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Ensemble for These Times – Sunday June 4 at 4 pm

56X54 #2

Nanette McGuinness, soprano; Dale Tsang, piano; Anne Lerner-Wright, cello

Please join us for a pre-concert talk with composers Christopher Wicks and Alden Jenks at 3:30 pm.

Martyna Kosecka Nepheles US Premiere
Alden Jenks Unrestful Sleep
Molly Joyce One West Coast Premiere
Eden Lonsdale Mosaic US Premiere
Daniel Mehdizadeh Cello Sonata
Stephen Mitton selections from Seven Haikus
Justin Henry Rubin Day That I Have Loved
Grace Xu Schott Capoeira
Alexander Skripko The Child on the Shore from Three Songs of Ursula Le Guin US Premiere
Christopher Wicks If Still Your Orchards Bear, Love Is Strong As Death, and A Song for All Maries West Coast Premiere

Ensemble for These Times (E4TT) returns to Old First Concerts this June for 56×54 #2, E4TT’s second Call for Scores program, from which the ensemble received 275 scores by more than 200 composers. The selected composers hail from 11 countries—Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, Russia, Spain, and the U.S.—and 18 states, and range from emerging composers beginning their undergraduate degrees to veterans in the field, including Pulitzer Prize nominee Joelle Wallach; oboist and former member of the Musical Arts Quintet, Greg Steinke; Emmy-nominated Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom; recently retired Director of the Electronic Music Studio at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Alden Jenks; and 1989 Guggenheim Fellow Juliana Hall. They are a fascinating, talented cross-section of composers, playing instruments ranging from the organ and drums, to the oud and guitar; a number are also singers, poets, or painters. E4TT named the series of Call for Scores programs, 56×54, as they chose 56 works by 54 composers. 56×54 #2 features works by 9 composers from the 2016 Call for Scores, plus the U.S. premiere of Nepheles for solo piano by young Polish composer Martyna Kosecka, which E4TT commissioned and premiered at the Krakow Culture Festival in Poland in 2016. For more information please visit e4tt.org.

Ali Paris Trio – Friday June 9 at 8 pm

Eastern & Western Music: One Melody… One Story…

Ali Paris, vocals & qanun; Gabriel Navia, guitar; Faisal Zeidan, percussion

Ali Paris, internationally acclaimed vocalist and qanounist, premiers his Trio for Old First Concerts, presenting his own unique music and music from the Middle East, rich in culture. Bridging common grounds with the distinct differences between Middle Eastern and Western Music, Ali captures the innate beauty when both come together. You will find yourself immersed in the rich fabric and texture of an “East meets West” fusion, with the simplicity and timeless message of unity and peace. This performance will highlight the influence of jazz and western sounds in the Middle East, including works by Fairuz and other artists. Ali Paris captivates audiences worldwide with his unique fusion of Middle Eastern and Western music styles highlighted by both technical virtuosity and emotional expression. He has been called “one of the most eclectic and diverse artists” by Alicia Keys, and an “unrivaled unique artist” by Quincy Jones. He accompanies his singing with his instrument, the Qanun, a rare Middle-Eastern 76-string zither that dates back to the 14th century.