May 9 - Offering



SAN FRANCISCO
COMPOSERS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Mark Alburger, Music Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
May 1, 2007 SFCCO (707) 451-0714 mus21stc@aol.com

SAN FRANCISCO COMPOSERS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
"HI, I'LL BE YOUR COMPOSER THIS EVENING"
8:00PM, SATURDAY, JUNE 9, OLD FIRST CHURCH, 1725 SACRAMENTO STREET
(AT VAN NESS), SAN FRANCISCO

SAN FRANCISCO AND WORLD PREMIERES OF WORKS BY
JOHN BEEMAN, HARRY BERNSTEIN, MICHAEL COOKE, ALAN CROSSMAN,
GARY FRIEDMAN, BRIAN HOLMES, LOREN JONES, AND JOHN RUSSELL

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2007 -- Hi, I'll be your composer this evening, with the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra, 8pm, Saturday, June 9, at Old First Church (1725 Sacramento Street) in San Francisco.

Would you like to hear our specials? We have a lovely braised fowl, Phoenix Rising, the final section of John Beeman's Fire Suite, which will be brought to the ear crackling and sizzling in a multi-layered crescendo.

Can't make up your mind? You might want to try the delicious One Who Draws Circles (Ha-Me'aggel) by Michael Cooke. This will be sure to wet the appetite in a music that calls forth the story of Onias (Honi) Ha-Me'aggel, a first century Jewish scholar who drew a circle and placed himself in the center of it, praying for rain, and whose prayers were mysteriously and immediately answered.

For our main Concertos we have two offerings -- Gary Friedman's for Trumpet and Jonathan Russell's for Two Bass Clarinets. For comfort food, may I recommend the former, a high adventure for trumpeter Brian Hertz inspired by the music of Joseph Haydn. But, for the more adventurous palette, may I direct your attention to the latter, which is a spicy confection combining seasonings of heavy metal rock with the classical conventions of Carl Maria von Weber, all cooked up by duo basso chefs Russell and Jeff Anderle.

For refreshment, we offer surprising new chamber music by Harry Bernstein, and also Alan Crossman's consciousness-raising Earth March, which is both an energy drink and soothing opportunity for reflection. After a few sonic quaffs, you'll feel ready to take on the world, or at least visit Google Earth.

A meal is also atmosphere, of course, so we're happy to provide you with an aural view of Golden Gate Bridge, the tenth movement of Loren Jones's Dancing on the Brink of the World. This is a tried-and-true 14-part recipe on the history of San Francisco, 1600 to the Present, seven of whose scrumptious bon-bons have been previously performed in SFCCO concerts.

Hopefully, you've saved room for dessert. Here we have a most unusual offering in songs by Brian Holmes. New Cecilia and New Dodo will delight in sweet melody and good humor, but beware of overindulgence. Is that a bit of tonal tummy-rumbling? Could be.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra's "Hi, I'll Be Your Composer Tonight" on Saturday, March 10, at 8.00 p.m. at Old First Church, 1725 Sacramento Street (at Van Ness), San Francisco are $15 general, $12 students and seniors. Tickets are available through the Old First Church Box Office at (415) 474-1608 and at the door. For more information, please call Old First Church Box Office, or the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra at (707) 451-0714, or visit the organizations' respective websites at www.sfcco.org and www.oldfirstconcerts.org. Tickets are also available at www.ticketweb.com. Other links to the show may be found at myspace.com/sfcco, myspace.com/erlingwold, and myspace.com/markalburger.

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CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
OLD FIRST CONCERTS PRESENTS
Saturday, June 9, at 8:00 p.m. Old First Presbyterian Church
1725 Sacramento Street at Van Ness
San Francisco, CA
(415) 474-1608

HI, I'LL BE YOUR COMPOSER THIS EVENING
San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra

Program:

John Beeman - Phoenix Rising
Harry Bernstein - Chamber Music
Michael Cooke - Ha-Me'aggel (One Who Draws Circles)
Alan Crossman - Earth March
Gary Friedman - Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra
Brian Holmes - Two Grotesque Songs from Death's Jest-Book
Loren Jones - Golden Gate Bridge
John Russell - Concerto for Two Bass Clarinets and Orchestra

Tickets:$15 general, $12 students and seniors, available through the Old First Church Box Office at (415) 474-1608, at the door, and at www.ticketweb.com.