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Home , Aaron Dessner, Appomattox (opera), Bryce Dessner, In San Francisco, Pacific Boychoir, Red Hot Organization

CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS PROGRAM

Saturday, December 7, 2013, 8pm George Crumb (b. 1929) Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Zellerbach Hall Dark Land (1970) i. departure 1. Threnody I: Night of the Electric Insects 2. Sounds of Bones and Flutes 40th birthday celebration 3. Lost Bells 4. Devil-music 5. Danse Macabre David Harrington, violin ii. absence John Sherba, violin 6. Pavana Lachrymæ Hank Dutt, viola 7. Threnody II: Black Angels! Sunny Yang, cello 8. Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura 9. Lost Bells (Echo) Jack Carpenter, lighting supervisor iii. return Scott Fraser and Brian Mohr, audio engineers 10. God-music Calvin Ll. Jones, technical associate 11. Ancient Voices 12. Ancient Voices (Echo) 13. Threnody III: Night of the Electric Insects PROGRAM For Black Angels: Laurence Neff, lighting and stage designer Brian Mohr, sound designer (b. 1935) Another Secret eQuation (2009)* Calvin Ll. Jones, technical director Bay Area première Plus appearances by Daniel Handler and other special guests. with special guests Pacific Boychoir Academy, Kevin Fox, director, conductor Young Women’s Chorus of San Francisco, Susan McMane, director The program is subject to change.

arr. † * Written for Kronos (b. 1937) Orion: China (2004) ( Michael Riesman) † Arranged for Kronos Bay Area première with special guest Wu Man,

Bryce Dessner (b. 1976) Aheym (Homeward) (2009)* This performance is made possible, in part, by the Bernard Osher Foundation with special guest , guitar and Patron Sponsors Dr. Philip D. and Shirley D. Schild.

Cal Performances’ 2013–2014 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. INTERMISSION

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Terry Riley (b. 1935) feelings arising from inspiration. For rolls along. Imagining night and film. His scores have received Academy Award Another Secret eQuation (2009) those who dare to put pen to paper to day as it hums a song. nominations (, The Hours, Notes on a engage with the divine geometries inher- Bora…bora bora. Scandal) and a Golden Globe (The Truman Terry Riley first came to prominence in 1964 ent in the sound fabric, there seems to be Zla dee doo dha…doo dha Show). Symphony No. 7 and Symphony No. 8, when he subverted the world of tightly orga- an underlying network that, in the flash day…zlee doo dha along with Waiting for the Barbarians, an nized atonal composition then in fashion. With of a moment’s recognition, connects the Doo day zlee doo dha day based on the book by J. M. Coetzee, premièred the groundbreaking —a work built upon un-connectable. doo day zlee doo dha day in 2005. steady pulse throughout; short, simple repeated My good friend Hans Siegmann, doo day zlee doo dha In the past few years several new works were melodic motives; and static harmonies—Riley who left this world suddenly on June 2, Bora…bora bora. unveiled, including Book of Longing (Luminato achieved an elegant and non-nostalgic return to 2009, was a prominent physicist and A shaba dooba shaba day Festival) and an opera about the end of the tonality. In demonstrating the hypnotic allure of project director at the Stanford Linear Shlot dot dilly ot dot dot ot Civil War entitled (San Francisco complex musical patterns made of basic means, Accelerator Center and, like his famous dilly ot dot dilly ot dot dot Opera). His Symphony No. 9 was completed he produced the seminal work of the so-called colleague Albert Einstein, also an ac- Waih daih waih daih waih in 2011 and was premièred by the Bruckner “minimalist” school. complished violinist. Although in fail- daih waih daih whai daih Orchestra in Linz, Austria on January 1, 2012, Riley’s facility for complex pattern-making ing health, Hans and his wife, pianist dilly dah. and his Symphony No. 10 received its European is the product of his virtuosity as a keyboard im- Katrina Krimsky, came to Can it be any other way? The première in France in 2013. The Teatro Real in proviser. He quit formal composition following from San Francisco on April 24, 2009, Universe makes it up as it rolls along. Madrid and commis- In C in order to concentrate on improvisation, for the presentation of In C that was or- Unraveling night and day as it hums a sioned Glass’s opera , about and in the late 1960s and early ’70s he became ganized by the Kronos Quartet. Katrina song. The Universe makes it up. Ha! the death of , which premièred in known for weaving dazzlingly intricate skeins of played the “pulse” at that concert, and Terry Riley’s Another Secret eQuation was January 2013, while the Landestheater Linz pre- music from improvisations on organ and syn- the Young People’s Chorus of New York commissioned for the Kronos Quartet and mièred his opera Spuren de Verirrten on April 12, thesizer. At this time, Riley also devoted himself City played a major part as well. At that the Young People’s Chorus of 2013. Upcoming projects include a song cycle for to studying North Indian vocal techniques un- time was born the idea to join Kronos by The James Irvine Foundation, The Kronos and the Brussels Philharmonic, der the legendary Pandit Pran Nath, and a new and the Young People’s Chorus in a new Performing Arts Association, The Aaron as well as an opera based on Franz Kafka’s The element entered his music: long-limbed melody. première for Zankel Hall. I started the Copland Fund for Music, Inc., and the New Trial for Music Theatre Wales. From his work in Indian music, moreover, he piece shortly after Hans’s death. It is York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Inspired by the challenge to create a work for became interested in the subtle distinctions of dedicated to his memory. a world audience on the occasion of the Athens tuning that would be hard to achieve with a tra- I wrote the text keeping in mind Cultural Olympiad in summer 2004, Glass ditional classical ensemble. that young people would be singing, and Philip Glass (b. 1937) conceived an evening-length work that contem- Riley began notating music again in 1979, that the ideas expressed would gently Orion: China (2004) plates the Earth’s relationship to the constella- when both he and the Kronos Quartet were on address the actions of their elders and Arranged by Michael Riesman tions as interpreted by the world’s many cultures. the faculty at Mills College in Oakland. By col- the overwhelmingly messy world the Conceived in ten movements, the original ver- laborating with Kronos, he discovered that his kids were being handed. The third sec- Born in Baltimore, , Philip Glass is a sion of Orion featured the various musical passions could be integrated, tion offers up some nonsense syllables as graduate of the University of Chicago and the in collaboration with seven of the world’s most not as pastiche, but as different sides of similar a possible antidote to the gobbledygook Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, Glass spent esteemed composer-performers who performed musical impulses that still maintained some- that poses as wisdom from some of our two years of intensive study in Paris with Nadia live with the Philip Glass Ensemble. Each guest thing of the oral performing traditions of India esteemed leaders. Boulanger and, while there, earned money by performer was chosen for their unique mastery and jazz. Riley’s first quartets were inspired by Another Secret eQuation is in three transcribing ’s Indian music into of a global musical tradition and worked in close his keyboard improvisations, but his knowledge sections with no breaks: Western notation. By 1974, Glass had a number collaboration with Glass to incorporate their in- of string quartets became more sophisticated 1. We are lost and cannot of innovative projects, creating a large collection dividual perspective into the composition. Wu through his work with Kronos, combining rig- find our way. A turn to the left, of new music for the Philip Glass Ensemble, and Man was one of the seven collaborators; her sec- orous compositional ideas with a more perfor- a turn to the right.... Who made for the Mabou Mines Theater Company. This tion, Orion: China, was subsequently arranged mance-oriented approach. it dark? … Who turned out the period culminated in , and for pipa and string quartet. About Another Secret eQuation, Riley writes: light? the landmark opera, , for About the original version of Orion, Philip There are no secrets and no equa- 2. They never listen to us.... which he collaborated with . Glass writes: tions recognizable in this music, but No, never! Since Einstein, Glass has expanded his Orion was commissioned by the only a suspicion that there is something 3. Can it be any other way? repertoire to include music for opera, dance, 2004 Cultural Olympiad and premièred sacred in the unraveling of thought and The Universe makes it up as it theater, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and in Athens in June 2004 preceding the

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Olympic Games. For this special event, from both the Northern and Southern Dessner is the creator and artistic director Aheym is dedicated to my grand- I assembled a group of renowned com- hemispheres. It seems that almost ev- of the Music Now Festival in , Ohio, mother, Sarah Dessner. poser-performers to collaborate with ery civilization has created myths and and the co-founder and owner of the Brassland Bryce Dessner’s Aheym was written for the me on an evening-length work that, in taken inspiration from Orion. As the record label. He and recently pro- Kronos Quartet, and appears on Kronos’s re- its multinational format, is intended work progressed, each of the composer- duced an AIDS charity compilation, Dark Was cording Aheym, released on ANTI- Records. to reflect the international character of performers, including myself, drew from the Night, for the . Dessner the Olympiad itself. I collaborated with that inspiration in creating their work. serves on the board of The Kitchen, and is a grad- Mark Atkins (didjeridoo) from Australia, In this way the starry heavens, seen from uate of Yale College and the Yale School of Music. George Crumb (b. 1929) Wu Man (pipa) from China, Foday all over our planet, inspired us in mak- About Aheym, Dessner writes: Black Angels (1970) Musa Suso (kora) from Africa, UAKTI ing and presenting a multicultural, in- David Harrington asked me to write (multi-instrumentalists) from , ternational musical work. a piece for the Kronos Quartet for a per- “Things were turned upside down. There Ravi Shankar (sitar) from India, Ashley Michael Riesman’s arrangement of Orion: formance in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I were terrifying things in the air...they MacIsaac (violin) from Nova Scotia, China by Philip Glass was written for the live just two blocks from the park and found their way into Black Angels.”— Canada, and Eleftheria Arvanitaki (vo- Kronos Quartet and Wu Man. spend many mornings running around George Crumb calist) from Greece. it. The park for me symbolizes much of Since 1964, I have been actively what I love about New York, especially George Crumb’s Black Angels, inspired by the engaged in musical encounters with Bryce Dessner (b. 1976) the stunning diversity of Brooklyn with Vietnam War, draws from an arsenal of sounds composers from musical traditions dif- Aheym (2009) its myriad cultures and communities. including shouting, chanting, whistling, whis- ferent than my own. I began working My father’s family, Jewish immigrants pering, gongs, maracas, and crystal glasses. The with Ravi Shankar in 1964 as his music Bryce Dessner is a composer, guitarist, and cu- from Poland and Russia, also lived near score bears two inscriptions: “in tempore belli” assistant on the film Chappaqua. Our rator based in New York City, best known as the park for many years in the 1940s and (in time of war) and “Finished on Friday the friendship flourished and led to a mu- the guitarist for the rock band The National. ’50s before moving to Queens. In dis- Thirteenth, March, 1970.” sical recording, Passages, in 1989. … I Their albums Alligator (2005) and Boxer (2007) cussing the new piece, David proposed Crumb was born in Charleston, West recently completed an opera, Sound of a were named albums of the year in publications to perform the work in Brooklyn, and Virginia, in 1929. He studied at the Mason Voice, featuring Wu Man, the pipa vir- throughout the world; was released then to retrace the journey of my grand- College of Music in Charleston and studied for tuoso, which premièred at the American in 2010. Dessner has received widespread ac- parents and perform it in Łódź, Poland, the master’s degree at the University of Illinois at Repertory Theater in Boston. Though we claim as a composer and guitarist for the impro- a city where my great-grandparents lived Urbana-Champaign. He continued his studies at have known each other for years and of- vising quartet Clogs. He has performed and/or and through which my grandmother the Hochschule für Musik, Berlin, and received ten talked about working together, this recorded with , Antony Hegarty, passed on her voyage to America. a D.M.A. from the University of Michigan. has been our first opportunity to do so. guitarist , Philip Glass, “Aheym” means “homeward” in Crumb’s music often juxtaposes contrasting In the same way that civilizations Michael Gordon, the All-Stars, Yiddish, and this piece is written as mu- musical styles. The references range from mu- are united by themes, history, and visual artist Matthew Ritchie, among oth- sical evocation of the idea of flight and sic of the Western art-music tradition to hymns and customs, we singularly and together ers. He premièred and recorded 2x5 by Steve passage. As little boys, my brother and and folk music to non-Western musics. Many of are united by the commonality of the Reich in 2009. I used to spend hours with my grand- Crumb’s works include programmatic, symbol- natural world: rivers, oceans, the organic As a composer, he is the recipient of a Jerome mother, asking her about the details of ic, mystical, and theatrical elements, which are environment of forests and mountains. Grant from the American Composers Forum and how she came to America. She could often reflected in his beautiful and meticulously And the stars. Stargazing must be one of The Kitchen (New York), for a full concert of his only give us a smattering of details, but notated scores. the oldest pastimes of humanity. It led music in 2007, and a commission from Thyssen- they all found their way into our collec- Crumb has been honored with festivals de- to astrology, astronomy, measurement of Bornemisza Art Contemporary (Vienna) to create tive imagination, eventually becoming voted to his music from Los Angeles to Moscow, the seasons, and the very beginnings of a 40-minute spatial sound work for The Morning a part of our own cultural identity and and from Scandinavia to South America. He is science. I think no single experience of Line, an outdoor sound pavilion by Matthew connection to the past. In her poem Di the winner of a 2001 Grammy Award and the the world speaks to us so directly as when Ritchie. He has also received commissions from rayze aheym, the American-Yiddish poet 1968 Pulitzer Prize in Music, and was named we contemplate the infinity of space, its the Rosenbach Library in Philadelphia in honor Irena Klepfisz, a professor at Barnard Musical America’s Composer of the Year in vastness and countless heavenly bodies. of ’s bicentennial, and BAM’s College in New York and one of the few 2004. He retired from his teaching position at In this way the stars unite us, regardless Next Wave Festival for The Long Count,an eve- child survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto, the University of Pennsylvania after more than of country, ethnicity, and even time. ning-length work with his brother Aaron Dessner. writes: “Among strangers is her home. 30 years of service. Awarded honorary doctor- Orion, the largest constellation in He composed the score for Turn the River, a film Here right here she must live. Her mem- ates by numerous universities and the recipient the night sky, can be seen in all seasons written and directed by Chris Eigman. ories will become monuments.” of dozens of awards and prizes, he makes his

78 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 79 PROGRAM NOTES CHORUS ROSTER home in Pennsylvania. Crumb’s music is pub- PACIFIC BOYCHOIR ACADEMY YOUNG WOMEN’S CHORUS lished by C. F. Peters and the ongoing series of Kevin Fox, Founding Artistic Director OF SAN FRANCISCO “Complete Crumb” recordings, supervised by Susan McMane, Artistic Director & altos the composer, is being issued on Bridge Records. Adam Arega sopranos About Black Angels, Crumb writes: Neil Evans Anna Sophia Boyd Black Angels was conceived as a kind George Goodhead Katrina Duong of parable on our troubled contemporary Owen Liquori Isabella Hord world. The work portrays a voyage of the Nicholas Main Andrea Kim soul. The three stages of this voyage are Aidan Mattingly-App Aria Lee Departure (fall from grace), Absence Draven McGill Madison MacGregor (spiritual annihilation), and Return Cameron Miya Maya Payne-Schomaker Thomas Mosley (redemption). Alyssa Tsuyuki Louis Pecceu Kaitlyn Tsuyuki The numerological symbolism of Andrew Reinfranck Kayla Wilfong Black Angels, while perhaps not immedi- Aaron Sanchez ately perceptible to the ear, is nonetheless David Schneidinger altos quite faithfully reflected in the musical Cap Sharon Sofia Chandler-Freed structure. These “magical” relationships Julia Chin are variously expressed: e.g., in terms of & basses Scarlett Cinotti length, groupings of single tones, du- Henry Abrahamson Sophia Friesenhahn Calvin Achorn rations, patterns of repetition, etc. … Emmy Hicks-Jablons Andre Boucher Audrey Kenealy There are several allusions to tonal mu- Liam Cochrane Mia Laurea sic: a quotation from Schubert’s “Death Spencer Fulweiler Blanca Peto and the Maiden” Quartet; an original Julian Gandhi Marissa Rosenberg-Carlson Sarabanda; the sustained B‑major tonal- Derrick Hill Michela Wiley ity of God-Music; and several references Atom Lai Costa to the Latin sequence Dies Iræ (“Day of Matthew Lee Wrath”). The work abounds in conven- Evan Losito William Lundquist tional musical symbolisms, such as the Gregory Martin Diabolus in Musica (the interval of the William Mitchell tritone) and the Trillo Di Diavolo (the Lakin Moser “Devil’s Trill,” after Tartini). Leo Nakamura Kronos’s recording of Black Angels is available Julian Nesbitt on the Nonesuch recording of the same name. Ian Pitman Kronos’s 2008 production of George Josef Presberg Crumb’s Black Angels was supported by a grant Zachary Presberg Christian Ricco from the National Endowment for the Arts as Zachary Salsburg-Frank part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries Abraham Sanchez of Artistic Genius, with additional support from Nathan Savant the Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette Sam Siegel College. Kronos’s original staged version was Brendan Singer commissioned by Hancher Auditorium at the Christopher Singer University of Iowa in 1988.

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string quartet, premièred at an April 2011 concert Dream. Additional films featuring Kronos’s music celebrating Riley’s 75th birthday. Kronos commis- include 21 Grams, Heat, and True Stories. sioned and recorded the three string quartets of The Quartet spends five months of each year Polish composer Henryk Górecki, with whom the on tour, appearing in concert halls, clubs, and fes- group worked for more than 25 years. The Quartet tivals around the world, including the BAM Next has also collaborated extensively with composers Wave Festival, Carnegie Hall, London’s Barbican, such as Philip Glass, recording a CD of his string WOMAD, UCLA’s Royce Hall, Amsterdam’s quartets in 1995 and premièring a new work in Concertgebouw, Shanghai Concert Hall, and the 2014, among other projects; Azerbaijan’s Franghiz . Kronos is equally prolific Ali-Zadeh, whose works are featured on the full- and wide-ranging on recordings. The ensemble’s length 2005 release Mugam Sayagi; , expansive discography on from Kronos’s performance of the Grammy- includes collections like Pieces of Africa (1992), winning composition Different Trains (1989) to the a showcase of African-born composers, which September 11th–themed WTC 9/11 (2011); and simultaneously topped Billboard’s classical and many more. world music lists; 1998’s ten-disc anthology, Kronos In addition to composers, Kronos counts nu- Quartet: 25 Years; Nuevo (2002), a Grammy- and merous performers from around the world among Latin Grammy–nominated celebration of Mexican its collaborators, including the Chinese pipa virtu- culture; and the 2004 Grammy-winner, Alban oso Wu Man; Azeri master vocalist Alim Qasimov; Berg’s Lyric Suite. Among the group’s latest releases legendary Bollywood “playback singer” Asha are Rainbow (Smithsonian Folkways, 2010), in Bhosle, featured on Kronos’s Grammy-nominated collaboration with musicians from Afghanistan

Jay Blakesberg Jay CD You’ve Stolen My Heart: Songs from R. D. and Azerbaijan; Uniko (Ondine, 2011), with Burman’s Bollywood; Inuit throat singer Tanya Finnish accordion/sampler duo Kimmo Pohjonen or 40 years, the Kronos Quartet—David Vietnam War-inspired work featuring bowed wa- Tagaq; Mexican rockers Café Tacvba; sound artist and Samuli Kosminen; and Music of Vladimir FHarrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank ter glasses, spoken-word passages, and electronic and instrument builder Walter Kitundu; and the Martynov (Nonesuch, 2011). Music publishers Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello)—has has effects. Kronos then began building a compelling- Romanian gypsy band Taraf de Haïdouks. Kronos Boosey & Hawkes and Kronos released sheet music pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a ly diverse repertoire for string quartet, perform- has performed live with the likes of icons Allen for three signature Kronos-commissioned works in spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to ing and recording works by 20th-century masters Ginsberg, Zakir Hussain, Modern Jazz Quartet, Kronos Collection, Volume 1 (2006), a performing continually re-imagining the string quartet ex- (Bartók, Webern, Schnittke), contemporary com- Noam Chomsky, Rokia Traoré, , edition edited by Kronos; Volume 2 will be released perience. In the process, Kronos has become one posers (John Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, Aleksandra David Barsamian, Howard Zinn, Betty Carter, in 2013. of the most celebrated and influential groups of our Vrebalov), jazz legends (Ornette Coleman, Charles and David Bowie, and has appeared on recordings In addition to its role as a performing and time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, Mingus, Thelonious Monk), rock artists (guitar by such diverse talents as Nine Inch Nails, Dan recording ensemble, the Quartet is committed releasing more than 50 recordings of extraordinary legend Jimi Hendrix, Brazilian electronica art- Zanes, DJ Spooky, Dave Matthews, Nelly Furtado, to mentoring emerging performers and compos- breadth and creativity, collaborating with many ist Amon Tobin, and Icelandic indie-rock group Joan Armatrading, and Don Walser. In dance, the ers and has led workshops, master classes, and of the world’s most intriguing and accomplished Sigur Rós), and artists who truly defy genre (per- famed choreographers Merce Cunningham, Paul other education programs via the San Francisco composers and performers, and commissioning formance artist , composer-sound Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Eiko & Koma have cre- Conservatory of Music, the State more than 800 works and arrangements for string sculptor-inventor Trimpin, interdisciplinary com- ated pieces with Kronos’s music. Summer School for the Arts, Carnegie Hall’s Weill quartet. In 2011, Kronos became the only recipi- poser-performer Meredith Monk). Kronos’s work has also featured prominently Institute, the Barbican in London, and other insti- ents of both the Polar Music Prize and the Avery Integral to Kronos’s work is a series of long- in a number of films, including, most recently, the tutions in the United States and overseas. Kronos Fisher Prize, two of the most prestigious awards running, in-depth collaborations with many of the Academy Award–nominated AIDS documentary is undertaking extended educational residencies given to musicians. The group’s numerous awards world’s foremost composers. One of the Quartet’s How to Survive a Plague (2012) and Dirty Wars in 2013–2014 at Cal Performances, the Clarice also include a Grammy Award for Best Chamber most frequent composer-collaborators is “Father (2012), a documentary exposé of covert warfare Smith Performing Arts Center at the University Music Performance (2004) and Musicians of the of Minimalism” Terry Riley, whose work with for which Kronos’s David Harrington served as of Maryland, the Special Music School at the Year (2003) from Musical America. Kronos includes Salome Dances for Peace (1985– Music Supervisor. Kronos also performed scores by Kaufman Music Center in New York City, and the Kronos’s adventurous approach dates back to 1986); Sun Rings (2002), a multimedia, NASA- Philip Glass for the filmsMishima and Dracula (a Malta Arts Festival. the ensemble’s origins. In 1973, David Harrington commissioned ode to the Earth and its people, restored edition of the 1931 Tod Browning–Bela With a staff of ten based in San Francisco, the was inspired to form Kronos after hearing George featuring celestial sounds and images from space; Lugosi classic) and by Clint Mansell for the Darren nonprofit Kronos Performing Arts Association Crumb’s Black Angels, a highly unorthodox, and Another Secret eQuation for youth chorus and Aronofsky films The Fountain and Requiem for a (KPAA) manages all aspects of Kronos’s work,

82 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 83 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS including the commissioning of new works, concert yodel, and offers dozens of free performances for 2004. In 2010, Mr. Fox accepted the Grammy chorus program for younger girls. From 2001 tours, concert presentations in the San Francisco local schools every year. Awards for Best Classical Album and Best to 2012, Dr. McMane was the Artistic Director Bay Area, education programs, and more. PBA regularly presents such challenging Choral Performance for the PBA’s participa- of the San Francisco Girls Chorus, with which One of KPAA’s most exciting initiatives is the works as Mozart’s Requiem entirely with male tion in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the San she achieved national and international ac- Kronos: Under 30 Project, a unique commission- voices, and Rachmaninoff’sAll-Night Vigil Francisco Symphony. claim. She has served on college music facul- ing and residency program for composers under performed for the first time in America with Mr. Fox has been on over 40 tours with ties of Saint Louis University, the University of age 30 that has now added five new works to the boy sopranos and altos. The choir’s discogra- boy’s choirs to almost all 50 states, includ- North Dakota and San Francisco State, and was Kronos repertoire. By cultivating creative relation- phy features Bach’s Cantata No. 150, Britten’s ing Alaska and , as well as to Brazil, Founding Artistic Director and Conductor of ships with emerging and established artists from Ceremony of Carols, two of Bach’s “Lutheran” , Taiwan, China, Japan, Australia, the St. Louis Women’s Chorale. around the world, Kronos and KPAA reap the Masses, and two recordings of American spiri- New Zealand, France, England, Wales, Ireland, Dr. McMane has prepared her choirs for benefit of decades of wisdom while maintaining a tuals, That Promised Land and Show Me the Way. Italy, the , Germany, Austria, performances with many leading symphonic fresh approach to music-making. In the 2013–2014 season, in addition to dozens Switzerland, Canada, Spain, and South Africa. conductors, such as , of local appearances, PBA will perform with Helmut Rilling, Robert Spano, Charles Dutoit, The Pacific Boychoir Academy (PBA) was the , the California The Young Women’s Chorus of San Francisco Nicholas McGegan, and . In addi- founded as an after-school program in 1998 with Symphony, the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, (YWC) was founded in 2012 as the very first tion, she has conducted ensembles on tour na- six boys, and today comprises over 170 boys and and the Kronos Quartet. “project” of the Young Women’s Choral Projects tionally and internationally throughout Europe young men ages 4–18. Over the past 15 years, of San Francisco. The organization’s mission is and Asia. In 2011, she was invited to bring her PBA has become known for its rich sound, mu- Kevin Fox Founding Artistic Director of to transform the lives of young women through chorus to Cuba, on a cultural exchange mission sicianship, phrasing, and talented soloists. Pacific Boychoir Academy, has been involved exceptional artistry in choral performance and granted by the U.S. and Cuban governments. In addition to its extensive after-school train- with boy’s choirs since the age of eight. He bring the expressive power of their music to the Dr. McMane has won many awards for her ing program, PBA is a full-time day school for holds degrees in music (with honors) and eco- community, the nation, and the world. Under work, including three Grammy Awards with grades 4–8, the only choir school in the Western nomics from Wesleyan University, where he the artistic leadership of Dr. Susan McMane, the the San Francisco Symphony and the 2007 United States. The day school, a member of studied voice with Wayne Rivera, con- YWC provides talented young women ages 10– Symphony of Excellence Arts Award from the the East Bay Independent Schools Association, ducting with Mel Strauss, composing with 18 from across the San Francisco Bay Area with Pacific Musical Society. In addition, she won combines a full academic program with two Neely Bruce, and received the Lipsky Prize exceptional musical and interpersonal experi- honors at the International Eisteddfod competi- hours of music instruction daily. for outstanding scholarship in choral studies. ences. In its first season, the chorus was praised tion in Llangollen, Wales, in 1998, and that year PBA has appeared frequently with the San He studied music at Oxford University with for its beauty of sound, stellar musicianship, and was also named the Music Educator of the Year Francisco Symphony (SFS). The choir recorded Edward Higginbottom, and choral conducting dynamic programming in its many performanc- by the St. Louis Chapter of the American Guild Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the SFS, which at Westminster Choir College with Jim Jordan es throughout the Bay Area. In summer 2013, of Organists. was awarded the Grammy for Best Classical and Vincent Metallo. He has served as Proctor YWC undertook its first concert tour to Italy, To promote and advance choral music for tre- Album in 2004. In 2010, the SFS recording of for the American Boychoir, working with Jim singing to enthusiastic audiences in Mantua, ble voices, Dr. McMane is responsible for com- Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, which also featured Litton and Craig Denison, and has sung with Pisa, Abano, Venice, and Lecco. In the 2013– missioning over 20 new works from prominent PBA, was awarded Grammys for Best Choral the choirs of Trinity Church in New Haven, 2014 season, YWC performs seven concerts in composers such as , Tania Leon, Augusta Performance and Best Classical Album. Trinity Church in Princeton, American Bach the Bay Area, collaborating with some of the fin- Read Thomas, Frank La Rocca, David Conte, and PBA has also sung with the Oakland-East Soloists, the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale, est local ensembles, as well as touring to New Alberto Grau. She is a two-time recipient of the Bay Symphony, the Simón Bolívar Symphony and the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and York City in June. With repertoire spanning ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Orchestra of Venezuela, American Bach Soloists, Boys in San Francisco, where he also worked as from early music to contemporary compositions, Dr. McMane earned a Doctorate of Musical San Francisco Opera, the National Symphony Interim Assistant Choirmaster. this season YWC can be heard singing a world Arts in choral conducting from the University of Orchestra of Brazil, the Moscow Chamber Under his direction, PBA has grown from première, music for voices and orchestra, spiritu- Missouri-Kansas City, and holds two degrees in Orchestra, the Lithuanian State Orchestra, six to 150 choristers in four treble choirs and als, world music, jazz, and Broadway selections. vocal performance. the Vienna Boys Choir, and the choirs and or- one alumni choir. Working with the PBA staff, chestras of UC Berkeley and UC Davis, among Mr. Fox has developed a proprietary music YMC Artistic Director Susan McMane is a Recognized as the world’s premier pipa vir- others. reading and music theory training program world-renowned choral conductor specializing tuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese mu- A regular touring schedule has taken PBA comparable to university-level music classes. In in treble choral music. In 2012, she became sic, Grammy-nominated musician Wu Man throughout the United States and to countries 2002, Mr. Fox developed a business plan for the the founding director of the Young Women’s has carved out a career as a soloist, educa- on six continents. PBA performed at the 2013 choir school, a comprehensive document com- Choral Projects of San Francisco, where she tor, and composer giving her lute-like instru- Bay Bridge Opening and for the Oakland A’s piling the ideas of staff and board members in conducts the auditioned chorus of young wom- ment—which has a history of over 2,000 years playoffs, has served as the voice of the Yahoo! preparation for the opening of the school in fall en from grades 7–12 and oversees a training in China—a new role in both traditional and

84 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 85 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS contemporary music. Having been brought up and A Series of Unfortunate Events, which has Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association in the Pudong School of pipa playing, Wu Man sold more than 60 million copies and was the is now recognized as an outstanding exponent of basis of a feature film. Snicket is also the creator Janet Cowperthwaite, Managing Director the traditional repertoire as well as a leading in- of several picture books, including his latest, The Laird Rodet, Associate Director Matthew Campbell, Strategic Initiatives Director terpreter of contemporary pipa music by today’s Dark, illustrated by Caldecott Award-winning Sidney Chen, Artistic Administrator most prominent composers. Wu Man’s efforts Jon Klassen. Scott Fraser, Sound Designer were recognized when she was named Musical Born and raised in San Francisco, Christina Johnson, Communications and New Media Manager America’s 2013 Instrumentalist of the Year, the Mr. Handler attended Wesleyan University and Nikolás McConnie-Saad, Office Manager first time this prestigious award has been be- returned to his hometown after graduating. He Brian Mohr, Associate Sound Designer stowed on a player of a non-Western instrument. co-founded the magazine American Chickens! Hannah Neff, Production Associate Highlights of her 2013–2014 season includ- with illustrator Lisa Brown (with whom he soon Laurence Neff, Production Director ed a performance with the Sydney Symphony became smitten), and they moved to New York Lucinda Toy, Business Operations Manager Orchestra for the world première of ’s City, where Mr. Handler eventually sold his first Curtis Smith, Chair, Board of Directors Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra. Wu Man will novel after working as a book and film critic for perform with the Buffalo, Fresno, and Louisiana several newspapers. He continued to write, and Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association philharmonic orchestras, and the Hartford, he and his wife returned to San Francisco, where P. O. Box 225340 Illinois, San Diego, and Santa Rosa sympho- they now live with their son. San Francisco, CA 94122-5340 nies. She will be a featured performer with the Mr. Handler works extensively in music, www.kronosquartet.org Kronos Quartet at their 40th anniversary con- serving as the adjunct accordionist for the mu- www.facebook.com/kronosquartet cert at Carnegie Hall and Cal Performances and sic group The Magnetic Fields and collaborat- www.myspace.com/kronosquartet Twitter: @kronosquartet #kronos will perform a recital at Wigmore Hall in the ing with composer Nathaniel Stookey on a United Kingdom. She will also tour with the piece commissioned and recorded by the San The Kronos Quartet records for Nonesuch Records. Silk Road Ensemble and serve as part of the en- Francisco Symphony entitled The Composer semble’s leadership team. Is Dead, which has been performed all over Born in , China, Wu Man be- the world and is now a book with CD. Other came the first recipient of a master’s degree in Snicket titles include the picture book 13 Words pipa at the Central Conservatory of Music in (also in collaboration with Ms. Kalman), as well . Wu Man’s first exposure to Western as Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Biography, classical music came in 1979, when she saw Seiji The Beatrice Letters, Horseradish: Bitter Truths Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra You Can’t Avoid, and two books for Christmas: performing in Beijing; in 1985, she made her The Lump of Coal and The Latke Who Couldn’t first visit to the United States as a member of the Stop Screaming: A Christmas story. His criticism China Youth Arts Troupe. Wu man moved to has appeared in , Newsday, the United States in 1990 and currently resides San Francisco Chronicle, Chickfactor, and The in California. Believer, where he is writing a regular column exploring the Nobel Prize in Literature, titled See page 78 for more information on composer “What the Swedes Read.” He has worked as and guitarist Bryce Dessner. a screenwriter on the adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events, as well as the independent Daniel Handler is the author of the novels The filmsRick and Kill the Poor. Current projects in- Basic Eight, Watch Your Mouth, Adverbs, and, clude a commission from the Royal Shakespeare most recently, Why We Broke Up, a collaboration Company on a stage musical in collaboration with award-winning illustrator Maira Kalman, with songwriter Stephin Merritt, a fifth novel which won a Michael J. Printz Honor. Under for adults. He is also working on the continuing the name Lemony Snicket, he has written the Snicket series All the Wrong Questions, of which bestselling books series All The Wrong Questions the new book is When Did You See Her Last?

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