The San Francisco Symphony announces two upcoming performances with iconic singer-songwriter and composer Sting at Davies Symphony Hall on February 14 & 15, 2024.

The 17-time Grammy Award winning artist will perform his most celebrated songs reimagined for orchestra, accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony with conductor Edwin Outwater. Selections will include fan favorites such as “Englishman in New York,” “Fragile,” and “Every Breath You Take,” among others.   

Tickets for An Evening with Sting and the SF Symphony start at $75 and go on sale to the public on Friday, October 13, at 10am PT on sfsymphony.org. A pre-sale for SF Symphony subscribers begins on Wednesday, October 11, at 10am PT. Sting.com fan club pre-sale begins Thursday, October 12, at 10am PT.   

Composer, singer-songwriter, actor, author, and activist Sting was born in Newcastle, England before moving to London in 1977 to form The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. The band released five studio albums, earned six Grammy Awards and two BRIT Awards, and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

One of the world’s most distinctive solo artists, Sting, managed by Martin Kierszenbaum/Cherrytree Music Company, has received an additional 11 Grammy Awards, two BRIT Awards, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, four Oscar nominations, a Tony nomination, Billboard Magazine’s Century Award, and MusiCares 2004 Person of the Year. In 2003, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his myriad contributions to music.

Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he has received the Kennedy Center Honors, The American Music Award of Merit, and The Polar Music Prize. Sting has been awarded honorary Doctorates of Music by the University of Northumbria (1992), Berklee College of Music (1994), University of Newcastle upon Tyne (2006), and Brown University at its 250th Commencement ceremony (2018). Throughout his illustrious career, Sting has sold 100 million albums from his combined work with The Police and as a solo artist.

The post Sting Joins The San Francisco Symphony Performing His Most Celebrated Hits Reimagined For Orchestra This February appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Club Dv8 Band.

Admission to the concerts is free and takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m

– The City of Atascadero is gearing up for the next upcoming concert as part of the 2023 Saturdays in the Park summer concert series. The next band to perform on Saturday, July 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. is 80’s dance/rock group Club Dv8 Band at the Atascadero Lake Park Bandstand.

The Club Dv8 Band turned their idea into reality while drummer Jim Moran vacationed in New York in 2017. He brought this idea to guitarist Scott Grocott, who played in local cover bands, and the plan began to unfold. Scott added a guitar synth to his gear and they met lead singer David Vail who was a perfect fit. The band soon added a fellow bassist, Bob Erwin, and from there another lead guitarist, Keith Powers, who was even in an ’80s band in the ’80s. Shortly after Bob moved on, they met their permanent bassist, Paul Choboter, who also contributed great backup vocals to the group.

The Club Dv8 Band’s name comes from a dance club from the 80’s in San Francisco, “Club Dv8”. After a few variants, DV8D and DV8, the band realized the name should be Club Dv8, with the mission to make their band a dance party every time and everywhere they perform. The band’s set consists of energetic 80’s music.

Food and drinks can be purchased at Paradise Shaved Ice and Bear City Social.

concert cast:

• July 1: Club Dv8 (80s dance/rock)
• July 8: The Rockin’ Bs Band (country, rock and dance music)
• July 22: Riff Tide (Surf Rock, Funk & Soul)
• July 29: Way Out West (Country & Rock)
• August 5: Unfinished with the Beatles (Beatles Tribute)
• August 12: Painted Red Music (classic rock)
• August 26: The Cinders Blues Band (Blues)

The concerts are free to the public and everyone is asked to bring a blanket and a low-backed chair, as well as the whole family to enjoy the warm summer evenings at the Atascadero.

For more information, visit www.VisitAtascadero.com/events or call (805) 470-3360.

​

​

About the author: news staff

The news staff of Paso Robles Daily News wrote or edited this story using local contributors and press releases. The news team can be reached at info@pasoroblesdailynews.com.

The post Membership Dv8 Band acting at Saturdays within the Park appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

This issue of the San Francisco Bay Times introduces two legends of women’s music: Melanie DeMore (see pages 10–11) and Barbara Higbie. Women’s music – which emerged during the second wave of the feminist movement and the workers’, civil rights and peace movements – is music by, for and about women. DeMore and Higbie shine in this and other genres and work skillfully with many artists. The San Francisco Chronicle even referred to Higbie as the “High Priestess of Collaboration” as she worked with Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, jazz greats, classical stars and many others, to name them here. The Grammy-nominated, Bammy-award-winning productive pianist, composer, violinist, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has played on well over 100 CDs!

Born in Michigan and raised in Indiana, Higbie spent several years with her family in Ghana as a teenager. She worked one summer in Honduras as a medical volunteer with the non-profit organization Amigos de Las Americas, completed Phi Beta Kappa at Mills College here in the Bay Area, attended the Sorbonne in Paris and received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for collecting traditional music in West africa.

In Paris she met the jazz artist Darol Anger and began a fruitful musical collaboration. In 1984 she was co-director of a group live album recording at the Montreux Jazz Festival, which then became the successful group “Montreux” with Anger, Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips, Andy Narrell and Michael Manring.

She was the first female instrumentalist to sign with Windham Hill Records and also recorded solo and duo projects for Olivia / Second Wave Records and Slowbaby Records. As a folk, jazz, pop and fusion composer and singer-songwriter known for her highly melodic jazz / folk performances, she has toured nationally and internationally since the early 1980s. While the pandemic stopped such trips for her and other artists, she will soon celebrate her return to live performances with the 35th anniversary of Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice album series. The wonderful song collections are so timeless that, like Vince Guaraldi’s work for the Peanuts Christmas specials, they never seem to lose their impact and relevance.

Higbie spoke to the San Francisco Bay Times ahead of her national anniversary tour. There will be a stop at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley on Friday, December 17th. Todd Boston, Mia Pixley, and other artists will also appear on the shows.

San Francisco Bay Times: How was it for you to get out of the COVID-19 shutdowns and not only prepare for a national tour but also go to shows by other artists?

Barbara Higbie: It’s great to be back on stage and share our love for music with the audience. This will be a cross-generational, multicultural festival. These venues (on the new tour) all respect secure protocols. Everyone is pissed off and the HVAC filter systems keep fresh air circulating on a regular basis.

COVID has hit musicians hard. Our livelihoods went “Phew!” Making online shows was fine, if far from reality. It was relaxing being away from the street, but it was long enough. I am so ready to get out again! This tour begins in the Midwest, then goes to the Northwest, the Southwest, and then to California. I can barely wait for it!

The concerts at Windham Hill are perfect for getting back into the swimming pool. Since we are all locked in our homes it is a treat to see live shows. It’s emotional. Get ready – put on real pants! Standing in line, then being part of a spontaneous, non-choreographed and interactive event as an audience. It’s exciting and emotional.

San Francisco Bay Times: Who are you working with now on the new tour?

Barbara Higbie: I’m so looking forward to this tour! First of all, it will be the first live concerts in almost two years! Second, Mia Pixley (cello / vocals) and Todd Boston (guitar) together with our special guests Jasper Manning and VOENA (multicultural youth choir) are simply phenomenal young talents. I am totally overwhelmed with her talent.

Third, we’ve been rehearsing for months, first through Zoom and now in person. Mia, Todd and I each released brand new studio albums. With all of the new material and preparation, I can’t wait to get out the starting gate and hit the streets. It feels like spring is awakening after a harsh winter – there is a lot of new, exuberant energy in the air!

San Francisco Bay Times: Please let us know about the upcoming Windham Hill Winter Solstice Shows.

Barbara Higbie: The Winter Solstice show is inspired by the 8 million sold Windham Hill Winter Solstice album series that began in 1985. The concept of celebrating all seasonal holidays by recording acoustic music with high fidelity was groundbreaking. The albums have been the backdrop for millions of folk festivals for 35 years. We flew in entire families from Australia to see our shows. It is truly an intergenerational, multicultural, longstanding phenomenon that we are honored to be a part of.

Todd Boston plays acoustic guitar, inspired by Michael Hedges, Will Ackerman, Alex DeGrassi and all the great guitarists who recorded for the label (Windham Hill). In addition, he has a strong kirtan and Indian music background. Mia is a beautiful singer-songwriter-cellist, comparable to Zoe Keating, whose career is just exploding. I am a pianist, composer, singer-songwriter and championship violinist and the first female instrumentalist to sign with the Windham Hill label in 1981 at the age of 23. At the time, Windham Hill was a startup in a garage in Palo Alto, like some other companies that took off. Steve Jobs was a huge Windham Hill fan. The great success of George Winston made Windham Hill a household name.

San Francisco Bay Times: You are also known for your involvement in women’s music. Please give us some thoughts on this, both in relation to your past and current work.

Barbara Higbie: In 1983, at the height of the Windham Hill craze, I was fortunate enough to make music with Teresa Trull, Cris Williamson, Linda Tillery, Meg Christian and Holly Near. Teresa and I recorded for Olivia Records in 1983 and became a national sensation. We were, so to speak, the pre-“Indigo Girls”. We toured with the great Cris Williamson, who is giving two album release concerts at Freight in Berkeley on January 14th and 15th. She calls these shows “the big reunion” because they feature Vicki Randle, Skip the Needle, Julie Wolf and many more. Cris and Teresa are two of my very best friends. They are both geniuses. Teresa is now a horse trainer in New Zealand. She and her kiwi lover Michaela recently got married.

We will all be on the Olivia 50th Anniversary cruises in January 2023, and many of us will be at the Olivia 50th Anniversary event at the Academy in Castro on January 13th.

Women’s music saved my life, like so many women. In the early 1980s, I experienced stalking, bullying, and severe harassment in the very male-dominated music industry. Without the support of the women’s community, I would probably have resigned. It’s easy to take for granted what the pioneers of women’s music did. I can attest that you have moved mountains and deserve our deepest respect. So the Smithsonian is now documenting the whole movement. It’s a strong, loving community that is still thriving.

San Francisco Bay Times: The Freight and Salvage has always been important to you beyond your work as an artist. What do you have in common with the venue now?

Barbara Higbie: Speaking of community, the Freight is the center of a huge community of musicians. It’s a phenomenal place: a 53-year-old non-profit that owns its own building and raises funds to continue to showcase various music artists from around the world. If you’ve never been there do yourself a favor and go to Freight! I am currently the co-chair of the board, along with the conductor and community activist Elizabeth Seja Min.

I believe in the importance of cargo to my core. Thanks to loyal donors and government grants, it survived COVID. Visiting shows is the best way to ensure that places like the Freight stay in business. It is a real cultural treasure that has exceeded all expectations. I want people to know that they can be sure that all of these venues are compliant with COVID protocols. We’re getting back to live music in a safe way.

For tickets and more information on the 35th anniversary of the Winter Solstice in Windham Hill with Freight and Recovery on December 17th, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/4ax5uhu2

To learn more about Barbara Higbie and to purchase her recordings, visit https://barbarahigbie.com/

Published on December 2, 2021

The post Legendary Artist Barbara Higbie Returns to Dwell Performing for thirty fifth Anniversary of Windham Hill Winter Solstice – San Francisco Bay Occasions appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) – City guides, school staff and students celebrated the Bowes Center of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on Friday with a first look at the venue and facilities, plus a special performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

“This is an incredibly artistic city compared to where I come from, it’s unimaginable,” said Jess Konye, ​​a technology and applied composition student at SFCM. “When I came back everything is different now. The space means that I can go to school anytime and whenever I want, and that makes me a better musician. “

The Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for Performing Arts is 165,000 square feet and rises several floors above Van Ness Avenue in the Civic Center. More than $ 130 million has been raised for this project.

“One of the biggest challenges we face in San Francisco is making housing affordable,” said San Francisco Mayor, London Breed. “This project offers students the chance to be housed and not worry about whether or not they have a roof over their heads while they try to study and protect their craft.”

It will host around 400 students, including Konye, ​​who says having access to practice rooms at any time of the day will help her grow as a student in a way she never could before living here. Balancing her schedule and school commitments was a challenge, and she eventually left town during the pandemic.

“We didn’t want to be an obstacle for people who wanted to bring their families with them to hear and experience music,” said SFCM President David Stull.

The venue will offer 90 percent of its concerts to the public for free. The acoustics in the event hall on the 11th floor eliminate all noise from the busy streets below.

“The Bowes Center was built with the future of audio and composition in mind, and the facilities here really support that mission,” said Taurin Barrera, executive director of the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) program.

TAC and the facilities used by SFCM students include new studios to help students become composers of the 21st century, Barrera said. Your skills will help them work on films, video games, and new media. In addition to music composition, you will also learn computer programming and other technical skills.

“The students had tears in their eyes when you hear how it sounds in this room, when you hear your own music recorded, you really feel the power of the sound in the studio,” he said.

Yo-Yo Ma performs at the Bowes Center. (CBS)

Yo-Yo Ma performed for the audience on Friday morning and spent part of his day working with students in a master class in the afternoon. He said he was impressed with the clarity he heard from his performances at the venue, and also how this will help students find their own creativity.

“If there’s one thing I love about what an institution like the San Francisco Conservatory can do with this new space – the Bowes Center – is create a safe space,” he said.

Located near other arts organizations in the Civic Center that work with the school, the Bowes Center helps students connect and collaborate with other artists in the city. The principals say they want the character of San Francisco to be present throughout the venue, including city hall views from the performance hall and rooftop.

“We can be rooted in the community, interact with the community, interact with the musicians there in these rooms,” Konye said. “I think for me as a student this really means the beginning of a new era for music here at the Conservatory.”

An open day for the public with guided tours and performances throughout the day is planned for February 12, 2022.

The post San Francisco Conservatory of Music Opens New Performing Arts Middle on Van Ness Avenue – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

The San Francisco Opera is in the middle of its month-long festival dedicated to Wagner’s “Ring Cycle”. In the coming weeks, Lois Silverstein will explore her experience not only of repeating the 2018 opera production, but also of some of the events and panels presented by the company.

Matthew Shilvock, San Francisco Opera Director, hosted an excellent panel on the World of the Ring Orchestra. Getting the prospect of playing the glorious score of this cycle of four operas was instructive and filled a dimension we longed for.

Rufus Olivier (bassoon solo), Kevin Rivard (co-solo horn), Thalia Moore (associate principal cello) and Dian Zhang (first violin) were the four orchestra members who shared some of their experiences with Shilvock, including their first exposure and experience with Wagner before during her tenure as the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and especially during this intensive musical collaboration from 2018.

Each of the musicians expressed their strong attachment to the music and an obligation to do a long preparation before playing the score. Moore took the Greyhound Bus from the east coast and played the tapes for The Ring in the 1980s when she came out to audition for the orchestra. Olivier said he didn’t realize the depth and breadth of the music when he first signed up, even in the 80s. After Rivard and Zhang accepted the challenge, Zhang described the process as a process of demystifying the awe of doing so, much like climbing the mountain. Everest, Rivard, who distinguishes it from the familiar melody of the main horn’s leitmotifs and delves deep into the full music of the score. He said he prepared for a full year before even starting orchestral rehearsal.

Perseverance was a necessary challenge for everyone from the start. While the singers have a 16 hour performance, of course, most of them have a break during the course. But that’s not the case for the musicians who have to play all the time. As Olivier said, even if you may be “Gung-Ho” at the beginning of “Das Rheingold”, you have to monitor your enthusiasm if you are to get through this. You want the audience to feel the excitement, but you can’t stick with that intensity all the time. Hence, you need to mitigate your own excitement and monitor parts where you are pulling out the throttle and at other times when you are playing at a lower intensity. The other three were absolutely in agreement.

“It’s epic,” said Rivard, “and because I love it so much, I have to make sure I don’t miss out on over-emphasizing a part too soon.”

It’s unlike anything else he’s played – he has to give 100 percent over the entire performance.

Everyone spoke of the masterful writing of the music. Moore spoke of the extraordinary depth, variety and quality of the music for the cello created by Wagner.

“His music is rewarding to play,” she said, “especially in its idiomatic passages.”

Zhang talked about how he had learned to work with the gesture of the notes to create the texture Wagner wanted by working with his special string section to create an appropriate color, not too heavy or too light. Be it important to stay focused, but easy to play.

Olivier emphasized that his appreciation for music has grown significantly since he played in various productions of the San Francisco Opera Ring between 1985 and 2018. He loves playing bass in the middle of the orchestra, his highly talented colleagues everywhere; it makes the hair stand on end on the back of his neck. Moore, too, has grown to the depth of the music in her plumbers. She appreciates the immensity of the masterpiece. “You never get to the bottom of it.”

The real crowd of musicians huddled in the pit requires a little maneuvering, Zhang emphasized, especially since he is tall and has to “swing” his bow. He doesn’t mind, he said. The work brings everyone together spiritually and spiritually. Olivier said it was a bit like the Blue Angels in formation in the sky. “We always have to wobble a bit, but the result? Smooth and satisfying. “

As Shilvock pointed out, Wagner wanted bold colors in his orchestra, but didn’t want to cover up the singers.

Each of the musicians praised Sir Donald Runnicles for his particular mastery of the score. He’s got a big picture approach, but he’s very smart in every detail. Rivard also said that because Runnicles is a horn player himself, he knows exactly how to formulate the horn parts. He’s not at all averse to letting us play and sticking to the bigger picture. It’s a simple conversation between us as musicians and his senior leadership. Olivier adds, “Sir Donald uses us for what we were hired to do.”

As for the singers on stage, Olivier says he hasn’t seen what’s going on since 1995! Several comments followed on whether this was essential for the musicians. There was agreement that it was more than enough to follow their fellow musicians Runnicles and the score, especially since the professional performance “up there” was well under control. Overall, it was an informative and lively conversation.

The post The Ring in San Francisco – Orchestra Members on Performing Wagner’s Magnus Opus appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.