Sunday, December 20, 2020 @ 3:00pm
LIVE ON SFGC’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Artistic Director
Kronos Quartet
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Sirkhane Social Circus School
Florante Aguilar, ukulele
Sean San José, stage director
Joan Osato, video production
New Art Media, video production
In place of SFGC’s popular annual holiday concert at Davies Symphony Hall, SFGC will present a lively virtual holiday concert featuring the SFGC Chorus School Levels I - IV and the Premier Ensemble performing varied music from the Caribbean and other islands as well as traditional holiday favorites.
Angelica Negron, Composer
The program will highlight a brand new SFGC commission entitled Cosecha by Puerto Rican composer Angélica Negrón. Written her time as the 2019-2020 Chorus School Composer-in-Residence, Cosecha is a work inspired by the botanic illustrations of fellow Puerto Rican artist and educator Rosaura Rodríguez which showcase plants, fruits, vegetables and herbs native to the island.
“This piece is a celebration of Puerto Rico’s gorgeous and delicious natural resources as well as a celebration of the young people that are advocating for the island’s agricultural sovereignty and building resilience through sustainability.” - Angélica Negrón
Matthew Welch, Composer
A special preview of another new SFGC commission, choral-opera Tomorrow’s Memories by American composer Matthew Welch, will also be highlighted on the program. Scheduled for its official world premiere in the 2021-2022 season, Tomorrow’s Memories is based on the 1924-1928 diary writings of Filipina immigrant Angeles Monrayo and highlights the importance of the Filipino diaspora’s cultural impact throughout the United States, particularly in the Bay Area.
Sahba Aminikia, composer
SFGC teams up with Kronos Quartet, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Turkey’s Sirkane Social Circus School to present the world premiere of a co-commissioned new work by Iranian-American composer Sahba Aminikia entitled Music of the Birds. Incorporating the sounds of seven different types of bird song imitated by professional biologists and artists from SFGC and the Sirkane Circus School, the work is a homage to The Seven Valleys of Love, a celebrated anthology of Iranian women’s poetry from the 12th Century.
PROGRAM
Angélica Negrón: Cosecha (World Premiere SFGC Commission)
Matthew Welch: Scene 4 from Tomorrow’s Memories: A Little Manila Diary (World Premiere SFGC commission)
Sahba Aminikia: Music of the Birds (World Premiere SFGC co-commission)
Plus, holiday favorites such as Silent Night and Deck the Halls.
The 2020-2021 season is made possible, in part, by support from San Francisco Grants for the Arts, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and other institutional, corporate, and individual funders. Tomorrow’s Memories is made possible, in part, by support from the Creative Work Fund.