SAN FRANCISCO COMPOSERS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Presents: “IN UNCERTAIN TIMES”
Polka? Waltz? Rock? Even without the upcoming presidential election, we live In Uncertain Times, presented by San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra at 8:00pm, on Saturday, October 15th, in Park Presidio United Methodist Church, 4301 Geary Boulevard. Italian composer Roberto Becheri ponders a more hopeful future in I Costruttori (The Builders), with mezzo-soprano Lisa Davila and company creating a dazzling sonic edifice. Martha Stoddard and Lisa Scola Prosek check in respectively in a sonorous Song of the Loon (for this crazy present?) and Ubi Sunt (Where Have They Gone) — a lost-and-found of great beauty from her opera Lucaria. Davide Verotta‘s To the Point will directly address issues of the here-and-now, while Stardust is sure to dazzle with his au courant offering. Mark Alburger wraps up the presentation with Variations on The Romanesca, a now-you-hear-it, now-you-don’t of spins on a thieving bass line that has been used by composers from Johnnes Pachelbel to John Lennon. You never know what the creative minds of San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra will come up with In Uncertain Times….
Cost: $25 General, sliding scale available for students
Videos featuring musicians playing at this event
Open Ended by Michael Cooke is a very versatile work that is composed live before your eyes and ears. Based on Rova‘s Radar techniques, Open Ended is less of a composition and more of a color or tool palette. It is an ever-growing collection of rules and games for the performers that are triggered by hand signals by the conductor/composer. The conductor/composer then composes the piece live using these hand signals to guide the performers. The ability to compose with what happens in the moment, in real time, is what is required to produce this piece. This similar to the “Soundpainting” language was created by Walter Thompson in Woodstock, New York in 1974. Open Ended has no set instrumentation and can be played by any number of performers. It also has no set length; the piece could last 5 minutes or 24 hours.