Drawing room annex

Concert series featuring acclaimed women performers of the Bay Area at 780 Valencia during the Women Rising Exhibition begins with Sarah Cahill and her Project “The Future is Female” on March 24th.

Sarah Cahill has been hailed as “a sterling pianist and an intrepid illuminator of the classical avant-garde” by The New York Times. Cahill’s latest project is The Future is Female, an investigation and reframing of the piano literature featuring more than seventy compositions by women around the globe, from the Baroque to the present day, including new commissioned works.

On March 4, 2022, Sarah Cahill released her latest recording, The Future is Female, Vol. 1, In Nature, on First Hand Records. The Future is Female is a three-volume series, which celebrates and highlights women composers from the 17th century to the present day. These albums encompass 30 compositions by women from around the globe and include many new commissioned works and world premiere recordings.

Cahill explains, “Like most pianists, I grew up with the classical canon, which has always excluded women composers as well as composers of colour. It is still standard practice to perform recitals consisting entirely of music written by men. The Future is Female, then, aims to be a corrective towards rebalancing the repertoire. It does not attempt to be exhaustive, in any way, and the three albums in this series represent only a small fraction of the music by women which is waiting to be performed and heard."

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The Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & Chorus is entering its third decade of presenting high quality musical performances and dynamic music education programs to communities in the San Francisco Bay area. These highly successful programs have earned the organization a national and international reputation.  A key vision of Maestro Steiner is to increase audience development and provide access to classical music at the community level. 

The Golden Gate Symphony achieves this through implementing live music programs through an innovative ensemble orchestra and choral group, providing works ranging from classical to contemporary compositions. 

These programs have earned the organization a national and international reputation with programs in California, Central America, and Europe.  

Maestro Steiner created the organization to provide access to classical music at the community level by encouraging amateur and professional singers, musicians and composers to collaborate closely and build community through performing live classical music.

Award winning pianist Elektra Schmidt performs as solo artist and in chamber groups in the United States, France, Greece, and the United Kingdom. As well as a flourishing performance career, Elektra curates for numerous festivals and art houses in Europe and San Francisco. She is the founder of Artist Migration, an organization dedicated to the integration and mobility of international artists.  

She has collaborated with international festivals throughout the world including the San Francisco International Arts Festival, the Arundel Festival and Oxford Philomusica in the United Kingdom.  

Program: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” 

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3     Elektra Schmidt, soloist 

Jason Gibbs: Sinfonietta (World Premiere!)

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Diana Gameros 

If difficult times call for extraordinary voices, Berkeley singer-songwriter and guitarist Diana Gameros is the woman for the hour. The Mexican-born songstress draws on her experience as an immigrant to explore the plight of border crossers of all stripes, bringing luminous humanity to a topic defined by searing heat rather than light. Her albums, Eterno Retorno, and Arrullo, are an artistic triumph for these times. Gameros has shared the stage with the San Francisco Symphony, Taylor Mac, Bebel Gilberto, Natalia Lafourcade, Joan Baez, and her songs and story have been featured on Billboard, Mother Jones, NPR, and PBS, to name a few.

Morgan Nielsen

International touring artist and clarinet teacher based in San Francisco, California, Nilsen plays music in ensembles of global diverse genres: Klezmer, Balkan, Turkish, Colombian Cumbia, and Iranian classical music. With a degree from the Eastman School of Music for classical clarinet performance and a diploma in Ethnomusicology, Nilsen is a Backun Artist with a diverse and rewarding music career. She has performed in 49 states and plays wireless-clarinet at festivals across the nation.

On April 7th as part of Women Rising series Diana will be accompanied by Morgan Nielsen on several songs to perform a unique set of original music along with tunes by and for women from all over the world who have inspired Diana's musical journey. 

"Her voice has a remarkable expressive range. She's at once strong and breathy - in an instant, wounded and boldly searching." - NPR

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THE BEST BAD THINGS:

SONGS AND STORIES OF THE BRAVE, BAWDY and BEAUTIFUL WOMEN OF SAN FRANCISCO FROM 1840-1950

Premiering songs about Juana Briones, Alma Spreckels, Lola Montez, Madame Tess Wall, Sally Stanford, and more!!

https://www.bestbadthingssf.com/

With COMPOSITIONS by ALLISON LOVEJOY, CANDACE FOREST and VERONIKA KRAUSAS

Special guest Poet Agneta Falk Hirschman

Vocalist Melinda Martinez Becker https://www.melindabecker.com/

WITH a FABULOUS all-FEMALE CAST of PERFORMERS:  

ANGELA LaFLAMME, Vocals  https://megaflameband.com/ 

LUA HADAR, Vocals https://www.luahadar.com/ 

BETH WILMURT,  Vocals http://www.bethwilmurt.com/   

SARAH BERGES DANCE with NIKA ANTUANETTE https://www.sarahbergesdance.net/ 

https://www.nikaantuanette.com/

Doors open 6:30 show at 7pm