Oakland Symphony at the Paramount

A "letter from the Front.” So I get up in the morning and find that the first thing I want to do is not write a review of the concert I attended the night before. Which is to say I don't want to get up and immediately assume the pontifical role of critic. Let the sleeping dog lie a little while longer! But it seems a natural thing simply to write you a note about the concert. And there's this—I find that my memory of such a thing the morning after is a truer impression,...

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SF Performances hosts Auerbach and Weilerstein

Herbst Theater spellbound Hot young composer Lera Auerbach joined Alisa Weilerstein, arguably the next generation’s great cellist, in a program that explored Bach through the lens of Shostakovich, and then re-imagined it for piano and cello. This layering of composers revealed...

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Berkeley Symphony at Zellerbach

Carneiro essays challenging program The Berkeley Symphony, under the baton of Joana Carneiro, ended their season at Zellerbach Hall last Thursday, April 1. Magic can happen when all the ingredients work together, gelling into something whole and unexpected: a spell. But if the recipe should go awry? Excellent musicians, awesome soprano, inspired conductor and grand venue had some magical moments, but did not quite mesh Thursday night for Samuel Barber’s...

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Chanticleer, 12 High School Choirs at Davies Hall

Preparing the next generation The Bay Area’s beloved Chanticleer, a vocal powerhouse and National Treasure, proved their mettle with their ambitious new educational program. Inviting 12 choirs from across the country, including the Piedmont High School A Cappella Choir, they held four days of intensive workshops that culminated in a joint concert at Davies Symphony Hall. The concert was a thing of swooning beauty. But the heart lay in the grit of the...

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The Kate McGarry Trio at the SF Jazz Festival

On Sunday evening, the Kate McGarry Trio performed at the Swedish-American Hall on upper Market Street in San Francisco. McGarry, a vocalist whose sense of jazz is complex, individual and unexpected, was joined onstage by her husband, guitarist Keith Ganz and percussionist Clarence Penn, both terrific musicians. The concert was part of the 2010 SF Jazz Spring Season, which began on February 19 and ends mid-June. The festival presents a myriad of artists of differing musical persuasions,...

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