Whole Sol Festival / Del Sol Quartet
Thursday, November 16: Dark Queen Mantra
Music of Terry Riley with special guests Gyan Riley and Terry Riley
For its 25th anniversary season, San Francisco's own Del Sol Quartet will present three concerts celebrating California’s distinct musical legacy of unfettered invention, openness, cultural inclusion, and innovation.
Opening night celebrates the music of Terry Riley and the release of Del Sol’s new album, Dark Queen Mantra. The evening features Del Sol’s distinctive, off-book versions of G Song and The Wheel & Mythic Birds Waltz, performed from memory. Guitarist Gyan Riley joins Del Sol in the first performance of an expanded version of Terry Riley’s Dark Queen Mantra. Terry Riley will also play solo and in duo with Gyan.
“Terry Riley doesn’t limit his music within a final double-bar but allows it to keep on growing. He composed more music for us to play after finishing Dark Queen Mantra, and so we are performing an expanded version of that piece for the first time on this concert,” Del Sol violinist Benjamin Kreith explains. “As a quartet, we’ve found new energy and growth through the experience of performing Terry’s quartets off-book, by memory. As musicians, we’ve found an inspiring example — Terry has the strength to follow his own path balanced with the humility and curiosity of an eternal student.”
Cost: $25-75