Previews

Most summer concerts are the equivalent of beach reading – the musical versions of vampire romances and spy thrillers. But for those who prefer to heft Gravity's Rainbow to the seaside, there is also a musical equivalent. Christopher Kula, the chief of Pacific Collegium is definitely one of the heavy lifting crowd and his programs never lack for ambition.

If you're wondering about the increasing coverage of jazz in the virtual pages of SFCV – more on this later – it's because jazz is classical music (not just America's classical music). Think about it: long-form instrumental pieces with lots of harmonic and rhythmic complexity (some of that derived from those European dead white males); small, niche market of enthusiasts; a repertoire of bedrock, classic pieces, which musicians reinterpret over and over again; casual listeners may find it “difficult”. What am I describing, traditional classical or traditional jazz?

If you like the breath of fresh air provided by Pamela and Amy X Neuburg, then you'll want to check in to the Room at the Royce Gallery to hear Los Angeles' Robin Cox Ensemble.

Jazz plus a taste of the Middle East at the Carmel Bach Festival? You betcha, says the protean pianist/composer/conductor Stephen Prutsman.

In a spectacular setting on the Northern California coast, the 25th annual Mendocino Music Festival promises to deliver an irresistible range of music from artists of every stripe.

When a composer has a great dance tune with no place to go, it's time to write a serenade. Serenades are on the populist end of classical music, which is why the San Francisco Symphony is devoting one of their summer pops concerts to them. Eine, kleine Nachtmusik is a case in point: We don't know why Mozart composed it, but since tunes dropped from his brain like water droplets off a wet collie, he didn't really need a reason, did he?

Ever wanted to hear the sounds of Alaskan wildlife presented in the context of live, contemporary music? Of course you have.

The Fourth of July wouldn’t be complete without parades, barbeques, fireworks … and music. And, there's nothing like live music to really help you celebrate. Fortunately for fans of classical music and the Fourth, three local symphonies are supplying the tunes.

The stage director/choreographer strives to get his singers to embody their roles, so the audience can sense that their story is alive and present onstage.

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis ends the regular season at the S.F. Symphony, the late-period score that Beethoven managed to create a kind of oratorio-symphony with, a piece that promises to deepen the orchestra's connection to Beethoven.