Author Archive
Feb
Simon Says – February 2010
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Lawrence Durell
return of the fabulous 
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Feb
Free Family Concerts in February
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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.
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Jan
Concerto Countdown!
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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
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Jan
Simon Says – January 2010
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Aside 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 
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Dec
Simon Says – December 2009
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Simon Says The almost-monthly newsletter of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra December 2009 |
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You’re in so much trouble, you’re in Double Trouble! |
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Our first Home Concert concert series, coming right up!
 
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! |
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And the winner is… |
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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,  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. |
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Who said it? |
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Brass bands are all very well in their place – outdoors and several miles away.
{answer below} |
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Viola joke of the month |
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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.” |
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Missed Beethoven’s Birthday? |
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December 16 was the official start of the musicians’ holiday season, which runs through Mozart’s birthday on January 27.
 Stock 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. |
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Ask the Maestro |
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 Dear MaestroI 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, 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! |
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From the Berzerkeley Dictionary of Musical Terms |
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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 |
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Who said it |
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Brass bands are all very well in their place – outdoors and several miles away. |
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Video of the month |
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The conductor’s art, Mr. Bean style. |
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Simon Says |
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 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! |
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Dec
New Year’s Concerts!
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It’s that time again – when the SFCO brings you the first mainstage concert continue
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Dec
Get Maestro-tized
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You could be conducting the SFCO at one of our New Year’s concerts! continue
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Dec
December Festivities
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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
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Nov
Simon Says – November 2009
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Monday Nov. 30: 8pm
Dear Maestro
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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
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