College of Creative Arts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS
Ariane Bicho, Publicist
College of Creative Arts
San Francisco State University
(415) 338-1442
(415) 338-0520 fax
abicho@sfsu.edu
Press Release published by the Office of Public Affairs
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Morrison
Artists Series Announces 2005/06 Fiftieth Anniversary Season:2005/06
Season Features Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Piano Trio; David Krakauer's
Klezmer Madness; eighth blackbird with Soprano Lucy Shelton in Schoenberg's
Pierrot Lunaire; Juilliard String Quartet;
and Alexander String Quartet with Turtle Island String Quartet
SAN FRANCISCO, July 18, 2005 -- San Francisco's longest-running
chamber music series, the Morrison Artists Series celebrates 50 years
of presenting, free of charge, the world's best chamber music to
Bay Area audiences. Commemorating this milestone, the Morrison Series
opens its 50th Season with a Golden Anniversary Gala Concert featuring
special guest artist, guitar icon Kirk Hammett, on Thursday,
September 15 in Herbst Theatre, War Memorial Performing Arts Center, San Francisco.
Mr. Hammett joins FLUX and the St. Lawrence String Quartet, two groups
that received their West Coast premieres on the Series. This benefit
concert, the first ticketed event in the organization's history,
is followed by five free season concerts presented at McKenna Theatre,
San Francisco State University, featuring distinguished international
talents -- Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Piano Trio, David Krakauer's
Klezmer Madness, eighth blackbird with Soprano Lucy Shelton, Juilliard
String Quartet, and the Alexander String Quartet.
Since 1955, the Morrison
Artists Series has alternated daring and experimental programs with
traditional repertory; favorite compositions by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven
juxtaposed
with the innovative sounds of the 20th
century, including first performances by such composers as San Francisco's
own Pulitzer Prize winning Wayne Peterson, SFSU Professor Emeritus.
Presenting six free concerts each year, the Series has logged an impressive
300
concerts featuring performers from over 20 countries and the West Coast
premieres of groups that are now regulars on international concert
circuits including FLUX, eighth blackbird, Eroica Trio and the St. Lawrence
String
Quartet. The Series' Artistic Director is Saul Gropman.
The Morrison
Artists Series is a program of the May Treat Morrison Chamber Music
Center, established in 1955 by Edward Hohfeld to provide "the
finest music in the most accessible way." Housed at San Francisco
State University, in addition to the world-class concert series, the
Morrison Chamber Music Center operates a top-notch teaching program.
In a strikingly innovative partnership with San Francisco Performances -- a collaboration that Chamber Music America cites as a model to be
emulated -- the Morrison Center established a residency for the renowned
Alexander String
Quartet at San Francisco State's College of Creative Arts in 1989.
Since then, the Quartet has made its mark on chamber music education,
directing the chamber music studies program at the University's
School of Music and Dance, presenting music seminars, and encouraging
students to carry chamber music's artistic torch to the recital
hall and into the classroom.
GOLDEN
ANNIVERSARY CONCERT: THURS., SEPT. 15, 2005, HERBST THEATRE
Metallica's Kirk Hammett, FLUX and the St. Lawrence String Quartet
The 50th Anniversary Season begins with an electrifying concert featuring
special guest artist, Metallica's Kirk Hammett, performing with
FLUX Quartet on SAS (for string quartet and improvised electric guitar),
a work written by the Quartet's experimental violinist Thomas Chiu. "FLUX
and Kirk are a perfect fit for this innovative and aleatoric composition," says
Artistic Director Saul Gropman. "FLUX has an ‘anything goes' spirit,
and Kirk's broad improvisational skills bring this piece together
as a magical marriage of two styles." Mr. Hammet previously forayed
into experimental territory with his heavy metal band and the San Francisco
Symphony, under the baton of Michael Kamen, in April 1999; the result
was the release of Metallica S & M. Also on the Gala Concert program
is the St. Lawrence String Quartet, an ensemble the New Yorker hails
as "remarkable not simply for the quality of their music making…but
for the joy they take in the act of connection." The St. Lawrence
performs Quartet Opus 96 in F Major (American Quartet) by Antonin Dvorak
and then is joined by the FLUX and San Francisco Symphony bassist Stephen
Tramontozzi for Last Rounds (for double string quartet and double bass)
by Osvaldo Golijov. FLUX rounds out the program with a "classical" work,
String Quartet by Conlon Nancarrow.
Thurs.,
Sept. 15, 2005, 8:30 pm, Herbst Theatre, War Memorial Performing Arts
Center, 401 Van Ness Ave,
SF.
Admission:
$28 & $54; Ticket sales begin August 8 via City Box Office:
415/392-4400.
Preceding
the concert is a golden anniversary gala dinner at San Francisco City
Hall rotunda. Champagne reception: 5:30 pm; dinner: 6:30 pm; gala concert
preferred seating: 8:30 pm. Golden anniversary sponsors: $10,000 (tables
of 10); sterling sponsors: $3,000 (tables of 10); individual tickets:
$300. Proceeds benefit the Morrison Concert fund. For information and
reservations, please call Lorraine Garcia-Nakata at 415/405-3857. The Morrison Artists Series Golden Anniversary events are sponsored
by (partial list): Bank of America Private Bank, Trust Department; Frances
and John Bowes; The William K. Bowes Foundation; Roy and Katherine Bukstein;
J. Dennis Bonney; Clement and Jane Galante; Richard and Patricia Taylor
Lee; Fred M. Levine and Nancy Livingston; George D. and Camilla M. Smith;
Morrison and Foerster LLD; Vadasz Family Foundation; and the College
of Creative Arts at San Francisco State University.
CONCERT
TWO: SUN., NOV. 6, 2005, 3 PM, MCKENNA THEATRE
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Piano Trio
With a history befitting their prestigious debut at President Carter's
inauguration in January 1977, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Piano Trio
offers "…chamber music played at the highest level…surging
with vitality," glows the New York Times. Rare for its continuity
as well as its virtuosity, the trio has retained its original members,
performing continually in such enviable venues as the Carnegie Hall's
Centennial Series, and the Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series.
In 2004, the trio began performances as the Kennedy Center Chamber Ensemble
in Residence. Program: Shostakovich, Trio No. 1; Mozart, B-flat Major
Trio, K. 502; Arvo Pärt, Adagio (for KLR); Shostakovich, Trio No.
2 in e minor.
Sun., Nov.
6, 3 pm, McKenna Theatre, Creative Arts Bldg, San Francisco State University,
1600 Holloway Ave @ 19th Ave, Free Admission. CONCERT
THREE: SUN., DEC. 11, 2005, 3 PM, MCKENNA THEATRE
David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness!
"Hot and sophisticated, prone to shooting off into the stratosphere of
the clarinet's clarion high notes with a dizzying combination of aggression
and finesse," says Forward Magazine of David Krakauer's rejuvenation
of the treasured Klezmer music, traditional to Eastern Europe, but influential
around the globe. Krakauer's passion for jazz and the creation
of personal culture, as well as his mastery of composition, arrangement,
and performance have infused this lively band with an ear for preserving
the traditions of the genre while contributing to its evolution. Program:
Der Gasn Nign, Trad., arr. Krakauer; The Russian Shers, Trad.; Klezmer
a la Bechet by Krakauer; Bubbemeises by Jacob Weinberg, arr. Krakauer,
Dolgin; Ms. N.C. by Krakauer; Moskowitz and Loops of It by Dolgin, Krakauer;
Chusen Kale Mazel Tov, Trad.; Turntable Pounding, Trad., arr. Dolgin,
Krakauer; The Dusky Bulgar by Holshouser, arr. Krakauer; Rumania, Rumania
by Aaron Lebedeff, arr. Krakauer, Dolgin; Synagogue Wail by Krakauer;
Sirba, Trad.; B Flat a la Socalled, Trad., arr. Dolgin, Krakauer.
Sun.,
Dec. 11, 3 pm, McKenna Theatre, Creative Arts Bldg, San Francisco State
University, 1600 Holloway Ave @ 19th Ave, Free Admission. CONCERT
FOUR: SUN., FEB. 12, 2006, 3 PM, MCKENNA THEATRE
eighth blackbird with Soprano Lucy Shelton in Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold
Schoenberg
"Wickedly exciting and thought-provoking" [San Jose Mercury News],
new music sextet eighth blackbird can be counted upon for a thrilling
performance. Deeply involved in building a unique repertoire, the Chicago-based
group is joined by soprano Lucy Shelton for Arnold Schoenberg's
seminal atonal song-cycle, Pierrot Lunaire, the story of an artist who
feels compelled to bare his soul for art's sake. Richly emotive
and overflowing with expressionist longing, this masterful setting of
21 poems by French symbolist Albert Giraud is "one of those rare
masterpieces that seems to have materialized out of thin air," says
The Guardian. Blair Thomas's set design and staging uses puppetry,
shadows and the costumed members of eighth blackbird and Ms. Shelton
to visually underscore Schoenberg's intense, hallucinatory musical
landscape. Noted for her "contemporary vocal fireworks" by
Gramophone Magazine, Shelton is an excellent fit for Schoenberg's
sizzling work.
Sun.,
Feb. 12, 3 pm, McKenna Theatre, Creative Arts Bldg, San Francisco
State University, 1600 Holloway Ave @ 19th Ave, Free Admission. CONCERT
FIVE: SUN., MARCH 26, 2006, 3 PM, MCKENNA THEATRE
Juilliard String Quartet
"The Juilliard String Quartet remains the standard by which all other
quartets must be judged," hails the Los Angeles Times. For over
50 years, the Juilliard String Quartet has rung with accolades, and in
its history has premiered over 60 new works by American composers. Continuing
the history of prestige and excellence, the present day members have
garnered, among other honors, four Grammy awards, multiple awards from
the French Publications Repertoire and Diapason, and inclusion in the
National Academy Recording Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame. Quartet-in-residence
at the Library of Congress since 1962, the Juilliard has been dubbed
the "First Family" of Chamber Music. Program: Schubert, Quartet
in A minor, D. 804, "Rosamunde"; Ezequiel Viñao, Quartet
No. 2 "The Loss and the Silence" (commissioned by the Juilliard
School); Brahms, Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67.
Sun.,
March 26, 3 pm, McKenna Theatre, Creative Arts Bldg, San Francisco
State University,
1600 Holloway Ave @ 19th Ave, Free Admission.
CONCERT SIX: SUN., JUNE 4, 2006, 3 PM, MCKENNA THEATRE
Alexander String Quartet with Special Guest: Just added! Turtle Island
String Quartet
This is "a group deep in its element, firm in its stride," says
the Los Angeles Times, and one whose element is constantly in flux. Known
for exacting musicianship and exceptional stylistic range, the Alexander
String Quartet, SFSU's quartet-in-residence funded in part by the
Morrison Chamber Music Center, earns regular acclaim for its superlative
performances throughout the country. Equally at home with Beethoven and
Bartok, the members have recorded more than a dozen CDs, including a
nine-disc set of the complete Beethoven quartets, and are known to let
audiences choose an evening's program. Program: To be announced.
Sun.,
June 4, 3 pm, McKenna Theatre, Creative Arts Bldg, San Francisco
State University, 1600 Holloway Ave @ 19th Ave, Free Admission. ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Since 1989 Saul Gropman has been artistic director of the Morrison Artists
Series at San Francisco State University. A classical guitarist, Mr.
Gropman is active as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Performing
in Europe, South America, and across the United States, he has collaborated
with both the Alexander
and Kronos String Quartets; with tenor Paul Sperry, and has appeared
as soloist with the Sacramento Symphony, New York Chamber Orchestra,
Inland Empire Symphony, and the Symphony of the Redwoods. Saul Gropman
received both his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Manhattan School of
Music as a scholarship student of Manuel Barrueco. He was chosen by Maestro
Andrés Segovia to perform in his Master Classes in Los Angeles
and New York and also participated in the III Concurso Internacional
de la Guitarra in Alicante, Spain under José Tomás. Past
Morrison Artists Series Artistic Directors were Ferenc Molnar, Andor
Toth and Laszlo Varga. TICKETS AND INFORMATION
Single tickets for the Golden Anniversary Benefit Concert with special
guest Kirk Hammett on Thursday, September 15, 2005 at Herbst Theatre
go on sale August 8 and can be purchased through City Box Office
at 415/392-4400. Tickets for the Gala Dinner including Preferred
Concert Seating are on sale now and can be purchased by calling Lorraine
Garcia-Nakata at 415/405-3857.
All
other concerts are free (as usual) and presented in McKenna
Theatre, located
in the Creative Arts Building on the San Francisco State University
campus, 1600 Holloway Ave @ 19th Ave, San Francisco.
For general
information about the Morrison Series, please call Ariane Bicho at
415/338-1442 or visit www.morrisonseries.org.
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