Author Archive

19
Feb
ben smile 150
Simon Says

The almost-monthly newsletter of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra

Valentine’s Day Edition
February 2010

Do you really love us? 

Family Concert Animal Orchestra

Despite the formal wear, the fancy concert halls, and the exalted status granted to us by society, classical musicians, deep down, are just plain people.  Plain, insecure people who need constant applause and adoration to feel worthwhile. 

So, do you really love us?  Really?

Facebook users: click here to post your love letter…  or email us here.   

Thanks, and happy valentine’s day.

And we love you too! 

Mandolinist Avi Avital

Members, we couldn’t live without you!  Your generous support of the SFCO keeps our stalwart little band going, and growing.  

In a few days, all members will be receiving a very special Valentine’s surprise via email… a little token of our love and appreciation. 

Not a member yet?  Don’t break this young man’s heart!

Click here to join our growing community of lovers – San Francisco Chamber Orchestra lovers!

Concerto Countdown

Number 5Number 5 real

more days until the world premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s violin concerto for our concertmaster Robin Sharp.  Are you excited?  We are!  Read more from our first-ever Composer-in-Residence, recent-Grammy-Award-winner in her new blog, an SFCO exclusive!!
Click here for Gabi’s latest installment

Tres Mitos de Mi Tierra, Gabi’s most recent piece, was commissioned by The King’s Singers and will be given it’s world premiere on Wednesday, Feb 17 at Herbst Theater through San Francisco Performances. Click here for more information.

Love and Music Matching Game

Bach 150

Match the quote and its author.  Answers below. 

1. If music be the food of love, play on.  

2. He had 20 children because he had no stops on his organ. 

3. I am not handsome, but when women hear me play, they come crawling to my feet.

4. In music the passions enjoy themselves.  organ pipes

5. Music is my mistress, and she plays second fiddle to no one.

6. Music is only love, looking for words.

a. PaganiniLawrence Durell

b. Duke Ellington

c. Friedrich Nietzsche

d. Niccolo Paganini

e. Johann Sebastian Bach

f. William Shakespeare


Coming up

Piedmont Choirs

Family Concert
Music and Song
with the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir

SF: Sat, Feb 27 2pm

Berkeley: Sun Feb 28 noon

San Mateo: Sun Feb 28 3pm


Click here for more information.

Our next Classical at the Freight program brings the triumphal SFBrassreturn of the fabulous San Francisco Brass Quintet in a wide-ranging program. This is a ticketed event:  $8.50 until 7pm on the night of the show; $9.50 after that.  Members get two tickets for the price of one at the door only; not on advance sales.  Click here for more info.

Musician’s classified #1

For sale: Viola, German, 19th century, 405mm. Excellent condition. Recently tuned.

Congratulations,  Stephen!

Stephen Waarts2009 Debut Artist Stephen Waarts continues his rocketing success, winning the recent Fremont Symphony’s Young Artist Competition.  SFCO fans will remember his remarkable Mendelssohn violin concerto performances with us last season back when he was only 12!  Stephen will be also be heard on the national radio program ‘From the Top’ in February, after winning first place in KDFC’s 2009 Classical Star Search, ages 10 to 20.

Adopt-a-Musician 

February special on violists: $499.95, while supplies last    
Sharon Wei
Get in on the ground floor of a new fundraising program for your favorite chamber orchestra, wherein you can “adopt” a member of the orchestra for an entire year for a very reasonable sum (and don’t have to provide housing, clothing, or meals… or college…such a deal! ).

Adopt any  SFCO musician, of your choice: $500 (violists $499.95, while supplies last)

Interested? Colleen would be delighted to talk to you (415-692-5297), or email her here

Your support helps keep our priceless music absolutely free, our concerts more frequent, and our connections with our community stronger.  Thank you.

Math for Musicians

From the Jewelyard School of Music exit exam (doctoral program):

Ralph loves to drink coffee.  Each week he drinks three more cups of coffee than Harold who drinks exactly one third the amount the entire bass section consumes in beer.  How much longer is Ralph going to live?

Got questions? Need some musical advice? Dating a violist?

Typical SFCO concertgoers are

couple

suave, sophisticated, and sexy.

But not all orchestras can claim such wonderful listeners.  Click here to see the kinds of people other groups are attracting.

Musician’s classified #2

Established string quartet seeks two violinists and a cellist.

Love and Music Matching Game answers

Shakespeare

1f
2e
3d
4c
5b
6a

Video of the month

Jack Benny

Does anyone remember Jack Benny?

Classic comedy.  And who is his accompanist?  The thirteenth person to email the correct answer gets a free 2009 – 10 season poster.

Simon Says
Avi

Our season starts to heat up now, and won’t cool down until mid-May… so fasten your seatbelts for an exciting musical ride.  Our next Home Series concert, Mandolin Magic, will feature Israeli mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital and music of Corelli, Bach, Beethoven, and Osvaldo Golijov, represented by his sexy, simmering Last Rounds, written as an homage to tango master Astor Piazzolla.

And pass word of our upcoming Family Concerts to all your friends with kids – these admission-free, less-than-an-hour programs are the perfect introduction to classical music for listeners young and older.  Come hear four wonderful woodwind players and the amazing Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir and beat those rainy-day blues with some great songs about water, and rain.

As ever, thanks for your continued support.  Our orchestra continues to strengthen and grow, despite a rough economy.  If you’re interested in volunteering or getting more involved with the Bay Area’s favorite chamber orchestra, drop us an email.  Memberships make great gifts for friends and family… and help support our mission of making classical music accessible to all.

Musically yours,

Ben Simon

www.sfchamberorchestra.org
415.248.1640

Join our mailing list!

Category : Simon Says | Blog
19
Feb

We bring you “lots and lots of kids” at our upcoming Family Concert on Feb 27 & 28! (Click here to read the concert preview at SF Classical Voice.) Kids in the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, our performance partner, kids in the orchestra, and kids in the audience! Bring yours (no matter the age!) to this sure-to-be delightful concert all about the art of musical breathing and song. Click here for performance dates and locations.

Category : Announcements | Blog
21
Jan

Now that the new year is upon us, we begin counting the days until the premiere of our very own Gabriela Frank’s violin concerto continue

Category : Announcements | Blog
21
Jan
ben smile 150
Simon Says

The almost-monthly newsletter of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra 

January 2010

We love you, Vallejo!

Empress 1.2.10
The entire town, it seems, turned out for our first ever concert at our newest venue, the beautiful Empress Theater in downtown Vallejo.  The SFCO concerts were packed in Berkeley, Palo Alto, and San Francisco, but we actually had to turn people away from the Empress on January 2.  Who knew?  

We apologize to those who were turned away and hope you will join us for our next concert at the Empress on Monday night, March 22(Mandolin Magic). Advance reservations and the best seats in the theater are yours if you become a member of the SFCO, for only pennies a note.

Next up for San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Mateo:  our second Family Concert, Music and Song with the wonderful young singers of the Piedmont East Bay Choirs and talented string players from three local youth orchestras join the pros of the SFCO.  Feb 27/28:click here for details.

Concerto Countdown

Number 0Number 6Number 1

more days until the world premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s violin concerto for our concertmaster Robin Sharp.  Are you excited?  We are!  Read more from our first-ever Composer-in-Residence, recent-Grammy-Award-winner in her new blog, an SFCO exclusive!! 
Click here for Gabi’s first installment

Ten things you need to know about  Wolfie

Mozart child 2

1. Son of a court musician, Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. His full name was Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 

2. He first performed in public at the age of five, the same year he wrote his first piano pieces.  

3. At seven, he picked up a violin for the first time and played it perfectly.  

4. He adored his older sister, Nannerl, and was close to her his entire life.Mozart 150

5. He composed his first symphony at age 9 and his first opera (La Finta Semplice) at age 12.  

6. Slight of build, with fine fair hair, he was “not over five feet four inches tall”.

7. He fell in love with soprano Aloysia Weber during a trip to Mannheim when he was 21 (she was 16).  After Aloysia  dumped him, he married her younger sister Constanze. They had six children, two of whom survived to adulthood.  

8. He liked playing billiards, bad puns,  and dirty jokes. 

9. “I write music as a sow piddles”

10. Mozart LangeAside from the piano, at which he was a true virtuoso, his favorite instrument was the viola! We’ll prove it next Monday evening at the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley with a performance of one of his greatest chamber music works, the viola quintet in E-flat Major.  See below for details on our Mozart Birthday Celebration.   

Who said it?

Orch photo

You are the music, 
while the music lasts.

{answer below}

Happy 254th Birthday, dear Wolfie!  

Alicia Telford 150Mozart child 2Kris 150 colorEugene Chuklov

Classical at the Freight presents a
Mozart Birthday Celebration

Join us for one of our most popular Freight programs of the year, complete with free birthday cake, our monthly classical music trivia contest, and much much more.  Featuring the amazing musicians of the SFCO All-Stars:
Eugene ChuklovGarrett McLean, violins
Ben SimonDarcy Rindt, violas
Kris Yenney, cello
with special guest  Alicia Telford, French horn

performing the Horn Quintet and the late, great E-Flat Major Viola Quintet

This is a ticketed event.  You can purchase your ticket in advance through the Freight & Salvage box office for $8.50, or pay $9.50 at the door.  As always, SFCO members get two tickets for the price of one.  Just show your membership card at the door and bring a friend for free!  Yet another valuable benefit of your SFCO membership.  Why don’t you join today?  Click here for more information.

Viola joke of the month

What’s the difference between a violist and a vacuum cleaner? 

You have to plug one of them in before it sucks.  

Adopt-a-Musician  

Who doesn’t need a little more music in their life?     

GarrettGloria Justen Mad 150

Get in on the ground floor of a new fundraising program for your favorite chamber orchestra, wherein you can “adopt” a member of the orchestra for an entire year for a very reasonable sum (and don’t have to provide housing, clothing, or meals… or college…such a deal! ). 

Adopt any  SFCO musician, of your choice: $500 (violists $495)

Interested? Colleen would be delighted to talk to you (415-692-5297), or email her here.  

Your support helps keep our priceless music absolutely free, our concerts more frequent, and our connections with our community stronger.  Thank you.

Math for Musicians

From the Jewelyard School of Music exit exam (doctoral program):     

Jethro has been playing the double bass in a symphony orchestra for 12 years, 3 months, and 7 days.  Each day, his inclination to practice decreases by the equation: (total days in the orchestra) x .000976.  Assuming that he stopped practicing altogether six months ago, how long will it be before he is completely unable to play the double bass?

Got questions? Need some musical advice? Dating a violist?   
Ask the Maestro at SimonSays@sfchamberorchestra.org

From the Berzerkeley Dictionary of Musical Terms

Concerto grosso – a concert of, for example, accordions. 

Polonaise- a condiment often put on a parrot sandwich

Perfect pitch – throwing the banjo into the dumpster and   hitting the accordion

Write your own review

typewriter

We’d love to hear what you think of our concerts. 

All replies are confidential, except the ones we really like which we will shamelessly promote. 

Let us have it!  click here!

Who said it

TS Eliot
You are the music, 
while the music lasts.

T. S. Eliot
English poet  (1888 – 1965)

Video of the month

kitchen gadgets

You can throw all these away when you purchase… 

a Viola-matic!

Simon Says
Very First Leighton
This season, our Very First Concerts and Family Concerts are bringing top-flight classical programs to thousands of young listeners across the Bay Area.  Our most recent program at the Crowden School in Berkeley took place on a very rainy MLK Day earlier this week; we sang lots of songs about water and rain plus Happy Birthday, Bingo, and many more.  Our next family “feature” is our Music and Song Family Concert with the wonderful Piedmont East Bay Choirs over the last weekend in February (27 & 28).  Bring your family, bring your friends, and enjoy our priceless music, absolutely free.  

Of course, if you’re able to return our generosity with your own, many thanks for helping to support our mission of making classical music accessible to all.  Click here to make your tax-deductible contribution.

Musically yours, 
Ben Simon

www.sfchamberorchestra.org
415.248.1640

Join our mailing list!

Category : Simon Says | Blog
29
Dec


 



ben smile 150
Simon Says

The almost-monthly newsletter of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra

December 2009


You’re in so much trouble, you’re in Double Trouble! 

Our first Home Concert concert series, coming right up!

Isabel Lau

Gloria JustenTod Brody

DOUBLE TROUBLE, a program of concerti for two instruments, including a pair of Debut Artists and a world premiere, plus a great, double-digit Haydn symphony, coming soon to a concert hall, church, or theater near you!

As a SFCO Member, you not only get the best seats in the house, but you also get to make advanced reservations for our Double Trouble series, allowing you to bypass those long lines. Members can also reserve priority seating for guests for a $20 donation per ticket. Please plan on arriving at least 15 minutes before the concert is scheduled to start; members who arrive after this cannot be guaranteed seating. 

We’ve also got our first member’s reception following our January 3 concert at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre.  Please join us!

And the winner is…

Haydn

The winner of our Name That Haydn Symphony contest is Don Smiegiel of San Francisco.  Don’s winning entry, which was chosen by a finely calibrated applause-o-meter at the Freight and Salvage on Monday evening, Nov. 30, is “The Freight and Salvation Symphony”. Inspired perhaps by his surroundings, Don’s name triumphed over scores (pun intended) of strong entries, including “The Sunset Strip Symphony”, “The To Grandma’s House We Go Symphony” “The New Year’s Symphony”, and my personal favorite: “The Duck Symphony”. Thanks to all of you who played our game, and in the bargain had the great fortune of hearing the New Esterhazy String Quartet perform two and a half quartets by Haydn on our Classical at the Freight series.  Congratulations to Don, whose grand prize was a beautiful, brand-new
 
San Francisco Chamber Orchestra sweatshirt,Teenage models 200
which you too can own by visiting our beautiful, brand-new online store.  Pick up a poster, or perhaps a set of lovely black-and-white notecards featuring the whimsical cartoons of Berkeley artist Gail Machlis.  Our ever-popular t-shirts and sweatshirts are now available in a wider variety of colors and sizes.  You can even adopt your own San Francisco Chamber Orchestra musician in our online store.  All instruments still available, but hurry – our supply of violists is limited!
Start a hot fashion trend on your block.

Who said it?

band

Brass bands are all very well in their place – outdoors and several miles away.

   {answer below}

Viola joke of the month

A violist and a ‘cellist were standing on a sinking ship.

“Help!” cried the ‘cellist, “I can’t swim!”

“Don’t worry,” said the violist, “just fake it.”

 



Missed Beethoven’s Birthday? 

December 16 was the official start of the musicians’ holiday season, which runs through Mozart’s birthday on January 27.

schroederStock up on the perfect gift for all your music-loving friends:  a gift membership to the Bay Area’s best chamber orchestra.  Help keep our concerts admission free, and full of Ludwig, Wolfgang, and their pals Franz Josef, Johann Sebastian, Georg Frederic not to mention Gabriela and Gloria!
 
Speaking of members,
your SFCO memberships are now on an automated system of renewal… but you’re welcome to sign back up at any time.  This year, members can make advance reservations for themselves and their guests ($20 per guest suggested admission, please) at our increasingly popular Home Series concerts.

Click here for membership info.

Ask the Maestro

snoopy sleepingDear Maestro

I think Haydn is boring.  Why should I come to your Double  Trouble program to hear his 77th symphony if I don’t like his first 76?
                  Snoozing in Sausalito

Dear Snoozing,
I appreciate your honesty, you callow philistine!  Sorry, that just slipped out…  In today’s world of the 3-minute pop song, video on demand, and Guitar Hero on your 47-inch flat screen, attending a classical music concert can seem about as exciting as watching paint dry.  Our attention spans have dwindled and our appetite for dramatic gestures has increased.

What’s wrong with this picture is that listening to music, and classical music in particular, has become a passive activity.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself.  And try to stay awake! 

Instead, try this:  sit back, but instead of relaxing, open up your ears and your imagination as widely as possible. There’s an entire musical world to explore, and enjoy, in a Haydn symphony – wit and humor, delightful melodies, the interplay of voices and themes, sudden shifts of mood, color, texture.  Make up your own internal movie to Haydn’s soundtrack.  Connect the dots.  Be an active listener – it takes a bit of effort but one that is richly rewarded, especially in classical music. 

And if you don’t like Haydn’s 77th, there’s always number 78!
 
 Got questions? Need some musical advice? Dating a violist?  
Ask the Maestro at SimonSays@sfchamberorchestra.org

From the Berzerkeley Dictionary of Musical Terms

Piano – the neighbors have complained

Forte – the neighbors are out

Fortissimo – the heck with the neighbors

Pianissimo – the neighbors and the police are at the door

Who said it

Beecham 150

Brass bands are all very well in their place – outdoors and several miles away. 
 
Sir Thomas Beecham
     English conductor  (1879 – 1961)

 

Video of the month

cartoon conductor

The conductor’s art, Mr. Bean style.
I say, sign him up! 

Click here to watch.

 

Simon Says

Empress 150 Haydn happens to be one of my favorite composers, and a perfect match for the intimate size and scope of our San Francisco Chamber Orchestra programs.  What is so remarkable about his symphony #77 is that it is so unremarkable – an unnamed, almost never-played work from the middle of his prodigious output.  And yet, a work of staggering genius!  From top to bottom, a delightful work filled with charm and Haydn’s patented brand of musical humor. 

Double Trouble starts our Home Series concerts, and I’m looking forward to seeing you soon in one of our four beautiful halls – including our inaugural visit to the magnificent Empress Theater in downtown Vallejo. 

Tell all your friends about us. We like our concerts crowded! 

Onward and upward!
Ben Simon

Category : Simon Says | Blog
28
Dec

It’s that time again – when the SFCO brings you the first mainstage concert continue

Category : Announcements | Blog
11
Dec

You could be conducting the SFCO at one of our New Year’s concerts! continue

Category : Announcements | Blog
9
Dec

SFCO violinist and composer Gloria Justen performs at the upcoming Classical at the Freight concert on December 14th. Her Concerto for 2 cellos receives its world premiere at our New Year’s concerts in just a few weeks! continue

Category : Announcements | Blog
11
Nov
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ben smile 150
Simon Says

The almost-monthly newsletter of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra

November 2009

Hot off the press:  Gabriela Frank wins Latin Grammy award!

Our very own Composer in Residence

Gabi 1

Gabriela Lena Frank, won her first Grammy award last week at the Latin Grammy ceremony in Las Vegas. Gabi’s Inca Dances won in the category Best Classical Contemporary Composition performed by guitarist
Manuel Barrueco & Cuarteto Latinoamericano on Barrueco’s recent Tonar Music album, Sounds of the Americas.

Get your own copy of this award-winning CD here!

Name that Haydn symphony

Haydn

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Farewell Symphony (No. 45), or Surprise (94), or Drumroll (103). But how about Philosopher (22), Hornsignal (31), Mercury (43), Palindrome (47), Schoolmaster (55), La Chasse (73), Bear (82), Miracle (96), Military (100), or London (104)?

Many of Haydn’s 100+ symphonies were named, for a variety of sketchy reasons… but many were left moniker-less. Help us name Symphony #77 in B-flat Major, in time for our performance on New Year’s Eve! Listen to the last movement, and send us your submission ideas. Attend our Classical with a Twist event on Monday evening, Nov. 30 (members and their guests only) when the winner will be selected by popular acclamation from the Freight & Salvage stage at 7:15.  Prizes for the winner and top runner-ups will be awarded.  Winners need not be present to win.

Who said it?

Sheep 150

Is it not strange that sheep’s guts should hale souls out of men’s bodies?

{answer below}

Classical with a Twist: two special events for members (and their guests)

Invite

Classical at the Freight

New Esterhazy SQMonday Nov. 30: 8pm
The New Esterhazy String Quartet performs Haydn

@ the new Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse,
2020 Addison St, Berkeley

These four wonderful players are well-known to Bay Area audiences: Lisa Weiss, Kati Kyme, Anthony Martin, and William Skeen.  At the tail end of their monumental project to perform all 66 of Haydn’s string quartets, they’re bringing a few of their favorites to the Freight for our delectation and delight. This is a ticketed event: $8.50 in advance, $9.50 at the door, and SFCO members get two tickets for the price of one! Click here for more Classical at the Freight info

Viola joke of the month

Three violists are sitting in a car.  Who’s driving?  
The police.

Get a head start on your holiday shopping

by purchasing gift memberships in the SFCO for all your friends and family.
gifts 150Even your tone deaf friends will appreciate your commitment to the arts and your wish to support the fresh, fun, first-rate and absolutely free programming by the Bay Area’s favorite chamber orchestra.  And just think how much more your musically inclined friends will enjoy the gift of live music?

Speaking of members,
your SFCO memberships are now on an automated system of renewal… but you’re welcome to sign back up at any time.  This year, members can make advance reservations for themselves and their guests ($20 per guest suggested admission, please) at our increasingly popular Home Series concerts.

Click here for membership info.

Ask the Maestro

Violin stringsDear Maestro

Sheep’s guts?  I don’t get it.
Puzzled in Palo Alto


Dear Puzzled,

For millenia, before modern industrial techniques made metal strings widely available, zithers harps lutes guitars gambas not to mention violins violas celli and basses were strung with various lengths and thicknesses of sheep’s guts.  A handy and practical solution, unless you were a sheep.  You can still buy gut strings, but most professionals prefer one of the newer composites.  Still interested? Check this out!

Got questions? Need some musical advice? Dating a violist?
Ask the Maestro at SimonSays@sfchamberorchestra.org

Virtuoso violin meets surround sound

Gloria Justen

An Evening with Composer Gloria Justen

Gloria Justen, composer and violinist, will present a unique program on November 14th, which ranges from subtle insect rhythms to passionate virtuoso violin playing.  Original pieces for solo violin will be juxtaposed with digital sound collages played back on a multiple-speaker system.   Her sound collages combine environmental field recordings, studio-recorded instruments, and digital processes to create evocative dream trips.

Saturday, Nov 14, 8pm
tickets $10 – $15
a.Muse art gallery & meeting place
614 Alabama St.
SF, CA 94110
415.279.6281

Gloria is also appearing on Classical at the Freight on Monday evening, Dec 14.  Her new concerto for Violin and Cello will be premiered on the SFCO’s Double Trouble concert set.

From the Berzerkeley Dictionary of Musical Terms

Chromatic Scale: An instrument for weighing that indicates half-pounds

Harmonic Minor: A good music student

Virtuoso: A musician with very high morals

Who said it

Shakespeare
Is it not strange that sheep’s guts should hale souls out of men’s bodies?


William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616),
Much Ado About Nothing

Video of the month

Beethoven 150

Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray in a classic comedy sketch to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. 

Click here to watch.

Simon Says

One family concert down,Crowd and an entire season to go.  Our Meet the Composers performances, featuring composer Doctor Professor Laurie San Martin, actor Thomas Flynn, and a cast of dozens of wonderful young musicians from around the Bay Area, was a smash hit over the past weekend in San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Mateo.

Looking forward, we hope you will attend one of our upcoming Classical with a Twist events (members and their invited guests only) and then our first set of Home Series Concerts over the New Year’s weekend, Double Trouble.

Please come to lots of our first-class and admission-free performances, and tell all your friends about us.  Make sure all the children in your neighborhood know about our Very First and Family concerts.  Already a member?  Consider a gift membership for your sister, neighbor, or dentist. Let’s let San Francisco’s best kept secret out of the bag!

Onward and upward!
Ben Simon

Category : Simon Says | Blog
3
Nov

Meet the Composers
This weekend (Nov 7-8) sees the orchestra performing our first Family Concerts of the new season! And “Meet the Composers” is always a fun one. Special appearances planned by Beethoven, Vivaldi and the ever-affable, ever-musical Gabriela Frank, the SFCO’s very first Composer in Residence! continue

Category : Announcements | Blog