Previews

The Young People's Symphony Orchestra concludes their season with the always-surprising concerto competition winners.

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus champion the “new” once again. In concerts May 19-23, they tackle a monumental, relatively obscure choral work by Stravinsky, while introducing the brilliant talents of EXAUDI, guest vocal soloists from the U.K.

Andrew McKenna Lee has always been drawn to the sort of "rolling polyphony" of the classical guitar. For his Old First Concerts recital here on May 21, Lee will span the guitar repertoire, from Scarlatti to Milhaud, and he’ll showcase his own physically demanding and aurally dynamic Five Refractions of a Prelude by Bach. 

Pamela Z's Baggage Allowance is a sonically and visually layered work that explores baggage in all its literal and metaphorical permutations. With the world premiere on Friday, the composer once again promises to bend genres and defy categorization.

Cantare Con Vivo Music Director David Morales takes the title of his ensemble quite literally. In 23 years of conducting this conglomerate of large, small, and children’s groups, he has developed an unwavering commitment to using singers’ own life experiences to enhance their performance.

Les grâces is a small chamber music group you may not have heard of, but they have a growing reputation. Their upcoming concerts featuring world-class musicians are worth a visit.

In the late '50s, musician and scholar Gunther Schuller attempted to formally integrate jazz and classical music under a concept he dubbed Third Stream. It was a turbulent but persistent confluence, which will be in evidence in an upcoming San José Chamber Orchestra concert.

The San Francisco Bach Choir is holding a Thanksgiving celebration, of sorts, at its next performances, on May 15 and 16. The program, “Celebrating American Heroes,” is more than just an acknowledgment of the famous heroes and events in American history.

Isaac Albéniz, the Spanish Catalan pianist and composer is well-known for his 12 “impressions” of Iberia, considered the greatest of Spanish piano works. Pianist Robert Schwartz will perform this magnus opus May 7 to honor the anniversary of the composer's birth 150 years ago.