San Francisco Contemporary Music Players on STAGE series Oceanic Migrations MICHAEL GORDON ROOMFUL OF TEETH SPLINTER REEDS September 14, 2019 Cowell Theater Fort Mason Cultural Center San Francisco, CA SFCMP SAN FRANCISCO CONTEMPORARY MUSIC PLAYERS San Francisco Contemporary Music Brown, Olly Wilson, Michael Gordon, Players is the West Coast’s most Du Yun, Myra Melford, and Julia Wolfe. long-standing and largest new music The Contemporary Players have ensemble, comprised of twenty-two been presented by leading cultural highly skilled musicians. For 49 years, festivals and concert series including the San Francisco Contemporary Music San Francisco Performances, Los Players have created innovative and Angeles Monday Evening Concerts, Cal artistically excellent music and are one Performances, the Stern Grove Festival, Tod Brody, flute Kate Campbell, piano of the most active ensembles in the the Festival of New American Music at Kyle Bruckmann, oboe David Tanenbaum, guitar United States dedicated to contemporary CSU Sacramento, the Ojai Festival, and Sarah Rathke, oboe Hrabba Atladottir, violin music. Holding an important role in the France’s prestigious MANCA Festival. regional and national cultural landscape, The Contemporary Music Players Jeff Anderle, clarinet Susan Freier, violin the Contemporary Music Players are a nourish the creation and dissemination Peter Josheff, clarinet Roy Malan, violin 2018 awardee of the esteemed Fromm of new works through world-class Foundation Ensemble Prize, and a performances, commissions, and Adam Luftman, trumpet Meena Bhasin, viola ten-time winner of the CMA/ASCAP community and education programs. Peter Wahrhaftig, tuba Nanci Severance, viola Award for Adventurous Programming. The Players perform the music of Chris Froh, percussion Hannah Addario-Berry, cello The Players have performed more than composers from across cultures and 1,200 works by over 600 composers; stylistic traditions who are creating a Loren Mach, percussion Stephen Harrison, cello over 300 of these performances have vast and vital 21st-century musical William Winant, percussion Richard Worn, contrabass been premieres, and the organization language featuring the work of iconic has commissioned over 80 major and emerging composers while shining Nick Woodbury, percussion works including pieces from composers a spotlight on works for large ensemble such as John Adams, John Cage, Earle and California artists. 2 • San Francisco Contemporary Music Players SFCMP.org • 3 SFCMP ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ERIC DUDLEY Born in Toronto and raised in Ensemble, American Symphony position at the Conservatory of Music at Connecticut, Eric Dudley leads a Orchestra, Ensemble Signal and the The University of the Pacific in Stockton. multi-faceted career as a conductor, New York Philharmonic. He was an As a pianist and chamber musician, composer, vocalist and pianist deeply assistant conductor for the Cincinnati he has performed with members of engaged in the performance and Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi Novus New York and the Cincinnati and creation of contemporary music. and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra Princeton symphony orchestras, and Since its founding in 2009, Eric has under Rossen Milanov for several his own music has been premiered and been a member of the genre-defying seasons, and some of his recent guest recorded by the Hartford Symphony vocal octet Roomful of Teeth, touring engagements include the Ojai Festival in Orchestra, Quey Percussion Duo, and by worldwide and recording a wide array California, International Contemporary Roomful of Teeth. Eric lives in Walnut of newly commissioned works with the Ensemble (ICE) in New York and Creek with his wife Melanie and their Grammy Award-winning ensemble. In Finland, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra infant son Ethan. the 2018-2019 season, he returns to in Australia, and the National Symphony Australia as principal conductor for the Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. He Bendigo Festival of Exploratory Music, served on the faculty of The New School where he has also appeared on the and Mannes College of Music in New Melbourne Festival, and leads Roomful York, where he directed the Mannes of Teeth and Ensemble L’Instant Donné Prep Philharmonic and The New in a production with Peter Sellars at School Chorus. He currently teaches the Paris Festival d’Automne. While conducting at the San Francisco living in New York, he conducted and Conservatory of Music, having directed performed with organizations as diverse the orchestra program there for two as Ekmeles and Tenet vocal ensembles, seasons, and he was recently appointed the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Talea to a year-long Artist-in-Residence 4 • San Francisco Contemporary Music Players SFCMP.org • 5 A MESSAGE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, ERIC DUDLEY Dear friends of SFCMP, Francisco as a center for immigration connections run deep on all levels. to the United States that inspired this Because of this, we know beyond a Thank you for being with us tonight for very commissioning process and this doubt that you are guaranteed an the season-opening concert of our 49th new musical work of art, and we invite extraordinary listening experience year! This evening’s concert is a truly you to enjoy the results of that process this evening, and we invite you to special one, and one with the promise tonight within direct physical and visual immerse yourself in the creativity, of historic intersections on many levels; proximity to the landmarks that define thoughtfulness, and questions raised by it will be the first time ever that both that history. Michael Gordon’s new piece. Roomful of Teeth and Splinter Reeds join the Contemporary Players onstage, It is also a special concert for me on a Once again, thank you for joining us and the premiere performance of a new personal level, since the long-standing tonight, and please continue to engage concert-length work by Michael Gordon, relationships among the performers with us for the rest of the exciting and one of the founding composers of cannot go without mention. Having extremely varied offerings that we have New York’s powerhouse contemporary been a member of Roomful of Teeth ahead in our 49th season! music collective Bang On A Can. since its founding in 2009, it is a supreme pleasure for me to be able to In highest regard, The location for tonight’s concert welcome my colleagues to our stage was chosen very specifically; aside in the tenth anniversary year of that Eric Dudley, Artistic Director from being a beautifully updated and group to create a new work with us enjoyable concert space, the Cowell tonight — and since several members Theater sits within direct view of the of the brilliant reed quintet Splinter Golden Gate, of San Francisco Bay, and Reeds have also performed and still of Angel Island on the far side of the perform within the membership of the water. It is the history of San Contemporary Players, the musical 6 • San Francisco Contemporary Music Players SFCMP.org • 7 SCHEDULE PROGRAM September 7-14, 2019 at Angel Island, Immigration Station Barracks aiisf.org/visit Michael Gordon, In a Strange Land (2019) (c.75’) (Commission)(World Premiere) Educational multimedia installation about the creation and development of this project showing at the historical Immigration Station Barracks on Angel Island. SAN FRANCISCO GUEST ARTISTS CONTEMPORARY For free entry to the Sept. 14 concert, bring an Angel Island ferry ticket, receipt, MUSIC PLAYERS ROOMFUL OF TEETH SPLINTER REEDS or any collateral from Angel Island or Immigration Station Museum. Brendan Lai Tong, trombone Estelí Gomez, soprano Kyle Bruckmann, oboe Peter Wahrhaftig, tuba Martha Cluver, soprano Bill Kalinkos, clarinet September 14, 2019 at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Kate Campbell, keyboard Eliza Bagg, mezzo soprano Jeff Anderle, bass clarinet Christopher Froh, percussion Virginia Warnken, alto David Wegehaupt, saxophone 6:00pm Doors open, full-service bar and finger food available by Cow Hollow Hrabba Atladottir, violin Stephen Soph, tenor Dana Jessen, bassoon Meena Bhasin, viola Jason Awbry, baritone Catering at the venue Hannah Addario-Berry, cello Thann Scoggin, baritone Richard Worn, double bass Cameron Beauchamp, bass 7:00pm Pre-concert discussion with composer Michael Gordon; Rick Dylan Goodhue, sound Quan, two time Emmy award-winning broadcaster and filmmaker; William engineer Greene, Archivist, The National Archives at San Francisco; and William Lowe, community advisor. This project was made possible in part through the generosity of the Clarence E. Heller Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts. 8:00pm Concert A special thank you to Angel Island State Park, California State Parks, and Angel Post-concert Reception Island Immigration Station Foundation. 8 • San Francisco Contemporary Music Players SFCMP.org • 9 NOTES ON THE PROGRAM by Artistic Director, Eric Dudley room for interpretation and debate. that inhabited these lands before the The history of the U.S. Immigration In the end, if one function of art is to arrival of Europeans, virtually any other Station at Angel Island in the San For composers dealing in heavily reflect the times in which it is created, people to have come here over the Francisco Bay shows no exception to politicized topics, each one searches each composer must decide how much last few hundred years are in some this paradigm. Though now proclaimed out and discerns their own path to an or how little to allow the political and way classifiable as ‘immigrants.’ a ‘sanctuary state,’ the official stance artistic response. Some seek from the social spheres of the given moment to How the United States as a political of California’s government specifically beginning to tackle a particular issue come to bear on their own work, and entity has dealt with the topic since toward Asian immigrants for the better or a number of problems head-on, if at all, then how exactly to encounter its establishment and expansion part of a century was anything but making overt political statements that and incorporate those factors.