Thomas Busse

Thomas Busse, www.tbusse.com, is a professional tenor.

Articles By This Author

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Review

Czech Nonet Plays to the Nines

Thomas Busse - October 12, 2010

On Sunday, the Czech Nonet opened the Morrison Artists Series’ 55th season, curated by a new artistic director, composer Ronald Caltabiano. It was heartening to see a large audience (including many students) turn out for Sunday’s well-balanced, relevant, and brilliantly executed program.

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Review

Clerestory, After a Fashion

Thomas Busse - April 20, 2010

OK, I’ll admit it: I am addicted to the cable reality show Project Runway, a competition for fashion designers. The charm of the show lies in observing the designers’ genuine creativity. They are encouraged to be unique and innovative and to express their point of view as a designer while satisfying their clients and facing difficult design challenges.

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Review

Back to the Land

Thomas Busse - February 23, 2010
Wander through the meandering roads of San Francisco's Presidio National Park, pass the George Lucas Pavilion, cross the huge parade grounds where cute vehicles parry in jerky zigzags as San Franciscans learn to operate manual transmissions, and veer off on a smaller path before the main road and you will discover an antique, white barrack newly renovated as an open, two-story gallery space for th
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Review

Trinity Goes to Tinseltown

Thomas Busse - September 23, 2009
We Americans often find the concept of an established church difficult to grasp. As our fellow citizens debate school prayer, crosses in public parks, and vouchers for religious schools, official state support of the church remains de rigueur in other lands and is an integral part of state education.
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Feature

The Silent Musician

Thomas Busse - May 5, 2009
Concert audiences can hear the seemingly impossible sound of a singer, watch a pianist type out an incomprehensible profusion of tones, be moved by someone scrubbing on a very little box, or survive an evening where, in spite of the band’s best efforts, it all falls apart.
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Review

Here Comes the Dawn

Thomas Busse - February 10, 2009

For the second time in a year, I have been fortunate enough to attend a chamber opera production superior to any work I have seen from the Bay Area’s smaller companies. The culprit was Composers Inc., a contemporary chamber music collective that expanded its forces last Wednesday to mount a staged chamber opera in San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre. On a diminutive budget, Composers Inc.

Solemn Vespers

Thomas Busse - December 9, 2008
'Tis the month of December, and all through the Bay The people with bank accounts in disarray Remember that Music, their childhood friend Still is performed by groups end on end. And as carols ring in holiday tones, In Starbucks, on TV, and cellular phones, They search for some tickets, to choirs even, Say? Or to many a Nutcracker at the Ballet. The symphonic concerts, all quickly-rehe

The Challenge of Context

Thomas Busse - November 11, 2008
I am happy to say that a new ensemble, the Chalice Consort, is the second finest all-volunteer chamber choir I have heard in my 10 years in the Bay Area (I'll take perverse pleasure in letting readers guess the first).
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Review

Home Wins

Thomas Busse - September 30, 2008
Saturday night's concert by San Francisco's full-range men's vocal ensemble Clerestory witnessed a rare occurrence in the world of concert music — a set of new works by local composers that were both the strongest pieces on the program and the best received by the audience.
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Review

Queer Music in Pride Week

Thomas Busse - June 24, 2008
On an old episode of the irreverent animated series South Park, the Colorado boys' parents force the gang into a children's choir called, not so subtly, "Getting Gay With Kids." I think the character Cartman best summed up many Americans' attitude: "Dude man, choirs are gay." Choral singing in the 19th century, however, developed as a large participatory cultural activity.