Dashon BurtonBass-Baritone Calder Quartet
Saturday, April 3, 2027 7:30pm
Herbst TheatreVenue Information
$75/$65/$55
About This Performance
The San Francisco Chronicle praises Dashon Burton’s “wondrous musical gifts—his robust, sinewy vocal tone, probing interpretive mastery and charismatic communicative directness.” He returns to SF Performances with audience favorites the Calder Quartet, “one of America’s most satisfying—and most enterprising—quartets” (Los Angeles Times).
Program
CHRISTOPHER CERRONE: New Work (West Coast Premiere); Quintet
ADÈS: Arcadiana
BARBER: Dover Beach
JOHN TAVENER: Prayer of the Heart
JESSE MONTGOMERY: Loisaida, my love
CAROLINE SHAW: By and By
THOMAS OBOE LEE: Excerpts from Hancock Shaker Village
Performance Sponsors
Silvie Jensen and David Masterson
Artist Information
Performer Biographies
Hailed as an artist “alight with the spirit of the music” (Boston Globe), three-time Grammy® Award-winning bass-baritone Dashon Burton has built a vibrant career with regular appearances across the United States and Europe.
His 2025–26 season highlights included Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Don Fernando in Fidelio with the Cleveland Orchestra led by Franz Welser-Möst; Mahler’s and Mozart’s Requiem with the New Jersey Symphony under Xian Zhang; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Marcelo Lehninger; Britten’s War Requiem with the Erie Philharmonic and Daniel Meyer; and Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle with the Cincinnati May Festival.
A multiple award-winning singer, Burton won a Grammy in 2021 for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album with Dame Ethyl Smyth’s The Prison with The Experiential Orchestra (Chandos). As a founding member of the groundbreaking vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, he received his first Grammy in 2013 for their debut recording of new commissions, and his third in 2024 for Rough Magic, featuring works by Caroline Shaw, William Brittelle, Peter Shin, and Eve Beglarian.
Hailed as “Superb” and “imaginative, skillful creators” by the New York Times, the Calder Quartet captivates audiences exploring a broad spectrum of repertoire, always striving to fulfill the composer’s vision in their performances. The group’s distinctive artistry is exemplified by a musical curiosity brought to everything they perform and has led them to be called “one of America’s most satisfying—and most enterprising—quartets”. (Los Angeles Times)
Winners of the prestigious 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant, they are widely known for the discovery, commissioning, recording and mentoring of some of today’s best emerging composers. In addition to performances of the complete Beethoven and Bartok quartets, the Calder Quartet’s dedication to commissioning new works has given rise to premieres of dozens of string quartets by established and up-and-coming composers including Peter Eötvös, Andrew Norman, Christopher Rouse, Ted Hearne and Christopher Cerrone. Inspired by innovative American artist Alexander Calder, the Calder Quartet’s desire to bring immediacy and context to the works they perform creates an artfully crafted musical experience.