June 30 - Telling Tales


Triple bill rehearsal of Mark Alburger's The Decameron - First Day,



Allan Crossman's Mozart Where Are You?, and


John Bilotta's Quantum Mechanic --


spread out over the course of the day at San Francisco Community Music Center, preparing for the July 5-6 Fresh Voices XIII: Mischief and Mayhem show, presented at same.


Before this,


out


the


door


down to the city,


coffee with Harriet on Mission,


returning to venue for


Crossman


and


Bilotta.


Between


those


and  


Decameron,


an


adventure-


outing


to


the


old


haunts of


Pacifica,


returning for Boccaccio et al.


Winding up the day, homeward to compose page 42 of Hamlet -- 


third day of 100+ temps in a row -- 105, tying two days ago, on the 100th day of summer, 25th 90-or-better, 5th 100-or-beyond).


By contrast, San Francisco a mild 71 today (at least officially somewhere on Van Ness Avenue, it seems), on only their 37th day of summer, none above 90...


Oh, and, OK, Berkeley, for the record, since we're there and through a lot: 78 for the day's high, 51st summer day, one above 90 at 91 (on May 2, when it was exactly that warm much farther inland, too)...


And even Pacifica: 69 today, 29 days of summer, none above 90...

June 29 - The Opus Project presents Opus 6


THE OPUS PROJECT

Opus 6

8pm, Saturday, June 29, 2013
Berkeley Arts Festival
2133 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA

Op. 6, No. 1

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)        
Eight Songs, Op. 6 (1905)
     IV. Ghasel (Keller)

     Letitia C. Page, Soprano
     Mark Alburger, Piano

Bela Bartok (1881-1945)             
14 Bagatelles, Op. 6 (1908)
     VI. Lento

     Mark Alburger, Piano

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Two Melodies, Op. 6 (1908) (Sergei Gorodetsky)
     II. A Song of the Dew
     (Mystic Song of the Ancient Russian Flagellants)

     Letitia C. Page, Soprano
     Mark Alburger, Piano

Anton Webern (1883-1945)
Six Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6 (1909)
     I. Langsam
     The Opus Project Orchestra

Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6 (1915)
      I. Praludium (Langsam)

     The Opus Project Orchestra

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)       
Dreams, Op. 6 (1910)
     Introduction

     Video Animation
     Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) - The Nightmare (1781)   

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)        
Eight Waltzes ("Drei Wunderschone Madchen im Schwarzwald"), Op. 6 (1916)
     I. Langsames Walzertempo

     The Opus Project Orchestra

Op. 6, No. 2
               
Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987)       
Sonata No. 1 in F Major, Op. 6 (1927)
     II. Andantino semplice

     Helena Michelson, Piano

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Suite for Two Pianos, Op. 6 (1922) (Wesley Asakawa, orch.)
     I. Prelude (Introduction and Finale)

     The Opus Project Orchestra

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)       
Cello Sonata, Op. 6 (1932)
     III. Allegro appassionato (Introduction)

     John Michel, Cello - Video

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Suite, Op. 6 (1935)
     I. March

     The Opus Project Orchestra

Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004)       
The Magnificent Seven (1960)

     Classical Brass Quintet

John Cheetham (b. 1939)           
Scherzo (1963)

     Classical Brass Quintet

Jan Pusina (b. 1940)           
Phonemes ("Say That Again"), Op. 6 (1973)

     Jan Pusina, Tape

Mark Alburger (b. 1957)           
Variations and Theme, Op. 6 (1976)

     Mark Alburger - Video

Helena Michelson (b. 1966)         
The Game (2010)
     "Yet love, mere love, is beautiful indeed"

     Helena Michelson, Piano

Michael Stubblefield (b. 1989)       
Cadenza in Bb Minor (2011) (5')

     Alan Kingsley, Flute
     Mark Alburger, Piano


THE OPUS PROJECT ENSEMBLE

Mark Alburger                   
Music Director and Conductor


Flute       
Alan Kingsley
Martha Stoddard

Clarinet
Wesley Asakawa

Bassoon
Lori Garvey
Michael Garvey

Trumpet
John Hagglof+
Don Moffitt+

Horn
Sally Johnson+
Priscilla Nunn
Jan Pusina

Trombone
Dean Leonard+
Zach Newbegin

Tuba
Dustin Short
Francis Upton IV


Soprano
Letitia C. Page

Piano
Mark Alburger
Patti Deuter
Helena Michelson

Percussion
Ken Crawford

Violin I
Lawrence Huang
Corey Johnson

Violin II
Maria Gusenkov

Viola
Carol Earley
Kat Walsh

Bass
Michael Stubblefield

+Classical Brass Quintet


THE OPUS PROJECT presents

OPUS 7 - 8pm, Saturday, July 27, 2013,
Diablo Valley College Music Building Room 101 Choral Auditorium, Viking Drive, Pleasant Hill, CA

A Multi-Media Event, with Classical Brass Quintet, and The Opus Project Quartet and Orchestra

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)    String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7, No. 2 (1905)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)            String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7, No. 4 (1909)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)        Etude, Op. 7, No. 1 (1908)
Anton Webern (1883-1945)        Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 7 (1909)
Alban Berg (1885-1935)            Wozzeck: Lullaby, Op. 7 (1925)
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)        Scherzo in Eb-Major for Orchestra, Op. 7 (1924)
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)        Music for a Scene from Shelley, Op. 7 (1933)
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)        Friday Afternoons, Op. 7 (1935)
Bill Holcomb (1924-2010)        Katrina Suite: Storm (2010)
Mark Alburger (b. 1957)            Interrupted Interludes, Op. 7 (1976)


Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)       
Eight Songs, Op. 6 (1905)
     IV. Ghasel (Middle-Eastern stanza) (Gottfried Keller)


Ich halte dich in meinem Arm, du hältst die Rose zart,
Und eine junge Biene tief in sich die Rose hält.
So reihen wir uns perlenhaft an einer Lebensschnur,
So freun wir uns, wie Blatt an Blatt sich an der Rose schart.
Und glüht mein Kuß auf deinem Mund, so zuckt die Flammenspur,
Bis in der Biene Herz, das sich dem Kelch der Rose paart.

I think of you near me, as a tender rose.
And I a young bee deep within.
Our life a string of pearls in the enclosure,
Our affection, as petals encircled
And my kiss glows on your lips, as sparks fly up,
From the heart of the encircling rose.


Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)       
Melodie, Op. 6, No. 1 (1908) (Sergei Gorodetsky)(6')
     II. A Song of the Dew
     (Mystic Song of the Ancient Russian Flagellants)

O mother earth, o dear one,
O fruitful one, o brown one!
The dingy hut is empty.
O come, celestial Spirit,
And bring us holy water;
With faith we'll glean each droplet,
   We have lingered, we have languished,
   Whilst our locks we plaited
   Sad and weary, lonely pining,
   Whilst we gleaned the dewdrops.
   And at each cool drop we murmured,
   And we sang in chorus,
   Gently thrusting slender branches
   Towards one another:
   Spinster shall remain the maiden;
   Would she be a bride?
   Bringest thou fine gifts, o maiden;
   That wouldst be a bride?
   Blush not, give the mark so dainty
      that adorns thy nape.
   Blush not, give a cross well polished,
      give a cross of ash!
   Hear ye not how in the yard
   Proudly strutting, mounting guard,
   A fine cockerel crows high!
   Rustles spreading far and wide:
   Soon, aye, soon, at eventide,
   Each of you shall be a bride!
A seat of loam well trodden,
Dull panes in every window,
The dingy hut stands empty.
He comes, the Holy Spirit,
He casts o'er us his shadow.
O sisters, praise the Maker!


***



Fine show, but, tragically the iPhone camera malfunctions, and in such a way that we are lulled into thinking that pictures are being taken.  Such is not the case during the commute and  


Decameron - 


First 


Day


rehearsal


before


this,


where


there


seems


to


be


plenty of room to work...  Late night, after the show, compose page 41 of Hamlet. on a second day in a row above 100 -- 107, the second-highest temp of our 99 days of summer thus far (23rd temp of 90-or-better, 4th 100-or-beyond)... although much cooler in Berkeley (85).

June 28 - Coming Together


With many more members joining us for the soundcheck and concert tomorrow, we take an initial plunge into The Opus Project presents Opus 6 repertory, an all goes well, all things considering. 


Before this,


bomb down to the area to prepare and pick up Wesley Asakawa and Kat Walsh at Bart on a flamingly hot day (c. 100 in Pleasant Hill and 105 on the homefront, on the 98th day of summer, 22 90-or-better, 3rd 100-or-beyond). 


After, beat it homeward for cool books and



videos, over the composition of page 40 Hamlet.