Farallon Quintet – November 11, 2016

Farallon Quintet
O1C Artists-in-residence

Natalie Parker, clarinet; Dan Flanagan & Matthew Oshida, violins; Elizabeth Prior, viola; Jonah Kim, cello
with special guest Christine McLeavey Payne, piano

Sergei Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes
Aaron Copland Sextet for Clarinet, Piano, and String Quartet
Durwynne Hsieh Sextet World Premiere

The Farallon Quintet, founded in the summer of 2012, is a dynamic Bay Area ensemble and the only professional chamber music group focused exclusively on the clarinet quintet—string quartet plus clarinet—repertoire. In addition to playing the classics, the quintet seeks to perform rarely heard works, innovative arrangements, as well as new music by living composers. This program will feature the World Premiere of Durwynne Hsieh’s Sextet, which is a set of three contrasting pieces, a brief anthology of musical short stories. The Farallon Quintet received a grant from San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music to record and release its debut album and was recently awarded a Barlow Grant to commission young composer Chad Cannon’s first clarinet quintet. The ensemble is made up of leading Bay Area musicians who are currently principal players in such orchestras as the San Francisco Ballet, Santa Rosa Symphony, Marin Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Fremont Symphony, Modesto Symphony, and the Sacramento Philharmonic. The group takes its name from the Farallon Islands, located right off the coast of San Francisco. In addition to being a landmark location close to where the players live and work, its meaning—“pillar” or “steep rock” in Spanish—indicates the group’s vision to become an important “pillar” or “rock” in classical music by building awareness around the lesser known yet musically significant clarinet quintet repertoire. The Farallon Islands also represent the group’s inspiration which is founded in the simplicity and beauty of nature. In fact, the group is known to intersperse rehearsals with hikes in the mountains and road trips—all with the intent to discover the natural beauties of Northern California.