Opening Night Gala September 7, 2013 8 pm

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

A small number tickets donated by those who could not attend will be available at the box office.

BARS is adding Sunday matinees to our traditional Saturday evening concert for our November and March performances this season.

Dawn Harms, Music Director

Verdi - La Forza del Destino

Strauss - Trio from Der Rosenkavalier

Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano

Melody Moore, soprano

Marisol DeAnda, soprano

Heggie - Primary Colors

Frederica Von Stade, mezzo-soprano

Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2

Part of BARS' LGBTQ Composer and Performing Artist Series, which strives to redefine perceptions of LGBTQ music and increase awareness of the beauty, talents, and accomplishments of fellow LGBTQ individuals and groups.

        About Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano   Described by the New York Times as “one of America’s finest artists and singers,” Frederica von Stade continues to be extolled as one of the music world’s most beloved figures. Known to family, friends, and fans by her nickname “Flicka,” the mezzo-soprano has enriched the world of classical music for three decades.   Miss von Stade’s career has taken her to the stages of the world’s great opera houses and concert halls. She began at the top, when she received a contract from Sir Rudolf Bing during the Metropolitan Opera auditions, and since her debut in 1970 she has sung nearly all of her great roles with that company. In January 2000, the company celebrated the 30th anniversary of her debut with a new production of The Merry Widow specifically for her, and in 1995, as a celebration of her 25th anniversary, the Metropolitan Opera created for her a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande. In addition, Miss von Stade has appeared with every leading American opera company, including San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Los Angeles Opera. Her career in Europe has been no less spectacular, with new productions mounted for her at Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera. She is invited regularly by the finest conductors, among them Claudio Abbado, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Leonard Slatkin, and Michael Tilson Thomas, to appear in concert with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Washington’s National Symphony, and the Orchestra of La Scala.   With impressive versatility, she has effortlessly traversed an ever-broadening spectrum of musical styles and dramatic characterizations. A noted bel canto specialist, she excelled as the heroines of Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Bellini’s La Sonnambula. She is an unmatched stylist in the French repertoire: a delectable Mignon or Périchole, a regal Marguerite in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust, and, in one critic’s words, “the Mélisande of one’s dreams.” Her elegant figure and keen imagination have made her the world’s favorite interpreter of the great trouser roles, from Strauss’ Octavian and Composer to Mozart’s Sesto, Idamante and - magically, indelibly - Cherubino. Miss von Stade’s artistry has inspired the revival of neglected works such as Massenet’s Cherubin, Thomas’ Mignon, Rameau’s Dardanus, and Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria. Her ability as a singing actress has allowed her to portray wonderful works in operetta and musical theater including the title role in The Merry Widow and Desirée Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. Her repertoire is continually expanding with the works of contemporary composers. She created the role of Tina in Dallas Opera’s world premiere production of Dominick Argento’s The Aspern Papers (a work written for her) as well as the role of Madame de Merteuil in the Conrad Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs. Patrick De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, both for San Francisco Opera.   Frederica von Stade continues to create compelling new stage portrayals. In 2005, Los Angeles audiences saw her first-ever performances of the title role in La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein in a new production directed by famed movie director Garry Marshall for Los Angeles Opera. Later that season, she gave her first performances as Ottavia in L’Incoronazione di Poppea with Houston Grand Opera, a role she reprised for Los Angeles Opera in the 2006-07 season.   She has made over seventy recordings with every major label, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular crossover albums. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two Grand Prix du Disc awards, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Italy’s Premio della Critica Discografica, and “Best of the Year” citations by Stereo Review and Opera News. She has enjoyed the distinction of holding simultaneously the first and second places on national sales charts for Angel/EMI’s Show Boat and Telarc’s The Sound of Music.   About Melody Moore, soprano   American soprano, Melody Moore, to great critical success, recently sang her first Tosca at San Francisco Opera while filling in for Angela Gheorghiu on opening night and again later in the run. No stranger to the San Francisco Opera stage, Melody had the honor of portraying Susan Rescorla in the World Premiere there of Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier, which opened on the eve of the ten year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. After having successfully debuted as Rita Clayton in Stephen Schwartz’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon, Melody returned to New York City Opera in early 2012 to sing the leading role of Régine Saint Laurent in the American debut of Rufus Wainwright’s new opera, Prima Donna. Melody recently sang the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at Atlanta Opera before returning to San Francisco Opera as First Lady in The Magic Flute. In early 2013 Melody made her Houston Grand Opera debut as Julie LaVerne in their new production of Show Boat. In the Spring of 2013 Melody was seen on the Opera Colorado stage as Elvira in Don Giovanni followed directly by singing in Rufus Wainwright's "Prima! Rufus! Judy!" concert at the Philadelphia International Arts Festival. Melody began the summer of 2013 with her debut at Opéra National de Bordeaux as Pamina in The Magic Flute. She will next be performing at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival singing the role of Senta in The Flying Dutchman.   Recent critically acclaimed performances include two appearances with English National Opera as Mimi in Jonathan Miller’s production of La Bohème and as Marguerite in Des McAnuff’s production of Faust. Melody has also performed the role of Mimi with San Francisco Opera and Opera Cleveland. She has appeared with Los Angeles Opera as Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and in their Recovered Voices Project, highlighting recovered works by composers affected by the Holocaust, in the productions of Der Zwerg and Der Zerbrochene Krug. Melody has also performed the role of La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro productions at San Francisco Opera and Madison Opera. Elsewhere, she has appeared with the New Orleans Opera as Manon Lescaut, Orlando Opera in the title role in Suor Angelica, and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra production of Don Giovanni as Donna Anna. She has appeared regularly with the San Francisco based New Century Chamber Orchestra headed by Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and has recently sung Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. This year, Melody debuted in Munich with the Bavarian Radio Symphony in a concert performance of Gordon Getty’s opera, Plump Jack, conducted by Ulf Schirmer.   Born and raised in Dyersburg, Tennessee, Melody, as a small child, first began singing with her parents at church and other community functions. She received her Master’s Degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor’s degree from Kent State University. Her Kent State teacher, James Mismas, encouraged her to pursue a performance career and she credits his faith in her abilities with much of her current success. Melody Moore is a former Merola Opera Program participant and was a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow. She currently lives in San Francisco with her wife.   About Jake Heggie, composer   Jake Heggie is the American composer of the operas Moby-Dick, Dead Man Walking, Three Decembers, To Hell and Back, For a Look or a Touch, Another Sunrise, and At the Statue of Venus. He has also composed more than 250 songs, as well as concerti, chamber music, choral and orchestral works. His songs, song cycles and operas are championed internationally by some of the most celebrated singers of our time, including Isabel Bayrakdarian, Stephen Costello, Joyce DiDonato, Nathan Gunn, Susan Graham, Ben Heppner, Jonathan Lemalu, Jay Hunter Morris, Patti LuPone, Robert Orth, Kiri Te Kanawa, Morgan Smith, Frederica von Stade, Talise Trevigne, and Bryn Terfel, to name a few. The operas — most of them created with the distinguished writers Terrence McNally and Gene Scheer — have been produced internationally on five continents. Since its San Francisco premiere in 2000, Dead Man Walking has received more than 200 international performances. Moby-Dick will be telecast on Great Performances in the fall of 2013 and is set to receive its East Coast premiere in February 2014 by the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Since its 2010 world premiere at The Dallas Opera, Moby-Dick has also been produced by San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, State Opera of South Australia, and Calgary Opera. Upcoming projects include Great Scott (libretto and story by McNally) for The Dallas Opera's 2015/16 season; plus works commissioned by Music of Remembrance, Houston Grand Opera, Pacific Chorale, Pittsburgh Symphony and the Ravinia Festival. www.jakeheggie.com

Dawn Harms appointed BARS's new Music Director

It is with great excitement and pleasure that Bay Area Rainbow Symphony announces its new Music Director is Dawn Harms. Dawn brings passion, expertise and wonderful musicianship to guide BARS's artistic course and the orchestra is thrilled to be working with her. Dawn's dynamism and energy will continue the upward trajectory of BARS as it enters its sixth season.   About Dawn Harms   Dawn Harms's very diverse career ranges from being a chamber musician, violin soloist, concertmaster, and conductor.  Dawn is a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster for the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Co-Concertmaster with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.  She also records regularly at Skywalker Ranch Studios on sound tracks for movies and video games.   Dawn Harms's very diverse career ranges from being a chamber musician, violin soloist, concertmaster, and conductor.  Dawn is a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster for the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Co-Concertmaster with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.  She also records regularly at Skywalker Ranch Studios on sound tracks for movies and video games.   Ms. Harms was chosen as a Fellow at the exclusive American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, where she worked with some of the top conductors of the world.  Her recent guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, the Livermore Amador Symphony, and Symphony Parnassus.  She was also invited to conduct the extra shorts on the film Ratatouille which is exclusively found on the DVDs.  Her recent solo appearances include, Folsom Symphony, Paradise Symphony, Sacramento Symphony, Symphony Parnassus, and the Stanford Symphony Orchestra.  She has appeared in concert with Frederica Von Stade, Zheng Cao, Eugenia Zukerman and has premiered and performed works by Jake Heggie.  In March 2012, Dawn was fortunate enough to solo with BARS, playing the 4 Seasons of Buenos Aries, by Astor Piazzolla.  Now once again she is delighted to get to work with BARS as a conductor.   A strong advocate for Music education, she was music director and conductor of the Amarillo Youth Orchestra.  She designs and performs her own family show throughout the United States, New Zealand, and Japan.  Dawn recently performed her one-woman family show with the Lincoln Symphony in Nebraska, the Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, and the Napa Youth Symphony.  Dawn plays on her cousin Tom Waits's CDs "Alice" and "Blood Money." Dawn also has two solo CD's, "The Black Swan" and "The Hot Canary" that can be found on cdbaby.com.  She is currently on the faculty at Stanford University.

Stay tuned for Music Director Announcement and Season Ticket Sales

Special thanks to our our audience for making this season a resounding success and also to our four Finalist Candidates for guest conducting this past season!  BARS will announce its next Music Director in the 3rd week of July along with Season Ticket sales.

Cyrus Ginwala

Christian Baldini

Jessica Bejarano

Dawn Harms

About Dr. Cyrus Ginwala

Conductor Cyrus Ginwala has appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boca Pops, the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the Aspen Concert Orchestra and the Sewanee Summer Festival Orchestra. He has served as visiting faculty at the Peabody Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. Since relocating to the Bay Area in 2005, he has conducted concerts throughout the region, including during the inaugural season of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony.

Born and raised in Boston, his early training was as singer and pianist. While in high school, he studied at the Tanglewood Young Artist Program, after which he was appointed to the faculty for an additional three years. After completing a B. Mus. in piano at Boston University, he earned Master and Doctor of Music degrees in Orchestral Conducting at the Peabody Conservatory, where he conducted opera productions annually and was the only student in the conservatory’s modern history entrusted with a major production of the Peabody Opera Theater.

From 1989-1996, Dr. Ginwala was Music Director of the Orchestra and the Opera Workshop at Towson University in Baltimore and, from 1994-96, Music Director of the Young Victorian Opera Company.

Music Director of the Symphony of the Mountains from 1996-2005, he conducted more than 100 works in subscription and pops series, while expanding the orchestra’s concert and education programs. During the same period, Dr. Ginwala was Resident Conductor of the Sewanee Summer Music Center, one of the oldest summer orchestral training programs in America.

An outspoken advocate for social and community causes, he was founding member of Equality Tennessee, created following the 2000 March on Washington, and the Kingsport Community Foundation. He lives in Oakland with his husband Dennis and two unreasonably demanding cats..

About Dr. Christian Baldini In his early 30s, based in California, and of Argentinian and Italian descent, Christian Baldini is a dynamic and diverse young artist. Equally at home in the core repertoire as in the most daring corners of the contemporary repertoire, he is an accomplished conductor and a natural communicator, with a pure and warm sense of musicality. He has conducted orchestras and ensembles internationally, including the Munich Radio Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.) and San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. He has also conducted opera for the Aldeburgh Festival (England). Equally at home conducting symphonic repertoire, chamber ensembles, and opera, Baldini has been an advocate for contemporary music since early on in his career and has conducted the world premières of more than 60 new works. In this capacity he has collaborated closely with composers such as Brian Ferneyhough, Steven Stucky, Philippe Hurel, Fabian Panisello and Steve Mackey. After conducting the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP, Brazil), the Folha de São Paulo gave him a rave review "this charismatic young conductor lead Brahms' Symphony No. 1 by memory, lavishing his musicality and leaving sighs all over the hall and the rows of the orchestra." In Buffalo, New York, Baldini garnered excellent reviews conducting Stravinsky's L’Histoire du soldat with members of the Buffalo Philharmonic at the Kavinoky Theater.

Baldini was privileged to learn from such conducting luminaries as Peter Eötvös, Martyn Brabbins, Leonard Slatkin and Kurt Masur. He holds degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo (Ph.D. in Composition), the Pennsylvania State University (Master’s in Conducting), and the Catholic University of Argentina (Bachelor’s Degree in Conducting and Composition).

Baldini is also a noted composer and his music has been performed in Europe, South America, North America and Asia by orchestras and ensembles including the Orchestre National de Lorraine, Southbank Sinfonia (London), New York New Music Ensemble, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Israel Contemporary Players, Daegu Chamber Orchestra (South Korea), Munich Radio Orchestra, Chronophonie Ensemble (Freiburg) and Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt). His music appears on CD on the Pretal Label, and has been broadcast on Südwestrundfunk and Bayerischer Rundfunk in Germany, as well as on the National Classical Music Radio of Argentina. He has also conducted and recorded contemporary Italian music for the RAI Trade and Tactus labels. His compositions are published by Babel Scores in Paris.

Baldini’s work has received awards in several competitions including the top prize at the Seoul International Competition for Composers (South Korea, 2005), the Tribune of Music (UNESCO, 2005), the Ossia International Competition (Rochester, NY, 2008), the Daegu Chamber Orchestra International Competition (South Korea, 2008), and the São Paulo Orchestra International Conducting Competition (OSESP - Brazil, 2006). He was also a finalist for the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award in April 2012.

In past seasons, Baldini has been an assistant conductor with the BBC Symphony and the Britten-Pears Orchestras, and a cover conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.). Since 2009, Baldini has served as the Music Director of the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra (University of California), and was recently appointed as Music Director with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. In the summer of 2012, he made his debut in South Africa conducting two concerts with the National Youth Orchestra, and returned for a second engagement conducting the Buenos Aires Philharmonic.

About Jessica Bejarano

Jessica Bejarano currently serves as Music Director of West County Winds; Artistic Director of the Chamber String Orchestra of San Francisco; Associate Conductor of the Community Women’s Orchestra; Instrumental and Vocal Director of the Jewish Community High School; and Artist-In-Residence with LEAP...Imagination in Learning in San Francisco.

Jessica received her Master of Arts in Conducting from the University of California, Davis; Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Wyoming; and Associate of Fine Arts in Music Education from Casper College.

During the summer of 2007, Jessica attended 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. Jessica was invited back by the Academy (IAAC) in 2008 to continue her studies with Maestro Leonid Korchmar and to conduct a performance with the Chamber String Orchestra of Urbino in Urbino, Italy. During the same summer, she also attended the International Institute for Conductors in Bac?u, Romania where she conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra “Mihail Jora” of Bacau in two separate performances. In September, 2010, Jessica was one of ?fteen conductors selected from around the world to study with Maestro Jorma Panula and conduct the Ruse National Philharmonic in Ruse, Bulgaria.

Recently, in June, 2012, Jessica was invited to the Conductors’ Guild Conducting Mastercourse with Maestra Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In July, Jessica was selected to participate in the International Conductors Masterclass in San Lorenzo del Escorial, Spain. During her time in Spain she worked closely with Maestro Jorma Panula and conducted the Camerata Antonio Soler Orchestra in performance. In August, after Spain, Jessica was accepted into the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music as a conductor with Maestra Marin Alsop and Maestro Gustav Meier in Santa Cruz, California.

About Dawn Harms

Dawn Harms’ diverse career ranges from playing Take Me Out to the Ballgame at a Giants game with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, to playing on her cousin Tom Waits' CD's, Alice, Blood Money, and Bad as Me. A member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and associate concertmaster of the critically acclaimed New Century Chamber Orchestra, Dawn also performs as co-concertmaster with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.

Dawn was chosen to be one of the fellows at the exclusive American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, where she worked with some of the top conductors of the world. She is co-founder and Music Director of the Music at Kirkwood chamber music festival and currently serves on the music faculty at Stanford University.

As a strong advocate for children's music education, Dawn was conductor and music director of the Amarillo Youth Orchestra and continues to design and perform educational concerts throughout the United States. She recently performed her one-woman family show with the Lincoln Symphony, the Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony and the Napa Youth Symphony.

Dawn was featured in a concert at the Guggenheim Museum, premiering works by Jake Heggie and Gordon Getty, where she collaborated with Frederica von Stade, Zheng Cao, Eugenia Zukerman, and Matt Haimowitz.

Another highlight of her career was a performance at the GLAAD awards in San Francisco, with the New Century Chamber Orchestra, in which Suze Orman had the honor of introducing them for the first time to a very diverse audience.

After returning from a highly successful two and a half week east coast tour with the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Dawn had an even busier schedule this Spring. She was invited to conduct the Tennessee honors youth orchestra, in Chattanooga Tennessee, in February. She then conducted the Livermore-Amador Symphony in April, and played the first movement of the Barber Violin Concerto as well as a world premiere by Peter B. Allen with the Folsom Symphony in May.

I Am Harvey Milk - with members of Bay Area Rainbow Symphony

Members of Bay Area Rainbow Symphony will be performing with the SF Gay Men's Chorus as they present the world premier of I Am Harvey Milk

Broadway Composer Andrew Lippa and Drama Desk award-winner and Tony®-winning soprano Laura Benanti star in this performance conducted by Dr. Timothy Seelig!

Thurs June 27, and Friday June 28, 2013 8 pm -- Additional show now added Wed June 26! 8 pm at Nourse Theatre - Van Ness & Hayes St., San Francisco

Tickets and information at www.SFGMC.org/events or City Box office 415-392-4400

June 8, 2013, 8PM

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

A small number tickets donated by those who could not attend will be available at the box office.

BARS will start to add additional performances for some concerts next season.

Dawn Harms, guest conductor

Assad - Brazilian Fanfare

Elgar - Cello Concerto

Emil Miland, cello

Saint-Saëns - Symphony #3 'Organ'

Part of BARS' LGBTQ Composer and Performing Artist Series, which strives to redefine perceptions of LGBTQ music and increase awareness of the beauty, talents, and accomplishments of fellow LGBTQ individuals and groups.

About Dawn Harms, guest conductor

Dawn Harms’ diverse career ranges from playing Take Me Out to the Ballgame at a Giants game with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, to playing on her cousin Tom Waits' CD's, Alice, Blood Money, and Bad as Me. A member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and associate concertmaster of the critically acclaimed New Century Chamber Orchestra, Dawn also performs as co-concertmaster with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.

Dawn was chosen to be one of the fellows at the exclusive American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, where she worked with some of the top conductors of the world. She is co-founder and Music Director of the Music at Kirkwood chamber music festival and currently serves on the music faculty at Stanford University.

As a strong advocate for children's music education, Dawn was conductor and music director of the Amarillo Youth Orchestra and continues to design and perform educational concerts throughout the United States. She recently performed her one-woman family show with the Lincoln Symphony, the Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony and the Napa Youth Symphony.

Dawn was featured in a concert at the Guggenheim Museum, premiering works by Jake Heggie and Gordon Getty, where she collaborated with Frederica von Stade, Zheng Cao, Eugenia Zukerman, and Matt Haimowitz.

Another highlight of her career was a performance at the GLAAD awards in San Francisco, with the New Century Chamber Orchestra, in which Suze Orman had the honor of introducing them for the first time to a very diverse audience.

After returning from a highly successful two and a half week east coast tour with the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Dawn had an even busier schedule this Spring. She was invited to conduct the Tennessee honors youth orchestra, in Chattanooga Tennessee, in February. She then conducted the Livermore-Amador Symphony in April, and played the first movement of the Barber Violin Concerto as well as a world premiere by Peter B. Allen with the Folsom Symphony in May.

About Emil Miland, cello

Cellist Emil Miland is acclaimed internationally for his performances of new and traditional repertoire as a soloist and chamber musician. The San Francisco Classical Voice states, "Emil Miland is a unique phenomenon. There is just something about the way he connects the qualities of style, grace, virtuosity and real soul that remind one of no other cellist."

He made his solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony at 16, the same year he was selected to perform for Mstislav Rostropovich in master classes held at the University of California at Berkeley. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Chamber Music America.

He has been a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra since 1988. Often collaborating in recital with singers he has appeared with Zheng Cao, Joyce di Donato, Susan Graham, Marilyn Horne, Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson, and Frederica von Stade. In 2010 Ms. von Stade invited him to accompany her at her farewell recital in Carnegie Hall.

Many composers have written and dedicated new works for him including Ernst Bacon, David Conte, David Carlson, Shinji Eshima, Jake Heggie, Andrew Imbrie, Lou Harrison, Richard Hervig, James Meredith and Dwight Okamura. In 2013 he will premiere and record David Conte's Piano Trio with violinist Kay Stern and pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

His recordings include David Carlson's Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Utah Symphony on New World Records and his Sonata for Cello and Piano with pianist David Korevaar on MSR Classics.He appears on many of Jake Heggie's recordings beginning with the RCA Red Seal CD, "The Faces of Love: The Songs of Jake Heggie." Most recently he collaborated with Heggie on his upcoming CD, " The Songs of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer", scheduled for release in 2013.

Mr. Miland is featured in 3 recent films. In "The Heart of a Bell", by Eric Theirmann and Aleksandra Wolska, he performs James Meredith's "Smirti", a haunting elegy for cello, Tibetan chimes and bells with the Sonos Handbell Ensemble. He performs in the 2012 documentary, "Lou Harrison - A World in Music", by Eva Soltes.He can also be seen playing with Lua Hadar in her 2012 cabaret concert DVD, " Like a Bridge."

In December of 2012 Miland joined James Meredith and Sonos as soloist in their nine-city tour of Japan and will travel with them throughout the Pacific Northwest in April of 2013. In July Emil travels to Paris to present a solo recital that includes David Conte's Sonata for Cello and Piano under the auspices of the European American Musical Alliance at The Schola Cantorum.

About Clarice Assad, composer

Versatile, sophisticated, and accomplished, Clarice Assad is a sought after composer, pianist, and vocalist of musical depth and ability. Her music embraces a wide variety of styles, including her own original musical concepts.

Summer 2012 highlights included the world premieres of festival commissions by Ms. Assad for the internationally renowned Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado; a world premiere for the celebrated Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz, California, as part of the Hidden World of Girls Symphonic Project; and performances by Ms. Assad in New York, Belgium, France and Brazil. Commission premieres continue in the 2012-2013 season. In October 2012, the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio presents the world premiere of Ms. Assad’s concerto commission, Album de Retratos; in March 2013, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra presents an evening devoted to works written by Clarice, including the premiere of a PANDEMONIUM for string orchestra and string quartet.

A mini-residency in April 2013 at The Iolani School in Hawaii will include the performance of a new arrangement by Ms. Assad of Bartok’s Rumanian Dances. Assad will also be the composer-in-residence for the Albany Symphony during the 2013/2014 season. More highlights include the premiere of her new piece for orchestra, entitled SARAVÁ, commissioned by the Orquestra Sinfônica of São Paulo (OSESP). The new work will be premiered in São Paulo, Brail in October 2013. Following performances will take place during their two week European tour.

Ms. Assad is the recipient of such awards as the Aaron Copland Award, several ASCAP awards, Meet The Composer's Van Lier Fellowship as well as recognition from the Latin Grammy and the Grammy Foundation, the Franklin Honor Society, American Composers Forum and has been commissioned by Carnegie Hall, Fundação OSESP, the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Concordia Chamber Players and the New Century Chamber Orchestra, to name a few. She is the principal staff arranger for the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and is responsible for most of the orchestra’s musical arrangements, such as the highly praised chamber orchestra version of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

Clarice Assad has also written for theater and ballet. Works include Ópera das Pedras, written and directed by Brazilian visual artist Denise Milan and co-directed by Mabou Mine's co-founder and director Lee Breuer; an original soundtrack for the play A Lição de Anatomia by Argentinian playwright Carlos Mathus, the ballet Steps to Grace, by choreographer Lou Fancher and Essentials of Flor by Kristi Spessard. Assad's Impressions, a suite for chamber orchestra, was choreographed by Steve Rooks for the Masterworks Festival in Winona Lake, Indiana. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Clarice Assad was born into one of Brazil’s most famous musical families (she is the daughter of Sergio Assad, one of today’s preeminent guitarists and composers), and has performed professionally since the age of seven. Formal piano studies began with Sheila Zagury in Brazil; she then studied with Natalie Fortin in Paris and had additional instruction in Jazz and Brazilian piano under the tutelage of Leandro Braga. Clarice continued her classical piano studies in the United States with Ed Bedner (Berklee School of Music) and then Bruce Berr at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Composition studies have been with Ilya Levinson, Stacy Garrop, David Rakowski, Osvaldo Golijov, Michael Daugherty, Evan Chambers and Claude Baker. Clarice studied voice with Susan Botti and Judy Blazer. Ms. Assad Holds a Bachelor of Music from the Chicago College of the Performing Arts, Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, and a Masters of Music in Composition from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Saturday May 18th at 6:00 p.m. Rainbow Chamber Players: Sextets and Quintets

St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, 3281 16th St, San Francisco @ Dolores (Map)  

Rainbow Chamber Players will present Sextets and Quintets

Nicholas Pavkovic:  Eight Figments for Wind Quintete

John Ireland:  Sextet for Clarinet, Horn and String Quartet Mv 1 & 2

Johannes Brahms:  Clarinet Quintet Mv 1 & 4

Francis Poulenc:  Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet

Cost: Free, voluntary donations accepted for the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony.

Reception will follow the performance. A concert welcoming members of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists (AGLP) attending the American Psychiatric Association Convention Performers:  Nick Boland, (oboe), Clayton Bullock, MD (violin), Sung Choi (cello), Michael Cook (piano), Richard Horan (viola), Gary Huang, MD (violin), Jeff Johnson, PhD (horn), Gene Nakajima, MD (clarinet), Randy Rischette, MD (horn), Emma Tarai (flute), and guest Justin Cummings (bassoon).

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, 16^th St; BART 16th St. Mission

Doors open at 5:30 pm

About Rainbow Chamber Players and BARS : Rainbow Chamber Players is made up of members of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS). BARS is an orchestra dedicated to increasing visibility and challenging stereotypes of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) composers, instrumentalists, and performing artists.

March 16th, 2013, 8PM

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

Jessica Bejarano, guest conductor

Grazyna Bacewicz - Overture for Orchestra

Rachmaninov -Piano Concerto No. 2

Daniel Glover, piano

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 4

About Jessica Bejarano, guest conductor

Jessica Bejarano currently serves as Music Director of West County Winds; Artistic Director of the Chamber String Orchestra of San Francisco; Associate Conductor of the Community Women’s Orchestra; Instrumental and Vocal Director of the Jewish Community High School; and Artist-In-Residence with LEAP...Imagination in Learning in San Francisco.  

Jessica received her Master of Arts in Conducting from the University of California, Davis; Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Wyoming; and Associate of Fine Arts in Music Education from Casper College.  

During the summer of 2007, Jessica attended 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. Jessica was invited back by the Academy (IAAC) in 2008 to continue her studies with Maestro Leonid Korchmar and to conduct a performance with the Chamber String Orchestra of Urbino in Urbino, Italy. During the same summer, she also attended the International Institute for Conductors in Bac?u, Romania where she conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra “Mihail Jora” of Bacau in two separate performances. In September, 2010, Jessica was one of ?fteen conductors selected from around the world to study with Maestro Jorma Panula and conduct the Ruse National Philharmonic in Ruse, Bulgaria.  

Recently, in June, 2012, Jessica was invited to the Conductors’ Guild Conducting Mastercourse with Maestra Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In July, Jessica was selected to participate in the International Conductors Masterclass in San Lorenzo del Escorial, Spain. During her time in Spain she worked closely with Maestro Jorma Panula and conducted the Camerata Antonio Soler Orchestra in performance. In August, after Spain, Jessica was accepted into the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music as a conductor with Maestra Marin Alsop and Maestro Gustav Meier in Santa Cruz, California.  

About Daniel Glover, piano Daniel Glover is thrilled to be making his third appearance with BARS. Previous appearances included Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini.  

Pianist Daniel Glover has performed in 42 states and 25 countries throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the Caribbean. The San Jose Mercury News said, “Glover is an incisive, exciting, and apparently tireless player…a natural for hyper-virtuosic challenge.” He has been hailed for his “extraordinary technique, analytical understanding and determined phrasing from the first to the last bar.” (Südhessische Post, Germany) The San Francisco Classical Voice remarked, "Brilliant, tender, whimsical, sparkling…Glover brought everything together into a well balanced, evenly measured medium.” “The elegance and civility of Glover's approach was musically unimpeachable." “Dazzling…golly can he play! I kept expecting smoke to emerge from the interior of the instrument…a flawless sense of Lisztian style incorporating its emotional depth.”  

Mr. Glover has trained with such luminaries as Eugene List, Abbey Simon, Jerome Lowenthal, Nancy Bachus and Thomas LaRatta. He holds a master’s degree from New York’s Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student. Among his numerous competition awards is first prize in the prestigious Liederkranz Competition in 1990. His successful 1992 Carnegie Hall recital in New York was a result of winning the Artists International Competition. Mr. Glover also appeared in Washington, D.C.’s Corcoran Gallery and at the St. Petersburg Palaces Festival in Russia.  

With a repertoire of sixty concerti and other works for piano and orchestra, Mr. Glover has appeared regularly with seventeen Bay Area orchestras, as well as numerous orchestras nationally and internationally. Recent appearances include the critically acclaimed “World Premiere” performance of Eric Zeisl’s Concerto in C major (1952) in May, 2005 with the Saratoga Symphony, which was honored as one of the “Top 10 Best Classical Concerts in the Bay Area, 2005” by the San Jose Mercury News. Other performances include Brahms’s Concerto No. 2 in B-flat and Ravel’s Concerto in G with the Tulare County Symphony, Mozart’s Concerto in C minor, K. 491, with the Szeged Philharmonic Orchestra (Hungary), Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 3 with the North Bay Philharmonic, Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Golden Gate Philharmonic Orchestra, Bartók’s Rhapsody, Opus 1, with the Kensington Symphony, Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Mission Chamber Orchestra, Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini with the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony with the Redwood Symphony, and Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto with the Symphony Parnassus.  

Daniel Glover has served on the faculties of New York University, University of the Virgin Islands, University of San Francisco, Notre Dame de Namur University, and the Summer Piano Workshop of Kent State University.  

Mr. Glover has recorded eight CDs, including Franz Liszt, The Profound and the Profane (2008), Spanish Impressions (2006), Romantic Russian Encores (2005), and a recording of live performances of three works for piano and orchestra by Mozart, Strauss and Prokofiev (2005). Previous recordings include the complete solo piano music by Ravel (2003), the Brahms Sonatas for Violin and Piano with New York violinist Matthew Reichert (2001), and Russian Romantics (2000). These recordings are available for purchase at this concert.   Visit Daniel Glover’s website: www.danielgloverpianist.com.

Part of BARS' LGBTQ Composer and Performing Artist Series, which strives to redefine perceptions of LGBTQ music and increase awareness of the beauty, talents, and accomplishments of fellow LGBTQ individuals and groups.

Interested in playing with BARS? Join us January 9th for a rehearsal!

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 9 at SF State at our regular 7:30 – 10:00 p.m. time and place 1600 Holloway Ave, Creative Arts Building Room 153, San Francisco State University. BARS members, and any interested string players, will play through Verdi’s Nabucco Overture and Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony.  Double bass, violin and percussion players are especially encouraged to join us (though the wind sections are generally full, please email if you're interested in joining).  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.  Please RSVP if you plan to come by emailing ed@bars-sf.org.Our conductor for that evening will be Bryan Nies, who is the Principal Conductor of Festival Opera and Assistant Conductor of the Oakland East Bay Symphony.  His bio and information can be found at www.bryannies.com This rehearsal will be a fun session to read through some great orchestral literature … and to help recruit new players.  Please download and print your music using the links below. We will be reading Verdi’s Nabucco Overture and also Mendelssohn’s 5^th Symphony (the “Reformation Symphony”). Please print out your parts from IMSLP and bring them to the reading rehearsal. The Verdi link for parts is http://imslp.org/wiki/Nabucco_%28Verdi,_Giuseppe%29. In the Scores section of that page click on the Parts (34) tab then scroll down to the section marked: Overture and Chorus of Hebrew Slaves: "Va, pensiero" (Act III) and you will see the individual instrument parts listed for printing out in PDF format. The Mendelssohn link for parts is http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.5,_Op.107_%28Mendelssohn,_Felix%29 .   In the scores section of that page, click on parts (14) tab and then print out the parts for your instrument.

BARS Debut at Davies Hall Dec 6

BAY AREA RAINBOW SYMPHONY will perform as guests of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus for their Santa Concert at Davies Hall on Thursday, Dec 6 at  8 p.m.

BARS will perform Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker Suite conducted by Christian Baldini, and also accompany the SFGMC under the direction of Tim Seelig for the 1st half of the concert.

For concert performance information please view our Davies 2012 page.

For ticket information see SFGMC.org Phone and internet tickets are SOLD OUT

BARS 2012-2013 Guest Conductor Season

Watch this space closely for updates to our exciting 2012-2013 Guest Conductor Season!  

2012-2013 Future Concert Dates:

• Mar 16th, 2013 (at SFCM)

Jessica Bejarano, Guest Conductor

Grazyna Bacewicz - Overture for Orchestra

Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2

Daniel Glover, soloist

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 4

• Jun 8th, 2013 (at SFCM)

Dawn Harms, Guest Conductor -- program to be announced shortly

Nov 10th, 2012, 8PM

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

Christian Baldini, guest conductor

Falla - Dance from La Vida Breve

Bruch - Concerto for Clarinet and Viola

Jodi Levitz, viola

Susan Barnes, clarinet

Copland- Quiet City

Beethoven – 5th Symphony

About Dr. Christian Baldini, guest conductor In his early 30s, based in California, and of Argentinian and Italian descent, Christian Baldini is a dynamic and diverse young artist. Equally at home in the core repertoire as in the most daring corners of the contemporary repertoire, he is an accomplished conductor and a natural communicator, with a pure and warm sense of musicality. He has conducted orchestras and ensembles internationally, including the Munich Radio Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.) and San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. He has also conducted opera for the Aldeburgh Festival (England). Equally at home conducting symphonic repertoire, chamber ensembles, and opera, Baldini has been an advocate for contemporary music since early on in his career and has conducted the world premières of more than 60 new works. In this capacity he has collaborated closely with composers such as Brian Ferneyhough, Steven Stucky, Philippe Hurel, Fabian Panisello and Steve Mackey. After conducting the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP, Brazil), the Folha de São Paulo gave him a rave review "this charismatic young conductor lead Brahms' Symphony No. 1 by memory, lavishing his musicality and leaving sighs all over the hall and the rows of the orchestra." In Buffalo, New York, Baldini garnered excellent reviews conducting Stravinsky's L’Histoire du soldat with members of the Buffalo Philharmonic at the Kavinoky Theater.

Baldini was privileged to learn from such conducting luminaries as Peter Eötvös, Martyn Brabbins, Leonard Slatkin and Kurt Masur. He holds degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo (Ph.D. in Composition), the Pennsylvania State University (Master’s in Conducting), and the Catholic University of Argentina (Bachelor’s Degree in Conducting and Composition).

Baldini is also a noted composer and his music has been performed in Europe, South America, North America and Asia by orchestras and ensembles including the Orchestre National de Lorraine, Southbank Sinfonia (London), New York New Music Ensemble, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Israel Contemporary Players, Daegu Chamber Orchestra (South Korea), Munich Radio Orchestra, Chronophonie Ensemble (Freiburg) and Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt). His music appears on CD on the Pretal Label, and has been broadcast on Südwestrundfunk and Bayerischer Rundfunk in Germany, as well as on the National Classical Music Radio of Argentina. He has also conducted and recorded contemporary Italian music for the RAI Trade and Tactus labels. His compositions are published by Babel Scores in Paris.

Baldini’s work has received awards in several competitions including the top prize at the Seoul International Competition for Composers (South Korea, 2005), the Tribune of Music (UNESCO, 2005), the Ossia International Competition (Rochester, NY, 2008), the Daegu Chamber Orchestra International Competition (South Korea, 2008), and the São Paulo Orchestra International Conducting Competition (OSESP - Brazil, 2006). He was also a finalist for the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award in April 2012.

In past seasons, Baldini has been an assistant conductor with the BBC Symphony and the Britten-Pears Orchestras, and a cover conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.). Since 2009, Baldini has served as the Music Director of the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra (University of California), and was recently appointed as Music Director with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. In the summer of 2012, he made his debut in South Africa conducting two concerts with the National Youth Orchestra, and returned for a second engagement conducting the Buenos Aires Philharmonic.

About Jodi Levitz, viola Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and violist of the Ives Quartet, Jodi Levitz is an active performer of international reputation and passionate advocate of new music for viola. She was principal viola and soloist with the Italian chamber group I Solisti Veneti for 12 years, a position she won while still a student at The Juilliard School.

She performed as soloist throughout Europe, South America, the United States and the Far East, and she recorded on the Concerto, Dynamic, Naxos and Erato labels. Levitz attended the Juilliard Pre-College Division from age 12 and received her B.M. and M.M. from Juilliard. Recipient of the 2011 George Sarlo award for excellence in teaching, she is Chair of Strings and Co-chair of Chamber Music at SFCM.

About Susan Barnes, clarinet

Susan received her Master of Music Performance degree from Northwestern University in 1997. She studied with J. Lawrie Bloom of the Chicago Symphony and Russell Dagon of the Milwaukee Symphony. Her Bachelor of Music degree is from Oberlin Conservatory where she also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art at Oberlin College in 1996.

She attended the Interlochen National Music Camp in 1990 and has performed as a soloist with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra and the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra. She won several awards for clarinet performances while growing up in South Africa and attended Oberlin on a full scholarship. Susan has been a member of Symphony Parnassus, Prometheus Symphony as well as several chamber music groups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In addition to her love of the clarinet, she is a digital marketing consultant at her own business, Susby Internet Solutions where she goes by Suse Barnes since there are way too many Susan Barnes’! www.Susby.com

Part of BARS' LGBTQ Composer and Performing Artist Series, which strives to redefine perceptions of LGBTQ music and increase awareness of the beauty, talents, and accomplishments of fellow LGBTQ individuals and groups.

September 15, 2012, 8PM

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

Cyrus Ginwala, guest conductor

Jennifer Higdon - Blue Cathedral

Ravel - Piano Concerto in G

Marc Peloquin, piano

Brahms – Symphony No. 2

About Dr. Cyrus Ginwala, guest conductor

Conductor Cyrus Ginwala has appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boca Pops, the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the Aspen Concert Orchestra and the Sewanee Summer Festival Orchestra. He has served as visiting faculty at the Peabody Conservatory and the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. Since relocating to the Bay Area in 2005, he has conducted concerts throughout the region, including during the inaugural season of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony.

Born and raised in Boston, his early training was as singer and pianist. While in high school, he studied at the Tanglewood Young Artist Program, after which he was appointed to the faculty for an additional three years. After completing a B. Mus. in piano at Boston University, he earned Master and Doctor of Music degrees in Orchestral Conducting at the Peabody Conservatory, where he conducted opera productions annually and was the only student in the conservatory’s modern history entrusted with a major production of the Peabody Opera Theater.

From 1989-1996, Dr. Ginwala was Music Director of the Orchestra and the Opera Workshop at Towson University in Baltimore and, from 1994-96, Music Director of the Young Victorian Opera Company.

Music Director of the Symphony of the Mountains from 1996-2005, he conducted more than 100 works in subscription and pops series, while expanding the orchestra’s concert and education programs. During the same period, Dr. Ginwala was Resident Conductor of the Sewanee Summer Music Center, one of the oldest summer orchestral training programs in America.

An outspoken advocate for social and community causes, he was founding member of Equality Tennessee, created following the 2000 March on Washington, and the Kingsport Community Foundation. He lives in Oakland with his husband Dennis and two unreasonably demanding cats..

About Marc Peloquin, piano

A New York Times critic recently declared pianist Marc Peloquin's "energetic approach yielded a performance that was refreshing and alive. Individual lines rang out with remarkable definition and clarity..." Appearances have taken him from the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, the American Academy in Rome, Germany's Darmstadt Festival and the Cultural Center of Roubaix, France, to New York City spaces including Merkin Concert Hall, the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and Bargemusic. A refined and sensitive chamber musician, he and fellow pianist Roberto Hidalgo are the dynamic ensemble, Split Second.

Marc Peloquin's debut CD, works for solo piano of Otto Leuning, is available on the CRI label. Currently, a 3-disc set of the solo piano works of David Del Tredici is in process with Naxos Records. A native of Rhode Island, Marc received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music with additional studies at Boston University, the New England Conservatory and Tangelwood. He is visiting lecturer at the New School University, a Resident Teaching Artist at the Bloomingdale School of Music and resides in New York City.

About Jennifer Higdon, composer

Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon (b. Brooklyn, NY, December 31, 1962) is one of America?s most performed living composers. Higdon received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto, with the committee citing Higdon?s work as “a deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity.” She is the recipient of many other awards, including a Pew Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship and two awards from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Her list of commissioners range from the Philadelphia Orchestra to the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; from Eighth Blackbird to the Tokyo String Quartet; and from The President?s Own Marine Band to such artists as Hilary Hahn.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon (b. Brooklyn, NY, December 31, 1962) is one of America?s most performed living composers. Higdon received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto, with the committee citing Higdon?s work as “a deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity.” She is the recipient of many other awards, including a Pew Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship and two awards from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Her list of commissioners range from the Philadelphia Orchestra to the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; from Eighth Blackbird to the Tokyo String Quartet; and from The President?s Own Marine Band to such artists as Hilary Hahn.

Her works have been recorded on over three dozen CDs, and most recently her Percussion Concerto won the 2010 Grammy for Best Contemporary Classica Composition. Higdon holds the Rock Chair in Composition at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her music is published exclusively by Lawdon Press.

For more info, see www.jenniferhigdon.com

Part of BARS' LGBTQ Composer and Performing Artist Series, which strives to redefine perceptions of LGBTQ music and increase awareness of the beauty, talents, and accomplishments of fellow LGBTQ individuals and groups.

AD Search Announcements

The Bay Area Rainbow Symphony is conducting a search for its next Artistic Director.

The job description can be found here.

Those interested can also download an application directly from this link.

Are you a String Player? Come join us!

BARS is looking for intermediate & advanced Violins to join us for our future concerts.

Details can be found on our Recruitment Page.

Pre Concert Event: Celebrating the composer David Del Tredici's 75th birthday

September 15th, 7:15p, San Francisco Conservatory of Music (Tickets - you do not need a separate ticket, this is included as part of the concert) Our soloist for the Ravel Piano Concerto, Marc Peloquin, is an ardent advocate of Del Tredici, a Pulitzer Prize winning composer, who has recently written several pieces celebrating the gay experience.

Peloquin will perform the first movement of Mandango, called Same Sex Marriage which is dedicated to composers John Corigliano and Mark Adamo who were married by conductor Marin Alsop during the Cabrillo Music Festival. In addition, a transcription of the Acrostic Song from Final Alice, a piece based on the last poem in Alice in Wonderland, will be performed By Del Tredici and BARS flutist David Latulippe. Del Tredici and Peloquin will conclude by playing Carioca Boy- Tango, a four hand piano duo, based on the choral piece Queer Hossannas whose text celebrates a "frank appreciation of a sexy Brazilian's body."

Peloquin and Del Tredici will also present a recital on Friday Nov. 14th at Old First Church called: Mandango: David Del Tredici at 75 an evening of music for solo and duo piano. For more information see marcpeloquin.com oldfirstconcerts.org

David Del Tredici b. 1937

Generally recognized as the father of the American Neo-Romantic movement in music, David Del Tredici has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, and has been commissioned and performed by nearly every major American and European orchestral ensemble. “Del Tredici,” said Aaron Copland, “is that rare find among composers – a creator with a truly original gift. I venture to say that his music is certain to make a lasting impression on the American musical scene. I know of no other composer of his generation who composes music of greater freshness and daring, or with more personality.”

Much of his early work consists of elaborate vocal settings of James Joyce and Lewis Carroll works.

More recently, Del Tredici has set to music a cavalcade of contemporary American poets, often celebrating a gay sensibility. OUT Magazine has twice named the composer one of its people of the year.

David Del Tredici began his musical career as a pianist, making his début with the San Francisco Symphony at the age of eighteen. In 2004, pianist Marc Peloquin became interested in the piano works of Del Tredici and began an artistic collaboration with the composer that has resulted in a commission (S/M Ballade), several performances of Del Tredici’s music, and the recording of his piano works. See daviddeltredici.com

BARS' June 2012 Concert an Official Event of SF Pride: June 2, 2012, 8pm

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

Conte – Fantasy for Orchestra

Bay Area composer

Milhaud - Scaramouche

David Henderson, saxophone

Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition

(Ravel orchestration)

This event's post concert reception sponsored by

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly

About David Henderson, saxophone

David Henderson grew up in Hartford City, Indiana, and has degrees from the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School. In 1980 he gave his Carnegie Recital Hall solo debut as a winner of the East and West Artists competition - the New York Times stating, "An exceptionally accomplished instrumentalist with something to say, his work is poised, cultivated and expressive." In 1981 he received a first prize in saxophone from the Conservatoire de Bordeaux as a recipient of a Fulbright-ITT grant to study in France.

Since moving to San Francisco in 1988, he has played regularly with the San Francisco Symphony, including tours, recordings and television broadcasts under maestro Michael Tilson Thomas. He has also toured with the BBC Symphony under Andrew Davis and performed with the New World Symphony, the San Francisco Opera and Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet and Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic. He has appeared as soloist with the Oakland/East Bay Symphony.

In 1989 he joined the San Francisco Saxophone Quartet as tenor saxophonist and keyboard player. Starting out as street musicians in downtown San Francisco, the group was discovered on the street by the president of Angel/EMI records in 1990, and has since recorded many CD's and toured most of the 50 states as well as Japan. In 2006 Mr. Henderson joined the Premiere Saxophone Quartet, artists-in-residence at San Jose State University.

He has worked as a musician at Disney World and Great America theme parks, and played both on and off-Broadway while living in New York, including the original productions of Nunsense and March of the Falsettos.

Mr. Henderson currently teaches saxophone at the University of the Pacific and Stanford University. Summertime activities include the Sun Valley (Idaho) Summer Symphony, the Cabrillo Festival (Santa Cruz), Woodminster Summer Theater (Oakland) and the Mountain Play (Marin County). He and his partner Mike live in Pittsburg, CA.

March 24, 2012, 8pm

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

Piazzola – Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas

Dawn Harms, violin

Brahms – Symphony No. 1

Part of BARS 2012-2015 Brahms Symphony cycle

This event's post concert reception sponsored by

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly

About Dawn Harms, violin

Dawn's diverse career ranges from playing with Fredrica von Stade for a Haiti fundraiser, to playing Take Me Out to the Ballgame at a Giants game and chamber music in Aspen with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, to playing on her cousin Tom Waits' CD's Alice and Blood Money. A member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and associate concertmaster of the critically acclaimed New Century Chamber Orchestra, Dawn also performs as co-concertmaster with the Oakland East Bay Symphony. Dawn was chosen to be one of the fellows at the exclusive American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, where she worked with some of the top conductors of the world. She and her partner, Amy Duxbury, co-founded the Music at Kirkwood chamber music festival, soon celebrating it’s seventh season. Dawn currently serves on the music faculty at Stanford University.

In addition to her participation as a 2008 fellowship artist at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen, recent guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, the Livermore-Amador Symphony, and Symphony Parnassus.

Harms, a strong advocate for children's music education, was conductor and music director of the Amarillo Youth Orchestra and continues to design and perform educational concerts throughout the United States. Dawn recently performed her one-woman family show with the Lincoln Symphony, the Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony and the Napa Youth Symphony.

Dawn’s recent solo appearances include Symphony Parnassus in Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, the Folsom Symphony, the Paradise Symphony, the Flagler Symphony in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. Dawn was featured in a concert at the Guggenheim Museum premiering works by Jake Heggie and Gordon Getty, where she collaborated with Frederica von Stade, Zheng Cao, Eugenia Zukerman, and Matt Haimowitz. The highlight of this appearance included a once-in-a-lifetime ride in the “Jetty” -- Gordon Getty's private jet.

Dawn has released two solo CD’s, The Black Swan for violin and harp, and her latest CD, The Hot Canary. Learn more about Dawn at dawnharms.com

Subscribe Now to BARS 2011-2012 Season!

More Music. More Magic. BARS 2011-2012 Season Subscriptions are now available! Season Highlights include Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet suite no. 1, Beethoven's Symphony no. 7, Brahm's Symphony no. 1, and Mussorgky's Pictures at an Exhibition ( Ravel orchestration).

Our 11/12 season continues our mission to showcase the Bay Area's finest musicians and LGBTQ artists, including BARS Flute section leader David Latulippe, San Francisco Symphony's organist Jonathan Dimmock, San Francisco Opera first violinist Dawn Harms, frequent SF Symphony, Opera, and Ballet guest saxophonist David Henderson, and BARS assistant conductor, Maestra Jessica Bejarano. View Season

Subscribe Now to guarantee the best seats and enjoy subscriber-only benefits throughout the year. View Subscriber FAQ's

Harwood named Orchestra Management Fellow; BARS welcomes next ED

Saturday, May 21, 7p: Benefit Dinner at Ton Kiang, 5821 Geary Blvd, SF (Map) | Tickets

BARS announces the departure of founder and Executive Director, Ian Harwood, who as been named a 2011 League of American Orchestras Orchestra Management Fellow.

In honor of Mr. Harwood’s service to the arts and LGBTQ community, we invite you to a farewell dinner and "roast" on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 7pm at the award-winning Ton Kiang. BARS will also introduce its next Executive Director, Mr. Tyler Wanshura, at the benefit dinner.

Tickets may be purchased in advance only and are limited in number.

Mr. Harwood and his work has been recognized by the League of American Orchestras, the only national organization dedicated solely to the orchestral experience, and has been named a 2011 Orchestra Management Fellow. Ian has accepted this prestigious honor awarded to two individuals nationally. Over the course of 2011-2012, the fellowship will take him to Aspen Music Festival, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Memphis Symphony. The focus of the 12-month program is to fast track administrators who have direct managerial experience and have demonstrated potential to lead a professional orchestra within five to ten years. The redesigned program also includes more extensive mentoring by orchestra executive directors, a professional development stipend, and visits to orchestral and non-orchestral organizations known for their innovative entrepreneurial environments. The 31-year-old program’s alumni lead many orchestras across the country including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and Saint Louis Symphony.

Mr. Harwood says, “Every day for the past four years, I’ve been humbled by the non-stop support of BARS, by our musicians and audience alike. I’m confident, that under Mr. Wanshura’s leadership the organization will continue to ‘raise the bar’ and challenge stereotypes of LGBTQ and community arts groups.”

As Harwood prepares to depart, BARS announces its new Executive Director, Tyler Wanshura. Mr. Wanshura is a native to Minnesota where he received a BA in Studio Art from St. Olaf College. He has resided in San Francisco for just over a year now after receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in Arts Administration from Southern Utah University. Wanshura has worked recently with the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Braithwaite Fine Art Gallery, Theater Crescendo, Minnesota Opera, and San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.

Wanshura says, “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the BARS community. This is an incredibly talented and dedicated group of artists. I look forward to continuing the amazing trajectory BARS is following.”

Press contact: Tyler Wanshura, twanshura@bars-sf.org

Eight Is Not Enough: February 26, 2012, 2pm

San Francisco 1st Congregational United Church of Christ, 1300 Polk St @ Bush (Map)

Rainbow Chamber Players, tenor Brian Thorsett, and conductor Jessica Bejarano, will perform:

Beethoven - Octet

Gounod - Petite Symphonie

Various Mozart opera arias

Cost: Free, Voluntary Donations Appreciated, Reception will follow the performance.

Hosted by Cariwyl Hebert of Salon97. No knowledge of classical music is necessary. The listening portion of the event will last about an hour. As always, mixing and mingling will abound. Bring friends and come have fun!

Mr. Thorsett is a graduate of the San Francisco opera's Merola Opera Program and Music Academy of the West and Adjunct Lecturer in Voice and Opera Workshop, Santa Clara University. Jessica Bejarano is Assistant Conductor of BARS. Cariwyl Hebert is the founder of Salon97.

Salon 97 is a community-based organization that makes classical music inclusive, educational — and awesome — for people with an interest in arts and culture, but who find the formal nature of the concert hall intimidating.

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 19, 2, 3, 4, 38, 42, 45, 47, 49

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. Highlights from the 2011–13 seasons include the Sailor and Spirit in Dido and Aeneas with Philharmonia Baroque and Mark Morris Dance Company, Britten’s Captain Vere in scenes from Billy Budd, the title character in Rameau’s Pygmalion, and concert version of Mozart’s Magic Flute. He was a participant in Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artist program and spent two summers at the Music Academy of the West. In addition to his performing credits, Brian recently has been named Adjunct Lecturer in Voice and Opera Workshop at his alma mater, Santa Clara University.

About Jessica Bejarano: Maestra Bejarano is the Assistant Conductor of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. She also serves as Music Director of West County Winds; Assistant Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony; Assistant Conductor, Community Women’s Orchestra, and Artist-In-Residence with LEAP as a music education curriculum developer and teacher.

Maestra Bejarano received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Wyoming; and her Master of Arts in Conducting from the University of California, Davis. In September 2010, Maestra Bejarano was selected to attend a Master class with Maestro Jorma Panula and the Rousse (Bulgarian) National Philharmonic. She has served as Artistic Director of the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus; Music Director of VOICES Lesbian Choral Ensemble; and Music Director of GLAM Youth Choir. She has also guest conducted the Beloit Community Orchestra, in Beloit Wisconsin; and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus www.jessicabejarano.com

About Salon97: Established in 2008, Salon97 is a community-based organization that makes classical music inclusive, educational—and awesome—for people with an interest in arts and culture, but who find the formal nature of the concert hall intimidating. Salon97 hosts monthly events in San Francisco. Please visit www.salon97.org for more information.

About Rainbow Chamber Players and BARS : Rainbow Chamber Players is made up of members of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS). BARS is an orchestra dedicated to increasing visibility and challenging stereotypes of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) composers, instrumentalists, and performing artists.