The 7th annual San Francisco International Piano Festival returns to Old First Concerts with a celebration of French keyboard music across the centuries. Festival favorite and fellow Francophile Gwendolyn Mok will join artistic director Jeffrey LaDeur and special guests Sarah Yuan and Munan Cheng in this opening concert.
East coast pianist Blaise Bryski plays music by west coast composer Mark Winges. This concert includes Mark’s complete Nocturnes as well as the premieres of longer works Red Sky Opening and More Hand Jive. The latter is a nod to Blaise’s and Mark’s roots in rock / funk, and includes sections of music that are improvised.
Hailed for her “vivid tone and expressive elegance” by the San Francisco Chronicle, soprano Jill Morgan Brenner channels a deep sense of connection to music and poetry, allowing her to communicate with conviction and nuance as she performs Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Strauss’ Four Last Songs, and selected lieder by Alma Mahler and Franz Schubert.
Arjun K. Verma and Eman Hashimi return to San Francisco for a very special evening of thrilling rhythms and gorgeous melodies on sitar and tabla. Verma—whose music has been featured in The New York Times, The Times of India, Songlines Magazine, The Hindu, and Popmatters—weaves together the ancient and modern aspects of Indian classical music in the style of the legendary Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
Kaitlin Miller finds boundless joy in playing the harp and sharing her deep affection for the instrument with her community, and her heart resonates most with romantic French music and the innovative compositions of contemporary artists.
