The Morrison Chamber Music Series, which provided free performances by prominent ensembles to the community at San Francisco State since 1955, returns after its two-year pandemic suspension under a new name.
The Jane H. Galante Concert Series, renamed in 2020 in memory of the center’s founding trustee, will have what Cyrus Ginwala, the series’ artistic director, calls “an abbreviated and eclectic spring 2022 season.”
With the title of “Crossroads,” the 2022 series explores both traditional and progressive programming. “‘Crossroads’ refers both to the intersection of genres in small ensemble music, and new directions for small ensemble format and programming,” says Ginwala. For information about attending concerts and lectures, call (415) 338-2467 or email [email protected].
The season begins on Feb. 27 with the Junction Trio of violinist Stefan Jackiw, pianist Conrad Tao, and cellist Jay Campbell, performing Christopher Trapani (b. 1980): Passing Through, Staying Put; Robert Schumann (1810–1856): Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor; and Johannes Brahms (1833–1897): Piano Trio Op. 8 in B Major.
The same day is also the beginning of a week-long residency by the Mark Lomax Quartet, culminating in a performance on March 4 of The 400 Forward, a composition telling the story of the African Diaspora “from precolonial Afrika, through the Ma’afa, and into Afro-Futurism expressing a vision of what global Afrikan peoples could be come in the next 400 years as a healthy, high functioning and united community.” The Lomax Quartet will be joined by the Alexander String Quartet, ensemble-in-residence at San Francisco State University.
On Feb. 27, there will be a discussion with student groups and a performance by the Mark Lomax Quartet. On Tuesday, Ma’afa discussion with student groups; Wednesday, Afro-Futurism discussion with student groups, performance by the Mark Lomax Quartet or student ensembles; on Thursday, screening of the 400 Years Suite documentary.
The Juilliard String Quartet performs on April 10, with a program of Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, Op. 80; Eleanor Alberga (b. 1949): String Quartet No. 2; and Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F Major.
On April 25, Les Délices of Hannah De Priest, soprano; Julie Andrijeski, violin; Debra Nagy, oboe and recorder; Rebecca Reed, viola da gamba; and Mark Edwards, harpsichord, perform the music of François Couperin, Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, Pancrace Royer, and Colin de Blamont (1690 – 1760).
