St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, 3281 16th St, San Francisco @ Dolores (Map)
Rainbow Chamber Players: Only Air
Robert Muczynski: Wind Quintet
Miguel del Aguila: Salon Buenos Aires (excerpt)
David Del Tredici: Acrostic Song (Chamber version)
Dennis Tobenski: Only Air (Chamber version, West Coast Premiere)
Johann Strauss II/ arr. Arnold Schoenberg: Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltz)
Cost: Free, voluntary donations accepted for the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony.
Reception will follow the performance.
Part of the LGBTQ Performers and Composers Series
Rainbow Chamber Players is made up of member of Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS). BARS is dedicated to increasing visibility and challenging stereotypes of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and (LGBT) composers and instrumentalists, connecting with audiences from all communities.
Public Transportation: Muni J Church, 16th St; BART 16th St. Mission
Doors open at 5:30 pm
Only Air is a 20-minute work for voice and chamber ensemble with a text by poet Kathryn Levy that memorializes the LGBT teenagers who have taken their own lives due to anti-gay bullying. Originally composed for voice and orchestra and commissioned by the Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra, this chamber version was commissioned and premiered by The Secret Opera, a New York-based opera company dedicated to presenting provocative and socially relevant operatic and vocal works. The piece is in the form of an extended song with five instrumental interludes, which are meditations on five young men who committed suicide: Justin Aaberg, Seth Walsh, Asher Brown, Zach Harrington, and Tyler Clementi.
Dennis Tobenski is a composer of acoustic new music whose work has been described by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times as “distinctive and engaging”. His focus as a vocalist is primarily on the works of the 21st and late 20th centuries, and he will be recording his first album of art songs by five living American composers in November 2014 with pianist Marc Peloquin. Dennis also writes The Composer’s Guide to Doing Business, a blog series that takes a look at the practical and financial aspects of the concert music business from a composer’s point of view. Dennis lives in New York City with his fiancee Darien Scott Shulman and their cats Midget, Pistachio, and Bond. dennistobenski.com
Performers include: Cyrus Ginwala, pianist and conductor, is on the faculty at San Francisco State University. cyrusginwala.com Neil Sharp, tenor, violin, studied medicine at Cambridge and Edinburgh and worked as a doctor in the UK before leaving medicine to pursue a career in music as a singer, violinist and musical director. For 15 years he sang in operas and concerts throughout the UK and in Europe including at the Bayreuth and Salzburg festivals. 10 years ago changed careers again and moved to the Bay Area to study and now collaborate with Anat Baniel, the pioneer in the field of NeuroMovement. Movement with attention, and other practical tools capitailizing on the capacity of the brain to change, are used to achieve breakthrough outcomes with children with special needs, adults with pain and high performing athletes and musicians. Dennis Tobenski, composer, tenor, Kyle Baldwin, percussion, conductor, David Latulippe, flute, Gene Nakajima, clarinet, Thomas Alexander, violin, Russ Bartoli, cello, Donny Lobree, viola, Fred Fox oboe, Tom Hill, bassoon, Jamie Hops, trumpet, Steve Willis, bass, George Gelles, french horn The concert welcomes members of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists (AGLP) and the American Psychiatric Association who are attending the Institute of Psychiatric Services, mental health professionals, and family and friends.