Ongoing Education
SF Performances believes in life-long education. Many of our programs inform and enlighten adult audiences who seek to learn more about what they experience in the concert hall. By offering a variety of venues and atmospheres, we ensure that there is a performance out there for anyone to enjoy:
Music Historian-in-Residence Robert Greenberg, and Ensemble-in-Residence the Alexander String Quartet, bring the chamber music repertoire alive in these Saturday morning explorations. Each session features Greenberg’s fast-paced, entertaining lectures, complete with live musical illustrations, followed by full performances of each work by the Alexander String Quartet.
Past seasons have featured complete works by Beethoven, Bartók and Shostakovich.
2012–13 Saturday Morning Series:
Many artists on SF Performances’ mainstage series appear at the Community Music Center in free Concerts with Conversation. These unique gatherings give local community members an opportunity to hear exceptional artists in an informal setting and talk with them about their work. Audiences of all ages and backgrounds share in these enthusiastic performances.
SFSU's Department of Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) has filmed the Concerts with Conversation since 2008.
2011–2012 Concerts with Conversation
During the 2012–2013 Season, the following artists will be giving these free concerts, from 6–7pm, at the San Francisco Community Music Center:
Jonathan Biss, piano and Mark Padmore, tenor
Friday, October 5, 6pm
Quatuor Ebène
Friday, November 7, 6pm
Alexander String Quartet with Eugene Sor, cello
Friday, December 14, 6pm
David Russell, guitar
Friday, March 1, 6pm
Vijay Iyer, piano
Friday, April 12, 6pm
These performances harken back to the days when artists performed in intimate spaces for a small group of friends. Artists talk about the music they perform, sharing insights into how programs are developed and how careers are formed. Audiences learn about music in a convivial atmosphere where questions and discussion are encouraged. These informal, after-work events last just one hour, and drinks may be purchased in the hotel bar before each concert. See the Salon Series for the 2012–2013 season.
Occasionally, SF Performances collaborates with artists to present workshops or seminars designed to enrich audiences’ experience with the performing arts. Two notable recent examples are the contemporary music workshop with violinist Midori (see a video) in Spring 2006 and the series of amateur master classes with soprano Barbara Bonney (see a video).
