2003 January | February | March | April

2002 January | February | April | May | June | December

2001 January | February | June | July | December

HERSH AND KENNEDY CONTINUE RESIDENCY WITH NEVADA CITY SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

(APRIL 2003) The Community Partners Program placed composer Howard Hersh and percussionist Dan Kennedy in residence with Nevada City (Calif.) School of the Arts. The project resulted in "Run," written by Hersh for solo, five-octave marimba. Kennedy premiered the work on February 9 as part of the "Millennium Concert Series" at California State University, Sacramento.

"Kennedy played his red-hot marimba perfectly, capturing the essence of Hersh’s look at modern life through ripping syncopation, furious urgency and quiet, individual slo-mo footfalls on a wet street," wrote Patricia Smith in the Sacramento Bee. "Everything tested Kennedy’s obvious agility, tenacity, and musicianship."

The commission of "Run" was part of a multi-faceted residency, which also includes a series of workshops for eighth graders in Nevada City. Hersh and Kennedy will create and train a student percussion ensemble and work with students to compose a new work for public performance.

SALON SERIES FEATURES UNUSUAL MIX AT COMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER

(APRIL 2003) On February 16, the chapter’s Salon Series presented an unusual and stimulating program at San Francisco’s Community Music Center. The evening, moderated by conductor Mary Chun, featured a mix of vocal music, electronically altered tuba, and spoken word. Allen Shearer opened the evening with his "Fables II," a cycle of three songs he wrote and sang, along with flute, guitar, and double bass accompaniment. Composer, tuba player, and Innova recording artist Tom Heasley presented "Ground Zero," an ambient work for live, looped, and electronically processed tuba. The program concluded with Peter Josheff’s "Diary," based on the words of poet Jaime Robles. The poet contributed spoken voice to the performance, with Shearer and Eliza O’Malley on vocals, and an instrumental ensemble of flute, bass clarinet, electric guitar, and double bass.

COMPOSERS WORKSHOP SERIES FEATURES HUGU LIVINGSTON

(APRIL 2003) As part of the chapter’s Composers Workshop series, composer-cellist Hugh Livingston gave a presentation on modern cello technique at San Francisco State University. The January 25 workshop began with a plucked improvisation in which Livingston demonstrated many of the more than 100 different types of pizzicato he has codified and described. He followed this with a wide-ranging discussion rife with demonstrations, including double and triple stops, a description of the theory and practice of natural and artificial harmonics, and an extensive exploration of notational issues.

DISCOVERY ORCHESTRA PREMIERE'S PROSEK'S "RESONANCE"

(MARCH 2003) On January 19, the Discovery Orchestra, part of the Santa Rosa Symphony’s Youth Orchestra Program, premiered Lisa Scola Prosek’s "Resonance" at the Jackson Theater in Santa Rosa, Calif. Prosek worked with the orchestra as part of the Community Partners Program. The student musicians were able to watch the evolution of the work and see many of the significant decisions involved in the compositional process. The premiere, under the baton of the orchestra’s music director, William R. Williams, generated a great deal of excitement, and the jaunty, syncopated rhythms had the audience dancing in their seats.


SALON OF NEWLY COMPOSED MUSIC BY BAY AREA COMPOSERS

(FEBRUARY 2003) On February 16, the chapter's Salon Series featured new vocal music by Allen Shearer (his evocative, atmospheric "Fables II") and Peter Josheff (his "Diary" based on the poetry of Jaime Robles, with Ms. Robles' spoken word narration accompanying soprano and baritone voices), and a new work, "Ground Zero" featuring the electroacoustic tuba stylings of Tom Heasley. Interviews with the composers and discussion at the Community Music Center were moderated by renowned San Francisco conductor Mary Chun.

CELLIST/COMPOSER HUGH LIVINGSTON FEATURED ON COMPOSERS WORKSHOP SERIES

(JANUARY 2003) On January 25, the chapter hosted the second event in its Composers Workshop Series featuring cellist/composer Hugh Livingston. These workshops on contemporary instrumental and vocal technique feature the world’s finest artists and teachers. The sessions are designed to give composers at all levels the information and insight they need to make their music more successful.

Mr. Livingston discussed and demonstrated modern cello technique with an emphasis on the needs of composers. The lecture examined the essentials of establishing a context for performance of extended techniques leading to a larger sound world. Context also was the metaphor for evaluating playability for soloists, students, orchestras, and studio musicians. Hugh devoted plenty of time to demonstration of his exploration of hundreds of pizzicato techniques and variations of sul ponticello playing. Finally, difficulties in notation were confronted head-on, with the intent to build consensus in methods of communicating with an unknown interpreter. Examples from literature, particularly contemporary Asian music and traditional Asian notations, abounded.

Hugh Livingston has degrees in contemporary music from Yale, California Institute of the Arts, and UC San Diego. He performs contemporary music on the cello and is active as a composer and improvisor. He has collaborated with visual artists, electronic musicians, composers, and improvisors all over the world. Livingston has performed in all major cities in the US, Japan and China, and many in Europe. He regularly attends conferences on electronic and Asian music, performing and presenting papers. His CD of electronic music, Strings and Machines, is available on the EMF label. He has done extensive research in China with the support of the Asian Cultural Council. His article on digital string instruments appears in the April 2001 Cambridge University Press journal Organised Sound. Hugh's collaboration with Xu Bing, Book from Sky, is an interpretation of 4000 imaginary Chinese characters. Hugh is the executive director of The ARTSHIP Recordings, a revolutionary project producing 3-inch CDs of improvised music from the 491-foot art deco cruiseliner known as ARTSHIP. His website is www.stringsandmachines.com.

PREMIERE COMPOSERS WORKSHOP SERIES FEATURES FLUTIST ROBERT DICK

(DECEMBER 2002) On October 12, the chapter launched its new Composers Workshop Series – a program that invites some of the world's most accomplished artists and teachers to lead master classes. The classes, geared toward composers, explore advanced instrumental and vocal techniques. The opening session featured flutist, composer, author, teacher, and inventor Robert Dick, who enthralled an audience of over 40 composers and flutists. Over the course of the three-hour workshop, he covered topics ranging from the economic and political realities faced by composers to extremely detailed technical instructions on how to get the most out of the flute. His talk was generously illustrated with demonstrations performed on his concert flute and bass flute, as well as a complete performance of his own tour de force for solo flute, "Flames Must Not Encircle Sides."

BECK BEGINS COMPOSER IN THE SCHOOLS AT LOWELL HIGH

(DECEMBER 2002) In October, composer William Beck began teaching composition classes at San Francisco's Lowell High School as part of the chapter's Composer in the Schools program. Beck is a member of the University of California-Davis music faculty, and has worked with high school students from the Sacramento Youth Symphony. His residency will last throughout the school year and will culminate in a spring 2003 performance of new works by Beck and his students

THIRD ANNUAL COMPOSER IN THE SCHOOLS SPRING CONCERTS

(JUNE 2002) On May 10 & 11, the chapter presented two concerts of new works by students from Lowell High and Berkeley High performed by professional ensembles, from its ground-breaking Composer in the Schools program. These concerts were the culmination of this year's participants and featured new music for winds, interviews with the composers, and a moderated discussion among the composers, performers, and audience.

On May 10, this year's class at Lowell High School, taught by eminent San Francisco composer Kurt Rohde, presented new works at Noe Valley Ministry. Included were works by student composers Serena Chan, Alexander Moreno, Joyce Yuan, Hilary Yip, Nance Yuan, Alison Cleary, and Alexander Hawthorne-Foss. The concert also featured the world premiere of a new work for solo viola by Mr. Rohde. The performers included well-known Bay Area professionals Phyllis Kamrin, violin; Leighton Fong, cello; Esther Landau, flute; Bruce Foster, clarinet; and Alex Camphouse, horn.

Then, on May 11, the Berkeley Arts Center was host to this year's class at Berkeley High School, presenting works written for the superb Bayside Winds by Carrie Cai, Ciara Sanker, Matt Payne, and Aliyah Simcoff. The concert also includes the premiere of a new woodwind quintet written by instructor Clark Suprynowicz.

THAT'S A WRAP – SALON SERIES 2002 CONCLUDES

(JUNE 2002) This season of the Salon Series came to its conclusion on Friday, April 26, at the Community Music Center in San Francisco. Some of the Bay Area’s leading instrumentalists performed new works by Kurt Erickson ("Toccata #2"), D'Arcy Reynolds (" Twenty-One"), Moses Sedler ("Variations for string quartet"), and Mark Winges ("Dusk Music II"). San Francisco composer Martha Horst moderated discussions between the audience members, composers, and performers.

NEW MUSIC BAY AREA TO PRESENT "GARDEN OF MEMORY"

(MAY 2002) As part of a chapter-sponsored Community Partners project, New Music Bay Area will present the "Garden of Memory," a three-hour walk-through concert at Oakland’s Chapel of the Chimes, a gorgeous labyrinthine columbarium designed by renowned architect Julia Morgan. The world’s largest aboveground cemetery, Chapel of the Chimes has urns in the shape of old books and is replete with gardens, fountains, stained-glass skylights, and Gothic architecture. The concert, curated by well-known Bay Area pianist and radio host Sarah Cahill, will take place at the summer solstice and will feature the music of many eminent Bay Area composers.

ERICKSON ADDS TO LITURGY

(MAY 2002) Composer Kurt Erickson will be in residency at the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi in San Francisco as part of a chapter Community Partners project. Erickson’s residency will include multiple commissioned works, including a Mass, a Christmas work with chorus and orchestra, and a choral setting of the Magnificat text. The residency began in April and extends through spring 2003.

NEVADA CITY SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS HOSTS COMPOSER RESIDENCY

(MAY 2002) Composer Howard Hersh and percussionist Daniel Kennedy will launch a Community Partners project with the Nevada City (Calif.) School of the Arts. During the 2002-03 school year, Kennedy and Hersh will lead a series of workshops for junior high school students to create and train a percussion ensemble. The artists will guide the ensemble through the creation of an original work. Hersh will also compose a solo marimba work for Kennedy. Both pieces will be performed at a school concert and as part of the Sacramento-based contemporary music ensemble Music Now’s public concert series at California State University, Sacramento.

PROSEK COLLABORATES WITH SANTA ROSA YOUTH SYMPHONY

(MAY 2002) As part of their Community Partners project, composer Lisa Scola Prosek and the Santa Rosa Youth Symphony are orchestrating, rehearsing, and producing performances of Prosek’s "Ballate Non Pagate (Dances Not Paid For)." The members of the orchestra are working with orchestrator William R. Williams and the composer throughout the spring. The work will culminate with a June performance. This will afford the young musicians not only with the opportunity to experience the effects of various instrumental choices, but also to be involved in decision-making as the work is developed.

SALON FEATURES LOCAL WORKS AT COMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER

(APRIL 2002) The chapter’s Jan. 25 Salon, held at San Francisco’s Community Music Center, presented works by local composers Lisa Scola Prosek ("Ballate non Pagate," or "Dances not Paid For") and Martin Rokeach ("Can’t Wait"). The evening also featured an all-star lineup of Bay Area musicians, including clarinetist Peter Josheff, pianist Karen Rosenak, and soprano Laurie Amat. San Francisco composer Martha Horst interviewed Prosek and Rokeach and moderated a lively and revealing discussion with them.

In addition to highlighting local artists, the evening included an introduction to the work of young New Zealand composers Ewan Clark, Melanie Ward, and Christopher Orczy. Composer-member Thomas Goss provided the accompanying narrative, discussing his experiences traveling and working in that country.

The chapter has recently entered into a partnership with the Community Music Center, and will be hosting four Salons there over the coming year.

 

SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION SUPPORTS COMPOSER IN THE SCHOOLS

(FEBRUARY 2002) The San Francisco Foundation recently awarded the chapter a substantial grant to support its Composer in the Schools program. Now in its fifth year, the program has brought professional composers into area classrooms to teach composition over the course of the school year. The program is currently active in San Francisco and Berkeley, and will expand to Oakland next year.

 

"HISTORY LESSON" FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PREMIERED AT CSU

(FEBRUARY 2002) On Nov. 11, the contemporary performance ensemble Music Now presented "The History Lesson" by Howard Hersh, a one-act theatrical work for soprano and tenor soloists, high school choir, and chamber ensemble. The creation and performance of the work were sponsored, in part, through the chapter's Community Partners Program, and the premiere was part of the Festival of New American Music at California State University, Sacramento.

"The History Lesson" surveys fires that have made their mark on the public consciousness, but its fundamental theme is the fire that burns in young Americans and ignites on the campuses of our schools. For this premiere performance the choir consisted of students from Nevada Union High School, in Nevada City, Calif.

"This cross-generational project provided Music Now with its first opportunity to work with high school students in a relationship that spanned several months," Hersh explains. "As a result of this organic process, the students greatly expanded their musical vocabulary and performing techniques, and developed a profound sensitivity for music of our time."

CHAPTER MEETING FEATURES COMMANDAY

(JANUARY 2002) Robert Commanday – longtime lead critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and current editor of the San Francisco Classical Voice – was the featured speaker at the chapter's Nov. 17 meeting. Commanday's presentation, "The Perils of Polarity," was an engaging exploration of the various kinds of polarity and contention that have swirled around new music. Illustrating his talk with examples and anecdotes, Commanday put the topic into historical perspective, delving into the Stravinsky/Schoenberg rift of the early 20th century and progressing to issues that divide contemporary composers and music lovers. The talk was followed by a lively discussion among the composers and performers in attendance.

 

CHAPTER SALON UNITES NEW MUSIC WORKS WITH BAY AREA COMPOSERS

(DECEMBER 2001) On Oct. 5, the chapter's Salon Series and Old First Concerts joined forces to present New Music Works, the acclaimed ensemble from Santa Cruz. Led by Phil Collins, the ensemble presented vibrant performances of new works by Bay Area composers Belinda L. Reynolds, Erling Wold, Hyo-Shin Na, Paul Davies, and Dan Becker. Collins also led a lively post-show discussion with the composers and audience. Old First Concerts has been presenting concerts at Old First Church in San Francisco for 30 years. This was the first time the chapter had been represented on Old First Concerts' well-established series, and was a great opportunity to bring the exciting music of these chapter composers to a new audience.

BERKELEY SYMPOHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCED AS NEW CITS PARTNER

(DECEMBER 2001) Composer in the Schools – the groundbreaking Forum program that connects professional composers with high school students – has a new partner, the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. As part of the BSO's Music Education Program, high school students in composer Katrina Wreede's composition class will have fully orchestrated arrangements of their works performed by the BSO Chamber Orchestra at a concert in spring 2002.

JULY 200GATHER THE TROOPS
The Forum Holds Annual Meeting and Chapter Conference

(JULY 2001) From July 13-16, the Humanities Education Center in St. Paul played host to the Forum's yearly Chapter Conference. Chapter Directors and National Staff used the occasion to exchange programming ideas, address the challenges of the chapter system's rapid growth, and facilitate better communication between the 10 regional chapters and the national office.

On July 14, Forum members and members of the board of directors joined conference participants for the organization's Annual Meeting. Marking the new fiscal year, the gathering began with the final meeting of the Forum's 2001 board and concluded with the 2002 board's inaugural meeting. Plenty of time was also allowed for a celebration of the past year's successes, including presentations honoring those who made them possible.

 

REYNOLDS HONORED AT GATHERING

(JUNE 2001) The chapter had a party in honor of Founding Director Darcy Reynolds, who recently stepped down from her post. The evening was a chance to thank Reynolds for her many accomplishments and to introduce members and friends to new Chapter Director Tod Brody. A grand time was had by all.

 

MILLIKAN AND ENGELHART COMPLETE RESIDENCY WITH BERKELEY ART CENTER

(FEBRUARY 2001) From Feb. 4-17, composer Ann Millikan and painter Selena Engelhart were in residence at the Berkeley Art Center. The residency, Water From Your Spring, was sponsored in part by a Community Partners grant from the chapter.

An opening for Engelhart took place on Feb. 11, and her work was on display throughout the week. Millikan's music was performed in two concerts at the BAC, on Feb. 16 and 17. The performance featured the California E.A.R. Unit new music ensemble, and included collaborations with poet-writer Opal Palmer Adisa and choreographer Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole. The concert program included nine pieces, four of which were premieres, and was preceded by a preconcert talk with Millikan.

As part of the residency, California E.A.R. Unit presented two shows for public school children in the community, and Adisa and Ladzekpo-Cole gave writing and dance workshops at BAC. Featured saxophonist Eric Barber also held a workshop on improvisation, which included a discussion with Millikan about the performer-composer collaborative process.

 

JOSHEFF PREMIERED BY EMPRYEAN ENSEMBLE AND WESTLAKE STUDENTS

(FEBRUARY 2001) On Feb. 3, the Empyrean Ensemble premiered Peter Josheff's Prosperous Soul, Gregarious Heart at the Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley. Twelve young performers from Westlake Middle School in Oakland enhanced the piece, which was commissioned with the help of the Forum's Community Engagement Program. Josheff and Empyrean percussionist David Carlisle brought newly created instruments into the school and trained the students (who had never even heard a concert of new music) in their use and in the performance of the new work. "It was great to see and hear these children playing alongside seasoned professional musicians," says Empyrean Co-director Ross Bauer. "They brought a lot of heart to the music. Peter's piece integrated them in a very natural and successful way."

 

WINTER 2000-2001 COMMUNITY PARTNERS ANNOUNCED
(FEBRUARY 2001)

The Empyrean Ensemble was awarded funds to commission a new work from Bay Area composer Peter Josheff and to support two in-school visits to West Lake Middle School in Oakland by Mr. Josheff and percussionist David Carlisle to teach a group of 15-20 sixth grade children their parts for hand-held percussion instruments, an essential component of Josheff's work. The work will be premiered on Saturday, February 3, 2001 at the Julia Morgan Center in Berkeley on a concert specifically designed for children. The two other works on the program, chosen for their accessibility to children, will be Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat and a work by Yu-Hui Chang, Empyrean's co-director, scored for the L'Histoire instrumentation.

The Nevada County Composers Coalition was awarded funding assistance for a Local Youth Arts and Education Project. The Odyssey, an original opera based on Homer's epic, designed for young performers and composed by Nevada City resident Jay Sydeman to a verse libretto by John Deaderick, will be performed five times in the late fall of 2001 by young musicians, dancers and acting singers, largely drawn from the award-winning band and choral programs at Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley.

Composer Ann Millikan was awarded funds for Water from Your Spring, an artistic residency February 11-17, 2001 which will consist of a unique collaboration of a composer, Ann Millikan, and painter, Selena Engelhart, creating work in response to each other. They will be in residence at the Berkeley Art Center and the residency will be open to the public. There will be two concerts of Millikan's music, including the premiere of four new works, on February 16 & 17 at the Berkeley Art Center featuring the California E.A.R. Unit, the acclaimed contemporary music ensemble from Los Angeles. Collaborations with Jamaican poet/writer Opal Palmer Adisa and African-American choreographer Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole will also be part of the project. Millikan will be part of a discussion with saxophonist Eric Barber about the performer/composer collaborative process. Moderated pre-concert talks will also take place with the four main artist discussing their collaboration.

Music Now, founded in 1989 as a means of bringing Sacramento audiences closer to music of their own time, was awarded funding toward their project The History Lesson. The History Lesson is a cross-generational theater piece for new music ensemble, soloists, and high school choir, with music by Howard Hersh and texts by Francesca Hersh. Inspired by the Columbine tragedy and devoted to exploring fundamental issues affecting contemporary youth, The History Lesson will be premiered on the California State University–Sacramento 2001 Festival of New American Music with outreach performances at two Sacramento area high schools. This theater piece is a unique vehicle for engaging a mixed community in an avant-garde artistic project, and for employing music as a means of encouraging youth to examine the consequences of their behavior and explore new ways of interacting with their peers.

TOD BRODY SELECTED AS NEW BAY AREA CHAPTER DIRECTOR

(FEBRUARY 2001) The Forum is pleased to announce that we have selected Tod Brody as the Director of the Forum's San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

Tod is a flutist, educator and administrator who has enjoyed a career of great variety, including 25 years as a professional performer and teacher. He also has a 20-year background in business management which gave him the musical and managerial qualifications we were seeking.

A member of the Sacramento Symphony for many years, Tod was a frequent soloist on both flute and piccolo. He currently teaches flute and chamber music at the University of California, Davis, where he also performs with the faculty wind quintet and with the Empyrean Ensemble, a contemporary chamber ensemble in residence at UCD. Tod has participated in many world premieres, where he collaborated closely with the composers, and has been recorded on the CRI, Centaur, Arabesque, New World, and Magnon labels in conjunction with the Empyrean, Earplay and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. When not performing contemporary music, he may often be found in the orchestras of the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, and in other chamber and orchestral settings throughout northern California.

He also has a strong background in administration, contract negotiations and research coordination, and has served as general manager of a prosperous medical laboratory and as proprietor of his own music contracting business. Tod will officially begin serving as Chapter Director on February 15th.

CHAPTER HOSTS SALON AT NOE VALLEY MINISTRY

(JANUARY 2001) On Jan. 21, the chapter held a Composers/Poets Salon at Noe Valley Ministry in San Francisco, featuring the works of composers Lawrence Wayte, Darcy Reynolds, and Jay Sydeman in collaboration with poets Rich Mertes and Molly Fisk. Following the performances, the full house was treated to a lively question-and-answer session. The Ministry's Karen Heather described the Q&A as "a wonderful insight into the creative process ... [that left] at least a few people less intimidated by contemporary music."

 

DARCY REYNOLDS STEPS DOWN AS CHAPTER DIRECTOR

(JANUARY 2001) It is with regret that we announce that Darcy Reynolds, founding director of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Forum is stepping down from her post as Chapter Director. Citing both health issues and a greater focus on her career as a composer and pianist for stepping back, she will continue to serve the chapter as an artistic advisor and consultant on program development and management.

Since founding the Chapter in March of 1997, Darcy has been a great asset to the Forum as we have developed and defined our chapters in San Francisco and elsewhere around the country. Her energy, leadership, innovation, critical thinking and untiring devotion to establishing the Bay Area Chapter leaves the Chapter with an excellent array of ongoing programs and support.

We hope you will join all of us at the Forum in extending our deepest gratitude to Darcy for her service to ACF and to composer and communities in the Bay Area. We look forward to her continued involvement as we make this transition.