Introducing Jessica Bejarano, BARS Asst. Conductor

BARS is thrilled to announce the appointment of Jessica Bejarano as BARS first assistant conductor!

Maestra Bejarano led BARS Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Bernstein's Candide Overture in June, 2009, as well as a number of BARS chamber ensemble selections, including recent presentations at the 2011 Conductor’s Guild annul conference in San Francisco at Calvary Presbyterian Church.

Click Read the Full Article for Ms. Bejarano's biography.

Jessica Bejarano, BARS Assistant Conductor

Maestra Jessica Bejarano is honored to serve as the first Assistant Conductor of Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. Maestra Bejarano also serves as Music Director of West County Winds; Assistant Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony; and Artist-In-Residence with LEAP as a music education curriculum developer and teacher.

Maestra Bejarano received her Associates of Fine Arts in Music Education from Casper College; a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Wyoming; and her Master of Arts in Conducting from the University of California Davis.

Just recently in September 2010, Maestra Bejarano was selected to attend a Master course with Maestro Jorma Panula and the Rousse (Bulgarian) National Philharmonic where she performed works by Edward Elgar and Hector Berlioz in Rousse, Bulgaria.

During the summer of 2007, Maestra Bejarano was selected to attend the International Academy of Advanced Conducting in Saint Petersburg, Russia where she received “Honorable Mention” for her performance with the Classical Symphony Orchestra of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Maestra Bejarano was invited back by the Academy (IAAC) in 2008 to continue her studies and perform in Urbino, Italy. During the same summer, she also attended the International Institute for Conductors in Bacau, Romania and conducted The Philharmonic Orchestra “Mihail Jora” of Bacau in two separate performances.

Maestra Bejarano has served as Artistic Director of the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus; Music Director of VOICES Lesbian Choral Ensemble; Music Director of the Davis Summer Symphony; Assistant Conductor with the Community Women’s Orchestra in Oakland; Assistant Conductor of the University of California Davis Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the University Chorus and Chamber Singers at the University of California Davis; and Music Director of GLAM Youth Choir. Ms. Bejarano has also guest conducted the Beloit Community Orchestra, in Beloit Wisconsin; the University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra in Laramie, Wyoming; and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus of San Francisco.

The Poetry of Sound: Thursday, June 16, 2011, 7pm w/ NYTimes' A. Tommasini

Music by Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein w/ NYTimes music critic Anthony Tommasini

Contemporary Jewish Museum, 5736 Mission St between 3rd and 4th Sts, SF 94103 (Map)

Tickets: $20 (includes museum admission) Online or 415.655.7800

Advanced Ticket Purchase Highly Recommended

Virgil Thomson, Gertrude Stein’s closest music collaborator, composed two operas to her libretti and “musical portraits” of subjects while they sat silently before him. In conjunction with the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s exhibition Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories (May 12–Sept 6), BARS presents Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic for The New York Times and Thomson scholar, performing of a selection of Thomason's "musical portraits."

In addition to his performance, Tommasini will speak on how Thomson’s relatively simple music reflects and resonates with Stein's hermetic writing. BARS musicians will also perform some of Thomson’s musical portraits and other works for chamber orchestra, including selections from Socrate by Erik Satie, one of Thomson’s major influences. Performance also features a reading of Stein’s literary portraits and soloist Brian Thorsett, tenor, under the baton of Daniel Canosa.

Part of the BARS LGBTQ Composer & Performing Artist series. Steingraeber & Sohne piano provided by R.KASSMAN, Berkeley

Preliminary Program

Anthony Tommasini will perform musical portraits by Virgil Thomson on piano. The program also includes other musical portraits, including those of Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Thomson’s partner, Maurice Grosser who provided the scenarios to the Stein/Thomson operas, and a self portrait played by BARS. The program will also include an excerpt of Satie’s Socrate, as well as the Thomson’s aria Pigeons on a Grass Alas from the opera Four Saints in Three Acts and the overture to his opera The Mother of Us All.

About Anthony Tommasini, piano

Anthony Tommasini, DMA wrote his dissertation on Thomson’s portraits, which was published in 1986 as Virgil Thomson’s Musical Portraits. As a pianist, he has recorded two CDs of music by Thomson: Portraits and Self-Portraits and Mostly About Love: Songs and Vocal Works. Dr. Tommasini is the author of the seminal biography Virgil Thomson: Composer on the Aisle, published in 1997. He became the chief classical music critic at the New York Times in 2000. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale.

About Brian Thorsett, tenor

Tenor Brian Thorsett has been seen and heard in over 70 diverse operatic roles, ranging from Monteverdi to Britten, back to Rameau and ahead again to works composed especially for his talents. During the 2011-12 season, he returns to the roles Jupiter and Apollo in Semele, Acis in Acis & Galatea and Aeneas, Sailor and Spirit in Dido and Aeneas. As a concert singer Brian fosters a stylistically diversified repertoire of over 100 works, which has taken him to concert halls across the US and Europe. Future engagements include works of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Britten, Bernard Herman, and Berlioz among many others. He is a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artist program, the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Aldeburgh, England and spent two summers at the Music Academy of the West.

About Virgil Thomsom, composer

Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) composed two operas to libretti by Stein, Four Saints in Three Acts and The Mother of Us All, which are among the most frequently produced American operas. He wrote many other pieces to texts by Stein and composed over 140 musical portraits, which were usually written in one session. He was also a prolific music critic. The simplicity of composer Erik Satie’s style was a major influence. He studied at Harvard University and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.

About the Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories exhibition

Drawing upon a wealth of rarely seen artistic and archival materials, Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories illuminates Stein's life and pivotal role in art during the 20th century. Focusing on Stein's life from the end of World War I through World War II, the exhibition explores her evolving public personae, lifestyle, relationships, landmark 1934-35 tour of the United States, and life in France during WWII.

Through a portrayal of Stein's contributions in her writings, patronage, and lifestyle, the exhibition provides an intimate look at Stein's complex relationship to her identity, culture, and history. Seeing Gertrude Stein also explores the ways in which Stein's life and writings have impressed themselves upon the American artistic imagination and inspired generations of writers, artists, musicians, and performers. The exhibit also features her lifelong partner, Alice B. Toklas. An additional focus is her collaborations with various artists including the composer Virgil Thomson.

Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories will be on view at the Contemporary Jewish Museum May 12 through September 6, 2011concurrently as the exhibition The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

Click Here to learn more about Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories

About the Contemporary Jewish Museum

Since its founding in 1984, the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) has engaged audiences of all ages and backgrounds through dynamic exhibitions and programs that explore contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas. The Museum has distinguished itself as a welcoming place where visitors can connect with one another through dialogue and shared experiences with the arts. The Museum's Daniel Libeskind-designed facility, completed in 2008, enables and inspires its mission. The CJM is located in SOMA across from Yerba Buena Gardens, one block from the MUNI/Bart Powell Station.

Click Here to learn more about the Contemporary Jewish Museum

The Newest 4 Members of BARS Percussion Section: Thank You!

Together We Did It Thanks to the generosity and support of our audience, and community, BARS has purchased a brand-new set of Yamaha 6200 series timpani. Come and meet the drums at their debut at our next performance on June 4, 2011 at SF Conservatory.

BARS gives a standing ovation to The Jon Sims Endowment Fund for the Performing Arts, the Castro Lions Club, T Wyatt & California Percussion, CF Howes and M Saccomano for their efforts in helping us raise the bar.

The Trevor Project Benefit Concert: This Sat, April 30, 7:30p

Join BARS and SF Conservatory of Music musicians at First Unitarian Universalist Church (Map) for music benefitting The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential lifeline, in-school workshops, educational materials, online resources, and advocacy.

The evening features music by Bach, Mozart, Debussy, Gershwin, Monti, Clarke, and SF composer Thomas Conroy with Amy Foote, soprano, Justin Lee, flute, Lydia Eyssallenne, violin, Sungbin Choi, cello, Samuel Grodin, piano, and Igor Pancevski, piano. A reception follows the performance.

Tickets: $10 at the door, cash or check only. If you're unable to attend please consider making a donation directly to the project instead

BARS is pleased to support The Trevor Project and sponsor this performance as part of our community support programs promoting LGBTQ and teen mental health and suicide and bullying prevention.

Jan 18, 2012, 7:30PM - Open Rehearsal

Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) First Open Reading Rehearsal, Wed Jan 18 7:30-10:00 PM

1600 Holloway Ave, Creative Arts Building Room 153, San Francisco State University

To get the year started by making great music together, please join the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) for an Open Reading Rehearsal on Wednesday January 18th.  BARS members, and any interested string players, will play through Tchaikovsky:  Symphony #4 (Movements 1 and 4), Wagner:  Rienzi Overture, and another mystery piece.    Double bass and violin players are especially encouraged to join us!   (The wind and percussion parts will be taken by BARS members).

The reading session will be lead by BARS Assistant Conductor, Jessica Bejarano, who is also the Assistant Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony, the Community Women’s Orchestra, and Music Director of West County Winds (see www.jessicabejarano.com for more info).    You will have the opportunity to practice sight reading, to reconnect with old friends, to make new friends, and to find out more about playing with BARS.

November 12, 2011, 8pm

Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore St at Jackson, SF 94115 (Map) | Tickets

Part of the Calvary ConcertConnect Series benefitting Larkin St Youth Services

Poulenc – Suite Française

Jessica Bejarano, assistant conductor

Poulenc – Organ Concerto

Jonathan Dimmock, organ

Beethoven – Symphony no. 7

About Jonathan Dimmock, organ

Concert organist Jonathan Dimmock is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, Yale School of Music and Yale Divinity School, and has held musical posts at Westminster Abbey (Organ Scholar), the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis. Well-known internationally, he resides in San Francisco where he is the Organist at St. Ignatius Church, Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church, Congregation Sherith Israel, and the San Francisco Symphony. With the San Francisco Symphony, he has had the opportunity to work under the baton of many of the world’s greatest conductors.

Jonathan has an active career as an organ soloist having made numerous solo tours on five continents. He has been interviewed and featured on National Public Radio, Radio France, BBC3, ABC (Australia), MTV2 (Budapest), and SABC (South Africa). His teachers and mentors include Jean Langlais, Naji Hakim, Frédéric Blanc (improvisation), Peter Hallock, Gillian Weir, Haskell Thomson, Thomas Murray, Harald Vogel, J. Clark, Paul Halley, and Simon Preston. A Grammy award winner for his work with the San Francisco Symphony, Jonathan has recorded more than 35 CDs, with labels including Gothic, ReZound, Loft, Arkay, BCI Records, Time-Warner Recordings, and Koch International.

He is co-founder of the highly acclaimed American Bach Soloists, founding director of AVE (Artists’ Vocal Ensemble), and founding President of Art to the Nations - which uses music in international conflict resolution. He is deeply committed to healing our broken world through the beauty of music and talks eagerly on the subjects of spirituality, psychology, aesthetics, and the Arts.

Learn more about Jonathan at jonathandimmock.com

About Jessica Bejarano, assistant conductor

Maestra Jessica Bejarano is honored to serve as the first Assistant Conductor of Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. Maestra Bejarano also serves as Music Director of West County Winds; Assistant Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony; and Artist-In-Residence with LEAP as a music education curriculum developer and teacher.

Maestra Bejarano received her Associates of Fine Arts in Music Education from Casper College; a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Wyoming; and her Master of Arts in Conducting from the University of California Davis.

Just recently in September 2010, Maestra Bejarano was selected to attend a Master course with Maestro Jorma Panula and the Rousse (Bulgarian) National Philharmonic where she performed works by Edward Elgar and Hector Berlioz in Rousse, Bulgaria.

During the summer of 2007, Maestra Bejarano was selected to attend the International Academy of Advanced Conducting in Saint Petersburg, Russia where she received “Honorable Mention” for her performance with the Classical Symphony Orchestra of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Maestra Bejarano was invited back by the Academy (IAAC) in 2008 to continue her studies and perform in Urbino, Italy. During the same summer, she also attended the International Institute for Conductors in Bacau, Romania and conducted The Philharmonic Orchestra “Mihail Jora” of Bacau in two separate performances.

Maestra Bejarano has served as Artistic Director of the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus; Music Director of VOICES Lesbian Choral Ensemble; Music Director of the Davis Summer Symphony; Assistant Conductor with the Community Women’s Orchestra in Oakland; Assistant Conductor of the University of California Davis Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the University Chorus and Chamber Singers at the University of California Davis; and Music Director of GLAM Youth Choir. Ms. Bejarano has also guest conducted the Beloit Community Orchestra, in Beloit Wisconsin; the University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra in Laramie, Wyoming; and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus of San Francisco.

Learn more about Jessica at jessicabejarano.com

September 10, 2011, 8pm

San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak St at Van Ness, SF 94102 (Map) | Tickets

Elgar – Nimrod from Enigma Variations

Jessica Bejarano, assistant conductor

Liebermann – Concerto for Flute, op. 39

David Latulippe, flute

Prokofiev – Romeo and Juliet Suite no. 1

This event's post concert reception sponsored by

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly

About David Latulippe, flute

David Latulippe currently performs with several Bay Area orchestras, including the Peninsula Symphony, Golden Gate Opera, and the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. He has performed throughout New England as a soloist and in chamber music settings and as a member of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and New Amsterdam Symphony. Internationally, he has performed as soloist in Taiwan, with the AIMS Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria, and was featured with percussion ensemble for concerts throughout Ireland under the direction of New York Philharmonic percussionist Morris Lang. He has also sung with the Fred Petra Big Band in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and has toured with the “Three Irish Tenors.”

David holds degrees in music from Ithaca College and Brooklyn College, where he served on the flute faculty and was Concert Director. He was music consultant to director Mike Nichols for his HBO productions of Wit and Angels in America. While living in New York, David was also heard on New York City’s signature public radio station, WNYC, as host for news and classical music programs. He is currently on the announcing staff of public radio station KALW in San Francisco. David can also be heard (and occasionally seen) in various commercials and corporate projects, which have included Bank of America, Radio Shack, Oracle, Yahoo!, and the Sony Halo video game series.

Learn more about David at davidlatulippe.com

From the Podium: Britten/Pears Project

A note from Daniel Canosa, Artistic Director

Benjamin Britten, at the piano, studying a score along side his partner and tenor, Peter Pears.

I want to share with you something very interesting for the orchestra and for me personally during this time of preparations for our upcoming concert on November 20th. Together with Brian Thorsett, our tenor for Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, we have been researching the letters that Britten wrote to many of his friends and family around the time of the composition of this piece.

Of all the correspondence the ones that stand out foremost are the letters between Britten and Peter Pears, who would become his partner. These letters are full of understanding, dedication, forgiveness, care and many of the wonderful loving qualities of their life-long relationship.

Inspired by these letters, we decided to include them in the performance. They will be read in between the sections of the Serenade to illuminate the experience of listening to the songs and to be a little closer to the man who wrote them.

Here is a little tease for you, a fragment of a letter from Pears to Britten:

…You know, I have been thinking an awful lot about you and me. I love you with my whole being, solemnly and seriously. These last times made me realize how serious love is, what a great responsibility and what a sharing of personalities – It’s not just a pleasure and self-indulgence. Our love must be complete and a creation in itself, a gift which we must be fully conscious of and responsible for…

SF Classical Voice Concert Preview & Interview

Read all about it! Rebecca Liao of San Francisco Classical Voice (SFCV) previews BARS September 25th performance at SF Conservatory of Music.

The article features interviews with Daniel Canosa, artistic director, and Ian Harwood, executive director, about BARS history and future direction and goals.

Click Here to read the full article on SFCV.org

A Rainbow of Promises

Published September 20, 2010 on SFCV.org

Minority groups have the unenviable task of celebrating their uniqueness while demonstrating that they have a great deal in common with everyone. Small wonder, then, that classical music and the LGBTQ community found each other. The partnership displays its accomplishments again on Sept. 25 at the San Francisco Conservatory as the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) opens its 2010-2011 season with the ever-popular Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Daniel Glover as soloist) and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

Late in 2007, five musicians, in fine San Francisco tradition, saw a need and fulfilled it: “What we had in S.F. by way of LGBTQ [lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer] music groups was wind instruments and a couple chorus members, but we never had anything with string players,” says Ian Harwood, BARS’ executive director. “We wanted to start an organization that combined instrumentalists. At the same time, we wanted to change the model for how an orchestra functions. As a tuba player, I would always joke that I know everybody in the orchestra because I see the backs of their heads, but we never interacted. One thing that was always very strong with LGBTQ groups is the social element.”

When Daniel Canosa attended BARS’ maiden concert in summer 2008, the ensemble, which gathered at Old First Church for the event, consisted of a few strings and winds. By the time Canosa was invited for a trial run as conductor, BARS had grown into a full-fledged orchestra. After he was appointed artistic director, it quickly became clear that his instinct for community fit well with BARS. “I wanted to spend the first two years doing repertoire that the musicians and the audience would relate to,” says Canosa. “Now, I’m a little bit freer to make decisions on my own, but I didn’t want to start with pieces that weren’t familiar.”

And surely establishing a voice for the LGBTQ community is important? Yes and no. Harwood laments that “a lot of people think of LGBTQ music as Broadway musicals, ‘jazz hands,’ and [feather] boas.” What people don’t realize is that “there’s a really strong tradition of gay classical composers and performers that date back throughout music’s history. We think about Copland and Bernstein, Tchaikovsky and Schubert. In time, one of our goals is to showcase LGBTQ music and composers and performing artists and say that these individuals are part of our community and they have this wonderful story to tell.” Canosa ensures that there is an LGBTQ composer featured in every program. The purpose, though, is not to reclaim ownership but to reach out — at the San Francisco Pride Festival, Oakland Pride, the Castro Street Fair, and any of the other numerous LGBTQ events at which BARS volunteers, as is expected, but also to those whose only memories of classical music come from Looney Tunes.

Ultimately, says Canosa, “The main point for me as an artist is the moment in your day where you go and experience something and you remember something you forgot. It’s why I do music.” The warhorses in BARS’ repertoire have gotten loyal listeners in the door. After two successful seasons, BARS is ready to be more daring with its power as a tastemaker. For instance, the orchestra played Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 last spring to a rave audience response; Bruckner and Stravinsky may not be far behind. Canosa would particularly love to work with the arts outside of classical music, including pop music, ballet, cinema, and even the hot New York City band Antony and the Johnsons. “We all grow up with many different forms of music. How can you not want to collaborate?” he wonders. Being attached to a category for so long has encouraged the explosion of category altogether. Classical music has been dragged in this direction for years; BARS shows us how the migration can be made happier.

Rebecca Liao has produced several classical music performances in the Bay Area. A lawyer by day, she is currently working on an essay collection about contemporary classical music theory.

33rd Annual PRIDE CONCERT®, June 24th, 2011, 8:00pm

BAY AREA RAINBOW SYMPHONY (BARS) JOINS 33^rd ANNUAL PRIDE CONCERT® PROGRAM & PRODUCTION TEAM

The newest LGBTQ community music group in town, and one of San Francisco’s hottest concert tickets, Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) joins the performance line-up for the Annual Pride Concert™, making BARS the first string orchestra to perform at the Pride Concert in the event’s 33-year history.

The 33^rd Annual Pride Concert – five pioneering ensembles, one fabulous performance – kicks off pride weekend with music by the world’s first and most recent openly LGBTQ music ensembles performing some of the flashiest music written for chorus, orchestra and wind ensemble.

Playing one night only, the concert features Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco and San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, with special guests Golden Gate Men’s Chorus and San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Ambassadors, emceed by Trauma Flintstone. The program includes an Americana-style tribute to honor the 2011 Pride Theme, “In Pride We Trust,” and the lifting of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

Show starts at 8 pm, Friday, June 24 at Everett Auditorium, 450 Church Street (between 16 ^th & 17^th streets), San Francisco. Tickets are $15-$30. Wheelchair accessible. (800) 595-4TIX, or from the PRIDE CONCERT website.

Drum Drive for Timpani: Donations Now Matched $1-for-$1!

Your tax-deductible contribution now means even more!

All donations received to help BARS purchase timpani and other percussion equipment will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Jon Sims Endowment Fund for the Performing Arts.

Click Here to make a lasting impact on BARS

BARS' 2011 Pride Month Concert™: Saturday, June 4, 2011, 8pm

San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak St at Van Ness, SF 94102 (Map) | Tickets

Marquez – Danzon no. 2

Villa-Lobos – Guitar Concerto

Jon Mendle, guitar

Falla – El sombrero de tres picos

(Three Cornered Hat) suite no. 2

Ravel – Bolero

This event's post concert reception sponsored by

Tres Agaves Tequila and Barefoot Wine & Bubbly

About Jon Mendle, guitar

Since making his Carnegie Hall debut at age 19, classical guitarist Jon Mendle is rapidly building a career as a performer, teacher, arranger, and composer.

In August 2010, Jon embarked on a ten concert tour of music festivals in the U.S. with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.

In 2005, as a second-year student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Jon was the only undergraduate selected by audition to perform at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in a concert presented by the Conservatory's guitar department. Jon performed his own transcription of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, a piece originally written for organ, which Jim Tosone of Guitar Review Magazine called, "...a monumental work, performed with a great deal of poise."

Jon began studying the guitar at the age of 12, and recently finished his graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory under the tutelage of renowned guitarist Sergio Assad, earning a Master of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance.

Based in San Francisco, Jon has performed solo and ensemble works at venues throughout Northern California and Nevada. In 2008, at the Guitar Foundation of America's annual convention, Jon played at Herbst Theater in San Francisco in an ensemble conducted by guitarist David Tanenbaum, in the U.S. premiere of Sergio Assad's "Trois Bresiliens a Saint Paul.” More recently, in 2009, he won the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s biennial Guitar Concerto Competition, playing Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Concerto for Guitar and Small Orchestra. He performed this work with the Conservatory Orchestra in May, 2010.

Jon’s primary instrument is an 11-string Archguitar built in 2007 by Alan Perlman of San Francisco. The Archguitar is a hybrid of the Renaissance and Baroque lutes, 19th century guitar, and modern guitar, making it ideal for a large cross section of early music, as well as certain modern and impressionist works.

Jon received a Bachelor of Music in classical guitar performance in 2007 from the Conservatory, where he studied with Lawrence Ferrara, Marc Teicholz, David Tanenbaum, and Dusan Bogdanovic. His first teacher was Matthew Grasso. He has participated in master classes given by guitarists James Kline, David Russell, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, William Kanengiser, Miroslav Tadic, and lutenist Nigel North. He has also studied the classical music of North India with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, Calif., and privately with sarod player Steve Oda. Outside of the classical guitar world, Jon enjoys playing the occasional punk rock show and practicing yoga.

This is Jon's first performance with BARS.

March 26, 2011, 8pm

San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak St at Van Ness, SF 94102 (Map) | Tickets

Mozart – Overture to La Clemenza di Tito

Barber – Violin Concerto, op. 14

Bettina Mussumeli, violin

Tchaikovsky – Symphony no. 5 in E minor, op. 64

This event's post concert reception sponsored by

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly

About Bettina Mussumeli, violin

First violinist of the Ives Quartet since 2005, Bettina Mussumeli received her B.A. and M.M. degrees from The Juilliard School. She has studied with Ivan Galamian, Dorothy DeLay and Paul Doktor, as well as chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri and Cleveland quartets. She has studied with Kato Havas at Oxford, England, focusing on the elimination of tension in violin playing.

After completing her studies at Juilliard, Ms. Mussumeli became co-concertmaster and soloist with the Italian chamber group I Solisti Veneti. She has performed throughout Europe, Australia and the Far East, and made numerous recordings for the Erato, RCA, Tactus and Concerto labels. She has collaborated frequently as guest concertmaster with the Orchestra Toscanini of Parma, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra del Teatro di Cagliari and the Orchestra della Fenice.

This is Bettina's second performance with BARS. Bettina lives with her partner Jodi in San Francisco.

Accepting Flute+Piccolo Applicants

BARS invites intermediate and advanced flute and piccolo players to participate in our current audition cycle. Preference will be given to flutists who also play piccolo, as parts are rotated throughout the season.

Application Deadline: Monday, Feb 21, 2011, 8p

Preliminary auditions: Monday, Feb 28, 2011, 7-9p

Finals: Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 6:30p

Read the Full Article for additional info, audition excerpts, and to request an audition.

Important: Please review all of the following information prior to requesting an audition.

Auditions: All auditions are in San Francisco. Required orchestral excerpts include:

• Flute: Beethoven Leonore Overture No.3 (opening and solo passage); Bizet Carmen Entr'acte; Dvorak Symphony No.9 (selected passages)

• Piccolo: Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto, II; Rossini Semiramide Oveture (selected passages); Shostakovich Symphony No.9.

Click Here to download audition excerpts (this PDF is viewable with Adobe Reader). In addition, candidates are expected to prepare a brief flute solo of his/her choice which showcases technical abilities and expression.

Member Expectations: All BARS members are expected to subscribe to the organization's mission, goals, values, and policies, in addition to:

• attending weekly Wednesday rehearsals from 7:30-10p, currently at SF State University (Map) (generally 8-9 rehearsals per concert set, with a season of 5-6 concerts);
• contributing set dues (currently $40/set per 4-5 set season with a $20 annual membership fee; financial hardship waivers are available);
• assisting in recruitment, promoting performances, selling concert tickets, and volunteering and assisting with tasks as needed;
• volunteering for the organization at least once per year.

Part Rotation and Assignment: Parts and seating shall be rotated on a set-by-set basis. Part and performance rotation will be determined at the beginning of each concert set.

Granting of Membership: Player(s) selected from this audition process will participate in a performance with the orchestra, after which there will be an evaluation by the leadership to grant the membership.

FAQs:

• Do I have to identify as LGBTQ to be a member of BARS? No, about 20% of the orchestra members identify of hetereosexual/straight.

• Does BARS pay it's musicians? BARS is a non-paying advanced orchestra. Members pay dues are currently at $40/set per 4-5 set season with a $20 annual membership fee. Financial hardship waivers are available.

• I previously auditioned for BARS. May I re-audition? Yes, we encourage you to request an audition.

To request an audition: Email flutes@bars-sf.org with your previous flute and piccolo, orchestral, and ensemble experience, and/or a one-page resume as a .pdf or .doc

About BARS: Launched in 2008, Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) is an orchestra dedicated to increasing visibility and challenging stereotypes of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) composers, instrumentalists, and performing artists. BARS performs ambitious repertory to a high standard, connecting with and bridging audiences from all communities and backgrounds.

BARS showcases its 85+ member symphony orchestra and chamber ensembles at the SF Conservatory of Music and various Bay Area venues. Our musicians can also be seen and heard doing outreach for local LGBTQ, service, and education organizations. Over 20% of BARS musicians and 40% of BARS audience identify as heterosexual/straight. Intermediate and advanced instrumentalists, especially string players, are invited to join our weekly Wednesday evening rehearsals at SF State University (Map).

Under the artistic direction of Daniel Canosa, BARS has been recognized for its achievements in artistic excellence and community building by the city and county of San Francisco and the State of California. BARS is a non-profit organization: all donations are tax-deductible. For more information about BARS, upcoming concerts, and how to get involved, visit http://bars-sf.org

BARS does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or veteran status.

A Tenor In Winter: Benefit Concert & World Premiere

January 30, 2011, 5pm

Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore St at Jackson, SF 94115 (Map)

Tickets: Pay-what-you-can (sliding scale) at the door the evening of the performance

Showcasing music for tenor, strings, and winds by Arthur Bliss, Bohuslav Martinu, Monteverdi, Schubert, and a world-premiere by David Conte, internationally recognized Professor of Composition at SF Conservatory of Music.

The performance features Brian Thorsett, tenor, graduate of SF Opera's Merola Opera Program, who has performed over 50 operatic roles and 60 concert works. Brian is principal tenor at Calvary Presbyterian Church of SF. BARS chamber ensembles join Brian for this event (click here for artist info and bios).

Benefit Concert: All ticket sales and proceeds benefit Larkin Street Youth Services, whose Castro Youth Housing Initiative and services for HIV+ youth serve the LGBTQ community, and BARS Drum Drive for Timpani and Percussion, matched dollar-for-dollar by the Jon Sims Endowment Fund for the Performing Arts.

A free reception with wine and hors d'œuvres will follow the performance. This concert is part of the Calvary Connect Concerts series.

Program: Haydn-String quartet movement; Arthur Bliss-Elegiac Sonnet; Monteverdi-Madrigals; Schubert-5 songs from Winterreise (Winter Journey) transcribed for tenor and woodwind quintet; Schubert-Octet mvt. 6; David Conte-World Premiere piece for Tenor and String Quartet; Bohuslav Martinu-Nonet mvts. 1 and 3

Parking at CPMC Hospital garage (Clay between Fillmore & Webster) | MUNI 3, 22, 24

About Brian Thorsett, tenor

Since taking to the operatic stage in 2001, tenor Brian Thorsett has been seen and heard in over 70 diverse operatic roles, ranging from Monteverdi to Britten, back to Rameau and ahead again to works composed especially for his talents. During the 2010-11 season, he returns to the roles Jupiter and Apollo in Semele, Acis in Acis & Galatea and adds the role of Beppe in I Pagliacci.

As a concert singer Brian fosters a stylistically diversified repertoire of nearly 100 works, which has taken him to concert halls across the US and Europe. Future engagements include Evangelist and soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor, the Seasons and Creation of Haydn, Handel’s Messiah, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Purcell’s Hail, Birght Cecilia, Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, Choral Fantasy and Mass in C, Mendelssohn’s Christus, Elijah and Lobgesang (Symphony No. 2), the Requiem of Mozart, Schubert’s Intende Voci Orationis, Psalm 92 and Mass in E-Flat, Finzi’s Dies Natalis, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings and a rare performance as Ishmael in Bernard Hermann’s Moby Dick.

An avid recitalist and principal tenor at Calvary Presbyterian Church, Brian will be featured in recitals in San Francisco, San Jose and Half Moon Bay, CA presenting the music of Monteverdi, Grieg, Rossini, Enescu, Coates, Ginastera, Turina, Britten, and premieres of Nicholas Carlozzi. He is a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artist program and spent two summers at the Music Academy of the West.

This is Brian's second performance with BARS.

About David Conte, composer

David Conte is currently Professor of Composition and Conductor of the Conservatory Chorus at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has received commissions from Chanticleer, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the Dayton, Oakland and Stockton Symphonies, the American Guild of Organists, Sonoma City Opera and the Gerbode Foundation. Conte has composed five operas: The Dreamers; The Gift of the Magi; Firebird Motel; and America Tropical; (these last two commissioned by San Francisco theater company Thick Description, for whom Conte has been Composer-In-Residence since 1991); and Famous, based on the book Famous for 15 Minutes - My Years with Andy Warhol by Ultra Violet. He is also the composer of a musical The Passion of Rita St. James produced at the SF Conservatory in 2003. The Gift of the Magi has been produced by the Asheville Lyric Opera, Winnipeg Opera, Muddy River Opera Company, Greenburg American Opera, and Opera South. He has also composed songs for singers Barbara Bonney, Thomas Hampson and Phyllis Bryn-Julson. His work is represented on many commercial CD recordings.

A Fulbright Scholar in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, a Ralph Vaughan Williams Fellow and an Aspen Music Festival Conducting Fellow, Conte earned his Bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University, where he studied with Ruth Inglefield and Wallace DePue, and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Cornell University where he studied with Karel Husa, Robert Palmer, Steven Stucky and Thomas Sokol. In 1982, Conte worked with Aaron Copland preparing a study of the composer’s sketches. He has taught at Cornell University, Keuka College, Colgate University and Interlochen. With composer Todd Boekelheide, Conte co-wrote the film score for the documentary Ballets Russes, shown at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals in 2005, (now available on DVD), and composed the music for the PBS documentary, Orozco: Man of Fire in 2006, shown on the American Masters series in the fall of 2007. His composition The Nine Muses was commissioned by the American Choral Director's Association for their National Convention and was premiered on March 8th, 2007, in Miami. For more info see davidconte.net

Additional BARS Musicians

Thomas Alexander, violin, Russ Bartoli, cello, Clayton Bullock, violin, Hans Brightbill, cello, Michael Cook, piano, David Latulippe, flute, Fred Fox, oboe, Thomas Hill, bassoon, Mark Hodgson, violin, Don Hubert, viola, Jeff Johnson, horn, Gene Nakajima, clarinet, and Steve Willis, bass, led by Jessica Bejarano, conductor.

About Calvary Presbyterian Church

San Francisco's largest Presbyterian church, located in Pacific Heights at the corner of Jackson and Fillmore Streets. Constructed in 1854, its building is on the national registry of historic landmarks. Calvary's music programs include performances from its renowned chancel choir, chamber music and full orchestral performances, professional touring groups from around the world, and Calvary ConcertConnect series. For more info see calvarypresbyterian.org/

November 20, 2010, 8pm

First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin St at Geary, SF 94109 (Map) | Tickets

Pärt – Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten

Britten – Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, op. 31

Brian Thorsett, tenor

Rachel Harvey, horn

Dvorak – Serenade for Wind Instruments in D minor, Op. 44 (B. 77), Mvt. III

Copland – Appalachian Spring

VIP Wine Reception

After the concert, join a limited number of fans and enjoy lush wine from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly. Proceeds benefit BARS artistic and member programs. VIP reception is 21+ only, proper ID required for admittance.

About Brian Thorsett, tenor

Since taking to the operatic stage in 2001, tenor Brian Thorsett has been seen and heard in over 70 diverse operatic roles, ranging from Monteverdi to Britten, back to Rameau and ahead again to works composed especially for his talents. During the 2010-11 season, he returns to the roles Jupiter and Apollo in Semele, Acis in Acis & Galatea and adds the role of Beppe in I Pagliacci.

As a concert singer Brian fosters a stylistically diversified repertoire of nearly 100 works, which has taken him to concert halls across the US and Europe. Future engagements include Evangelist and soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor, the Seasons and Creation of Haydn, Handel’s Messiah, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Purcell’s Hail, Birght Cecilia, Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, Choral Fantasy and Mass in C, Mendelssohn’s Christus, Elijah and Lobgesang (Symphony No. 2), the Requiem of Mozart, Schubert’s Intende Voci Orationis, Psalm 92 and Mass in E-Flat, Finzi’s Dies Natalis, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings and a rare performance as Ishmael in Bernard Hermann’s Moby Dick.

An avid recitalist, Brian will be featured in recitals in San Francisco, San Jose and Half Moon Bay, CA presenting the music of Monteverdi, Grieg, Rossini, Enescu, Coates, Ginastera, Turina, Britten, and premieres of Nicholas Carlozzi. He is a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artist program and spent two summers at the Music Academy of the West.

A great enthusiast of Benjamin Britten’s music, Brian has extensively performed the composer’s work. He has dedicated multiple recitals entirely to Britten’s songs, including the complete works for tenor and horn. A favorite recital project involved reading from the private letters of Britten and life-long partner, Peter Pears, interwoven with specifically mentioned songs. Concert works range from the large scale War Requiem to the more intimate Canticles and Serenade, which he has performed several times to great acclaim.

During the summer of 2009 he studied and performed the St. Matthew Passion with Masaaki Suzuki (Bach Collegium Japan) at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at the Aldeburgh Festival in England. While there Brian was able to conduct research in Britten’s private library and perform on the Snape Maltings stage where many of the composer’s works were premiered.

This is Brian's first performance with BARS.

About Rachel Harvey, horn

Rachel Delevoryas Harvey received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University, and was one of only two graduate students to receive a full scholarship to California Institute of the Arts where she was granted the Master of Fine Arts degree in Horn performance. Following graduation, she immediately auditioned for, and won the position of principal horn in a professional Mexico City orchestra where she performed and also served as the music librarian and recruiting manager for 3-1/2 years. In 1985 she was one of the seven founders of The Redwood Symphony (Redwood City, CA), where she served as principal horn, librarian, manager and soloist for 23 years. In 1996 as an expatriate in Tokyo, Japan, she auditioned for, and won the principal horn position in The New Symphony Orchestra (aka Shinkyo) of Tokyo where she performed for two years before returning to the United States.

From 1975 to present, Rachel has participated in more than forty orchestras, chamber workshops and groups, working brass quintets, and and a number of solo engagements. The Britten Serenade, along with Bruckner's Fourth Symphony, were the two works that strongly influenced Rachel to continue with the horn when she was eleven years old. She first performed the Britten Serenade in 1991 with the Redwood Symphony and well-known tenor, Dr. Nile Norton. In 2008, Rachel participated in the very first concert of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony where she serves as the horn section principal. She has recorded a number of personal CD's: An Afternoon of Chamber Music which featuring the Brahms Horn Trio, a live performance with Rachel's father, Professor Emeritus John Delevoryas on piano, and Ms. Binh Huang, violin. Most recently, she recorded a performance of Dame Ethel Smyth's "Concerto for Horn, Violin, and Orchestra" with the Community Women's Orchestra (CWO).

Rachel also spends free time composing music for horns and brass. She plans a work for full orchestra in the near future. In 2008, Rachel participated in the very first concert of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony where she serves as the horn section leader.

September 25, 2010, 8pm

San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak St at Van Ness, SF 94102 (Map) | Tickets

Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto no. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 23

Daniel Glover, Piano

Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade, op. 35

VIP Wine Reception

After the concert, join a limited number of fans and enjoy lush wine from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly. Proceeds benefit BARS artistic and member programs. VIP reception is 21+ only, proper ID required for admittance.

About Daniel Glover, piano

Pianist Daniel Glover has been described as “a whirlwind…an incisive, exciting, and apparently tireless player…a natural for hyper-virtuosic challenge.” He has performed in 24 countries throughout South America, Europe, Asia, Canada, the Caribbean, as well as 42 states in the US.

He received his Master’s degree from The Juilliard School. His teachers include Eugene List, Abbey Simon, Jerome Lowenthal, Nancy Bachus and Thomas LaRatta. Mr. Glover has served on the faculties of New York University, University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), University of San Francisco, and Notre Dame de Namur (continues) University.

His extensive repertoire encompasses 60 concerti, and he has recorded eight CDs, which have been broadcast on radio stations in the US, Canada, Germany and Israel.

Daniel Glover resides in San Francisco. This is Daniel's second performance with BARS. Visit Daniel online at danielgloverpianist.com.

Special FREE Concert: Sextets & a Septet

Chamber Music of Dohnanyi, Ireland, & Stravinsky

Saturday, September 18, 2010, 8pm

SF Community Music Center, 544 Capp St at 20th, SF 94110 (Map)

Parking Garage is $15 at Capp and 19th.

Presented by BARS Rainbow Chamber Players, featuring BARS musicians Thomas Alexander, Russ Bartoli, Michael Cook, Tom Hill, Mark Hodgson, Don Hubert, Jeff Johnson & Gene Nakajima

Pre-concert, no host coffee/dinner: Crepe House, 1132 Valencia at 22nd after 6:30pm (Map). Reception immediately following performance.

You're Invited: BARS FREE Holiday Party

Join us for a FREE evening celebrating the past year and toasting the next!

This Wednesday, December 15, 7pm at the Hamm's Building, 1550 Bryant St, SF, enjoy stunning views of the city with BARS musicians, volunteers, audience, and friends.

Click Here to RSVP

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