cook, mezzo-soprano

18 Tuesday, 8 PM FREE
Cello Ensemble Recital

18 Tuesday, 8 PM  FREE
Guitar/Voice Department Recital

19 Wednesday, 8 PM  FREE
Violin Studio Recital | Students of Wei He

String and Piano Chamber Music

20 Thursday, 8 PM
String and Piano Chamber Music

21 Friday, 8 PM
Accompanying Department Recital

22 Saturday, 8 PM  FREE
New Music Ensemble | Nicole Paiement, director

23 Sunday, 2 PM  FREE RR*
Faculty Artist Recital
Corey Jamason, harpsichord
with Jennifer Morsches, baroque cello

23 Sunday, 2 PM  FREE
Opera Scenes

23 Sunday, 7:30 PM  FREE
Master Class | Timothy Ehlen, piano

24 Monday, 10 AM  FREE
Master Class | Pamela Frank, violin

24 Monday, 8 PM  FREE
String and Piano Chamber Music

25 Tuesday, 6:30 PM  FREE
Game On: An Insider's Guide to Video Game Scoring

25 Tuesday, 7:30 PM  FREE
Opera Scenes
View our performance calendar for complete information including concert changes and updates.

RR* = Reservations required.

Call the Box Office for tickets and reservations at 415.503.6275.

Conservatory Supporters
To reserve tickets, please contact June Hom at 415.503.6201 or jhom@sfcm.edu. To become a Conservatory supporter visit our website.
SFCM
November 4, 2014
In This Issue
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Featured Video
SFCM Introduces New Program in Technology and Applied Composition
SFCM introduces a new program in Technology and Applied Composition: Scoring for Film, Games and New Media. 

From the Archives
Elinor Armer

Elinor Armer, faculty composer and founding chair of SFCM's composition department, tells tales in and out of school during a special event presented by the Oral History Project. As Armer marks her 75th birthday, we celebrate her 45 years of history at SFCM. A slide show from the Conservatory archives curated by archivist Tessa Updike will complement Armer's talk, along with performances by fellow faculty members Corey Jamason, harpsichord, and Emily Laurance, harp, and alumnus Matt Cannon '02, marimba. A reception follows.
Friends' Podium
Baroque Ensemble

 

Friends of the Conservatory who contribute $100 or more are invited to a Baroque Ensemble rehearsal and student presentation of historical instruments on Wednesday, November 5 at 1 p.m. Don't miss this chance to hear the distinct difference when students play short passages first on modern and then on Baroque instruments and explain the technical differences between them. Then enjoy the ensemble rehearsal. To reserve your seats, please email dvsa@sfcm.edu.

More News
 Efraín Solís


Solís Joins Principal Cast at San Francisco Opera

 

Baritone Efraín Solís '13 has been tapped to sing the principal role of Dandini, valet to the prince Don Ramiro, in San Francisco Opera's production of La Cenerentola, opening on November 9. Solis, a first-year Adler Fellow, had been covering the role and was asked to sing performances when Italian baritone Fabio Capitanucci withdrew from the production for health reasons. 

SFCM Welcomes New Trustees

The Conservatory Board of Trustees welcomes two new members this fall.
Ann Girard
A devotee of opera and music education, Ann Girard recently served as president of the San Francisco Opera Guild and remains on the Guild's Executive Board. In her 25-year legal career, Girard has served as general counsel of QuickLogic Corporation, president of the American Corporate Counsel Association and a member of the Judicial Council of California's Task Force on Business Courts.

Payam Mirrashidi

One of the original architects of Apple's iTunes store, Payam Mirrashidi has profoundly influenced how the world purchases recorded music and other media. As Apple's director of engineering, Mirrashidi leads the engineering teams for the iTunes Store, App Store and iBooks Store. His background includes working as a mixing and sound engineer at UC Berkeley, where he also studied physics. Mirrashidi is a parent of two Pre-College students, Sophia and Paloma.

Other Events
Project TenFourteen
Project TenFourteen
Saturday, November 16

Presented by CalPerformances and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the TenFourteen series features ten new works addressing the human condition. The first concert includes the world premiere of two works by George Crumb, pieces by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz and Elena Ruehr, plus Récitations 9 and 10 by
Georges Aperghis, featuring guest soprano Tony Arnold. The SFCMP ensemble is led by Steven Schick.
 Café menu with beer and wine available from Café Crème two hours before performance and during intermission. Order in advance at 415.503.6295 or cafecreme@sfcm.edu.

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