Chamber Music Partnership a Win-Win
Music at Kohl Mansion — presenter of fine chamber music concerts in the lovely historic Kohl Mansion in Burlingame — is also a long time proponent of music education. It has traditionally offered children’s concerts both at the mansion and in the San Mateo public schools, as well a Family Series at the San Mateo Public Library. Taking that commitment to education up a notch, Music at Kohl developed a master class program that taps the expertise of their performing artists, while helping serious and talented chamber groups get some valuable coaching.
Young Chamber Musicians training program, run by Susan Bates, is Kohl’s partner in this endeavor, and it begins the second year of the program with a free master class on Oct. 16, at 5 p.m. with the Cavani String Quartet. Highly accomplished teen ensembles, the Elara and Mandala string quartets (coached in the YCM program) will benefit from an hour long coaching from Cavani on selections by Beethoven and Schubert, while the public audience gains fascinating insight into the learning process and how music is made. Stay for the Cavani String Quartet concert that evening.
Additional classes will be offered this season by the Cypress, Afiara, and Borromeo string quartets.
Chanticleer Youth Choral Festivals
Several California middle school and high school choirs are getting ready for a fun and intensive day with Chanticleer, the word’s top male a cappella chorus. Chanticleer’s education department has sponsored annual Youth Choral Festivals since 2000, with great success. This Oct. 17, 170 high school students from Palo Alto High School, Washington High School (San Francisco), San Francisco School of the Arts, Napa High School and Ukiah High School will camp out at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for the day, engaging in a variety of enrichment activities. Individual choirs bring their own selections to perform for each other, the students learn several group numbers, and get to hear the Chanticleer LAB Choir and Chanticleer itself, in performance after the evening’s pizza dinner. This year, special guest conductor Vance George, choral director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus for 23 years (1983–2006), takes the podium to lead the combined chorus.
Director of Education Ben Johns says, “At the end of the day, I hope that young singers feel ecstatic about choral singing: inspired, invigorated, proud of their accomplishment, enlightened by other examples of fine singing, exposed to high quality music, and resolved to continue investing energy into the choral arts.” A separate day is planned on Oct. 21 for the biggest ever Middle School Festival, held at First Unitarian Church. Ben Johns will conduct 290 students from Ochoa (Hayward), A.P. Giannini (SF), Hoover (SF), and Albany middle schools, as well as Crystal Children’s Choir (Cupertino).
Chanticleer’s Youth Choral Festivals and other educational programs touch more than 5,000 students around the Bay Area and the U.S. and have earned them Chorus America’s prestigious Education and Outreach Award for 2010.
Stanford Keeps It Lively
Stanford Lively Arts kicks off their performance season on Oct.19 with the Sphinx Virtuosi & Catalyst Quartet, a large ensemble who will also begin the Student Matinee series that brings in area school kids for stimulating concerts on campus. The Detroit-based ensemble is devoted to advancing the participation of African Americans and Latinos as performers, educators, and listeners.
The ethnically diverse group of performers will provide a high-powered glimpse into classical music spanning three continents, for students in grades 3-12 on Oct. 20, following their mainstage performance of Mozart, Halvorsen, Perkinson, J.B. Plaza, and Ginastera on the previous evening. In addition to the school matinees, Lively Arts programs of Family Friendly performances include Diavolo Dance Company with music of John Adams (Jan. 28) and Hawaiian slack key guitar music by Keola Beamer and singer Raiatea Helm (Feb. 17). People 18 years and younger get a 50 percent discount to all Stanford Lively Arts events.