Spark your musical imagination with CMC faculty as they delve into stories about the inspiration and influences that have guided them as professional musicians and teachers at CMC. CMC Sessions: Inspiration & Influences is an eight-part on-line series hosted by CMC Cultural Traditions and Winds/Brass Departments, providing up-close and personal stories about the potent influences and galvanizing experiences that make up the “musical life.” Told through compelling demonstrations, musical examples, and creative tips, the sessions will provide participants with inspiration on their musical journeys.
Meet these talented faculty members:
Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 7pm (PT)
Online via Zoom
FREE
Irene Chagall portrays the artistic contours of her life through tales and music. Beginning with two folktales that profoundly influenced her in childhood, The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Pied Piper, she will examine choices she made that influenced the development of her unique path. With the guitar as her life partner, she fashioned a modern version of a wandering minstrel. She will share some of her favorite experiences generated through sharing songs, dances, poetry and puppets. This culminates with a segment of her documentary film Let’s Get the Rhythm on the global phenomenon of hand clapping games. Her approach is educational, informative, and fun.
This event will be conducted online via video conferencing. REGISTER HERE to receive the link to join, emailed prior to the start of the discussion.
1967: Intensive private study of classical guitar with Don José Tomás in Spain.
1976: Master of Arts in Music and Theatre Arts, Lone Mountain College. Included writing a minstrel play Bello Jangles and the Giant Bagel and a study of the History of Minstrelsy.
1977–present: Artist-in-Residence and Music Specialist in numerous schools throughout the Bay Area, teaching music both as an artform and as enrichment to the standard curriculum.
1984–present: Music for Children teacher at Community Music Center.
1998-2014: Produced and directed Let’s Get the Rhythm, a documentary on hand-clapping games, in connection with being named a Research Fellow with the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (2003-2006), received funding for Traditional Arts from National Endowment for the Arts (2006-2008) and a Fulbright-Hays Grant to travel to Rwanda with the film (2017).
People who are interested in this workshop can dive deeper by exploring private lessons and group classes and ensembles.
Spark your musical imagination with CMC faculty as they delve into stories about the inspiration and influences that have guided them as professional musicians and teachers at CMC. CMC Sessions: Inspiration & Influences is an eight-part on-line series hosted by CMC Cultural Traditions and Winds/Brass Departments, providing up-close and personal stories about the potent influences and galvanizing experiences that make up the “musical life.” Told through compelling demonstrations, musical examples, and creative tips, the sessions will provide participants with inspiration on their musical journeys.
Meet these talented faculty members:
Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 7pm (PT)
Online via Zoom
FREE
Susan Peña and Miguel Govea had separate and distinct formative experiences as young people learning music from older friends, family members and mentors in their communities in the 1960s and 1970s. These experiences gave them a familiarity with American folk music, country and western songs, and Mexican popular music from the revolution and the golden era of Mexican cinema. Their subsequent years as musicians in the Bay Area, coupled with their four-decades-long marriage have provided them myriad playing experiences with their two daughters as a family band and with countless musician friends steeped in ethnic and folk musical traditions of the world.
In this presentation, Susan Peña and Miguel Govea will share their influences and their particular way of making music as a duet, using their voices and a variety of instruments, including guitar, fiddle, and button accordion.
This event will be conducted online via video conferencing. REGISTER HERE to receive the link to join, emailed prior to the start of the discussion.
Miguel Govea grew up in 1960s-era Bakersfield, California. As a child, he began to seek out, learn from, and play with people in his community. He has continued this practice of study and learning since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. He began teaching at CMC in 2006 with the Mission District Young Musicians Program. He also teaches with the Mariachi program in partnership with SFUSD and as a private lesson instructor on trumpet, trombone, guitarron, accordion, and violin.
Susan Peña started playing guitar and collecting songs as a twelve year old growing up in Middletown, New Jersey during “The Folk Music Revival” of the 1960s and 70s. After moving to the Bay Area in 1976, she began to play the fiddle and to widen her repertoire of traditional American folk songs to include old-time, country, swing, Mexican, and Tex-Mex music. She teaches Mariachi music in San Francisco elementary schools as part of CMC’s partnership with SFUSD.
People who are interested in this workshop can dive deeper by exploring private lessons and group classes and ensembles.
Palace Hotel
2 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Join us for a dazzling evening of music and celebration of CMC’s mission to provide music for everyone. All proceeds support CMC’s mission to make high-quality music education accessible to all people, regardless of financial means.
This year, we will present CMC’s annual Gertrude Field Community Impact Award to three champions of music education: Jake Heggie, the world-renowned composer and dear friend of CMC; Catharine Kalin, CMC’s longest-serving board member; and Rebeca Mauleón, Latin jazz pianist, composer, educator, and visionary.
Enjoy cocktails and fine dining with exceptional music, featuring Tiffany Austin, Sasha Cooke, CMC faculty and students, and more. Dance the night away at a jubilant afterparty with music by “San Francisco’s First Family of Song,” The Curtis Family C-notes! Tiered ticket prices are available to attend all or parts of the evening.
5 pm Cocktail Reception in the Garden Court
6 pm Banquet Dinner and Awards
8 pm Gala concert featuring performances by Tiffany Austin, Sasha Cooke, and more
9:30 pm Afterparty featuring The Curtis Family C-notes
Performers
Tiffany Austin, with Carl Allen, Cyrus Chestnut, Ashlin Parker, and Marcus Shelby
Sasha Cooke, with Jake Heggie
The Curtis Family C-notes
CMC Faculty and Students
Presenting Sponsor, Diane B. Wilsey
Host Committee Chair, Sharon Litsky
Afterparty C0-Chairs , Lauren Erickson & Kari Lincks Coomans
Auction Chair, Helene Nichele Sims
Learn more about the performers, auction items, and reserve tickets here.
Presenting Sponsor
Diane B. Wilsey
Evening Sponsors
Camilla and George Smith
Concert Sponsors
Fred Levin, The Shenson Foundation
Afterparty Sponsors
Thao and Jerome Dodson
Gordon Getty
Marcia and John Goldman
Sharon L. Litsky and John F. Sampson
Roselyne Chroman Swig
Flower Sponsors
Katherine and Roy Bukstein
The MOCA Foundation
Oak Hill Capital Corporation
Oliver & Co.
Event Committee
Sharon Seto, Chair
Kathy Aizawa
Katie Colendich
Nicole Cooper
Pamela Culp
Tim Eischens
Lauren Erickson
Joel Goodrich
Lin Sun-Hoffman, Ph.D., J.D.
Brooke Joseph
Ludmila Kisseleva
Patricia Taylor Lee
Sharon Litsky
Ann Ludwig
Irena Matijas
Trisha Mount
Russell Martinelli
Amanda Sargisson
Yuan Yuan Tan
Diana Whitehead
Diana Wild
Wine Sponsors
Miner Family Winery
Media Sponsors
Nob Hill Gazette
Value Culture
For questions about sponsorship, contact Elenka Refsell at 415-647-6015 x178 or erefsell@sfcmc.org.
Spark your musical imagination with CMC faculty as they delve into stories about the inspiration and influences that have guided them as professional musicians and teachers at CMC. CMC Sessions: Inspiration & Influences is an eight-part on-line series hosted by CMC Cultural Traditions and Winds/Brass Departments, providing up-close and personal stories about the potent influences and galvanizing experiences that make up the “musical life.” Told through compelling demonstrations, musical examples, and creative tips, the sessions will provide participants with inspiration on their musical journeys.
Meet these talented faculty members:
Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 7pm (PT)
Online via Zoom
FREE
Join Jon Jang in sharing his journey in becoming a changemaker. Leading Tones, tells the stories that make up Jon Jang’s lifelong pursuit of racial equity and social justice through his chosen “instrument” of musical expression. Influenced profoundly by the revolutionary politics of the Black Arts Movement and the nascent Asian-American Consciousness Movements of the 60s and 70s, Jang has integrated artistic creativity and community organizing in order to advance messages of resistance and healing in the face of complex challenges of our society from the Reagan/Bush eras to today. Using musical examples, historical narrative, and personal reflection, Leading Tones will provide attendees with a sense of Jon Jang’s shared value and practices. Jang may give a short performance to ground the presentation in how he has engaged with “the work” of change-making.
This event will be conducted online via video conferencing. REGISTER HERE to receive the link to join, emailed prior to the start of the discussion.
For four decades, the trajectory of composer-pianist Jon Jang’s work mirrors the development of a multiracial democratic New American Majority from his unique perspective. Inspired by the music from the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, Jang has collaborated with Max Roach in their work SenseUs (1990). “Eleanor Bumpurs” (1993) and “Can’t Stop Cryin’ for America: Black Lives Matter!” (2017) represent Jang’s works in response to the legal lynching of Black Americans. Jang’s Reparations Now! Concerto for Large Ensemble and Taiko (1987) pays tribute to the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations and shouts out a clarion call for reparations for Black Americans.
Jang also explores Chinese American transnational history in works such as The Chinese American Symphony (2007), a work that pays tribute to the Chinese immigrant laborers who built the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. Jang, a grandson of a paper son, composed “Island: The Immigrant Suite No. 2” for the Kronos Quartet about the Chinese immigrants who were incarcerated on Angel Island in San Francisco during the Chinese Exclusion Act era.
Jang has toured with Max Roach, James Newton, David Murray, Jiebing Chen and Min Xiao-Fen in Europe, China, South Africa, Canada and the United States.
People who are interested in this workshop can dive deeper by exploring private lessons and group classes and ensembles.
The 19th annual Community Music Center Juliet McComas Keyboard Marathon presents “Masterpieces from Folk Traditions,” an exploration of works inspired by folk music from many cultures and regions of the world. Each year CMC faculty performers explore the richness and range of the keyboard repertoire through a unique lens in both educational and highly entertaining concerts. This year’s wide-ranging program will reveal how composers continue to draw from the beauty and energy of folk music and transform it to create their own expression. The thread of folk inspiration runs through both classics and new pieces, with selections from Ahn, Albéniz, Bartók, Brahms, Cervantes, Chopin, Dvořák, Esmail, Grainger, Grieg, Jang, Jianzhong, Lecuona, Liszt, Say, Schubert, Turina, and Yannatou.
This year, the event will take place as part of the Old First Concerts, with in-person and online viewing options.
Juliet McComas Keyboard Marathon: Masterpieces from Folk Traditions
Sunday, May 7 at 3pm (PDT)
Old First Concerts
1751 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Tickets:
$25 General Admission / $15 Seniors / $10 Youth (12–18) / Kids under 12 attend free
Livestream broadcast with donation
Ticket link will be available soon!
Featuring performances by CMC Piano Faculty and special guests:
Christopher Basso, Esther Chan, Jaqueline Chew, Lauren Cony, Paul Dab, Maria Rosi Garcia Plaza, Grace Huenemann, Jon Jang, Allison Lovejoy, Tony Martinez, Hadley McCarroll, Erick Peralta, Matylda Rotkiewicz, Betty Wong, and Shirley Wong-Frentzel
With music by:
Jean Ahn, Isaac Albeniz, Béla Bartók, Johannes Brahms, Ignacio Cervantes, Frédéric Chopin, Antonín Dvořák, Reena Esmail, Percy Grainger, Edvard Grieg, Jon Jang, Wang Jianzhong, Ernesto Lecuona, Franz Liszt, Fazil Say, Franz Schubert, Joaquin Turina, and Savina Yannatou.
Spark your musical imagination with CMC faculty as they delve into stories about the inspiration and influences that have guided them as professional musicians and teachers at CMC. CMC Sessions: Inspiration & Influences is an eight-part on-line series hosted by CMC Cultural Traditions and Winds/Brass Departments, providing up-close and personal stories about the potent influences and galvanizing experiences that make up the “musical life.” Told through compelling demonstrations, musical examples, and creative tips, the sessions will provide participants with inspiration on their musical journeys.
Meet these talented faculty members:
Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 7pm (PT)
Online via Zoom
FREE
Diane Grubbe will present a session about her earliest beginnings, learning the recorder in third grade and the trajectory that inspired her to continue on to other instruments. She will share the important moments that motivated her to pursue a career in music. She’ll focus on her professional work as a flutist (orchestra, opera, casuals, Quinteto Latino, contemporary music) and her career as a music teacher.
This event will be conducted online via video conferencing. REGISTER HERE to receive the link to join, emailed prior to the start of the discussion.
Diane Grubbe is an active performer and teacher, with a special renown in contemporary music and new techniques of performance on flute, piccolo, alto and bass flutes. She is a long-time member of Quinteto Latino, a wind quintet focusing on contemporary music from Latin America and Latinx-Americans. In the Bay Area, she has appeared with the Stockton Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, Lamplighters Music Theater, Festival Opera, Pocket Opera, and many others. She often performs with the avant-garde ensemble sfSound, and has been a guest artist with Earplay, the Eco Ensemble, Santa Cruz New Music Works, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. She earned degrees in flute performance from San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
People who are interested in this workshop can dive deeper by exploring private lessons and group classes and ensembles.
Spark your musical imagination with CMC faculty as they delve into stories about the inspiration and influences that have guided them as professional musicians and teachers at CMC. CMC Sessions: Inspiration & Influences is an eight-part on-line series hosted by CMC Cultural Traditions and Winds/Brass Departments, providing up-close and personal stories about the potent influences and galvanizing experiences that make up the “musical life.” Told through compelling demonstrations, musical examples, and creative tips, the sessions will provide participants with inspiration on their musical journeys.
Meet these talented faculty members:
Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 7pm (PT)
Online via Zoom
FREE
Becca Burrington, Winds/Brass Department Chair, will share her approach to trombone using a “singing style” in her teaching and playing. She will recount formative moments in her education and the influences which have supported her focus on the “singing style” approach. She’ll highlight her family experiences, education, and professional work both as a singer and trombone player.
This event will be conducted online via video conferencing. REGISTER HERE to receive the link to join, emailed prior to the start of the discussion.
Becca Burrington graduated in trombone performance with honors from Oberlin Conservatory, where she received the Conservatory Dean’s Talent Award. She also studied at Interlochen Arts Center and received the Governor’s Scholar and Outstanding Brass Performance award. An active freelancer on trombone and voice, Becca has performed with the Silk Road Project with Yo-Yo Ma, Santa Rosa Symphony, California Chamber Symphony, Women’s Philharmonic, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Montclair Women’s Big Band, Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, and Erik Jekabson’s Vista Nonet. She has also performed and toured with early music groups such as Trinity Wall Street, California Bach Society, Apollo’s Fire and the Dark Horse Consort. She is a founding member of Solstice, an award-winning female vocal septet. She has sung with a wide array of artists including Bobby McFerrin, Sufjan Stevens, Meredith Monk, Andy Williams, and John Zorn. Becca has been featured on numerous recordings including the Bernstein Mass (with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester), four CDs by Solstice, the Montclair Women’s Big Band, and the San Francisco Sinfonietta.
Becca teaches students starting at age 10 and also teaches adults. She focuses on establishing good playing habits with a focus on sound and technique while tailoring each lesson to the strengths and interests of the individual student. Becca’s students have played in the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley Youth Orchestra, have attended major conservatories, and have gone on to play in professional orchestras and ensembles.
People who are interested in this workshop can dive deeper by exploring private lessons and group classes and ensembles.
Spark your musical imagination with CMC faculty as they delve into stories about the inspiration and influences that have guided them as professional musicians and teachers at CMC. CMC Sessions: Inspiration & Influences is an eight-part on-line series hosted by CMC Cultural Traditions and Winds/Brass Departments, providing up-close and personal stories about the potent influences and galvanizing experiences that make up the “musical life.” Told through compelling demonstrations, musical examples, and creative tips, the sessions will provide participants with inspiration on their musical journeys.
Meet these talented faculty members:
Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 7pm (PT)
Online via Zoom
FREE
The jazz tradition and its pioneers have greatly influenced Erick Peralta’s musical persona, improvisations, and expressions over the years—and continue to enrich and shape his musical journey. Erick will present a succinct exploration of various, iconic jazz pianists from the 20th century, observing different components of each pianist’s personal improvisational language. Erick will dive into specific artists’ improvisations, breaking down and demonstrating excerpts of their improvisational languages. He’ll share the elements you can draw from these musical pioneers, and how to implement the elements into your own musical language.
This event will be conducted online via video conferencing. REGISTER HERE to receive the link to join, emailed prior to the start of the discussion.
Erick Peralta is a versatile musician with a special appreciation for all styles of music, permitting him to keep open ears for the development of music, while still keeping in mind tradition and history. From an early age, Erick was exposed to various styles of music thanks to his father, such as Latin-Pop, Afro-Peruvian, and Afro Cuban music. Classically trained from 6 years old, he began playing professionally in the year 2005, at the age of 15, then branching out in the San Francisco Bay Area with various Jazz, Rock, Latin Jazz, and Salsa groups. Following his studies at Community Music Center and the Jazzschool in Berkeley, he’s had jazz studies with late pianist Ray Santisi, Laszlo Gardony, Danilo Perez, Tia Fuller, Ed Tomassi, David Santoro, as well as with Papo Lucca from Sonora Ponceña, and Oscar Hernandez of SHO. Now a graduate from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Erick currently resides in the city of San Francisco. Past notable performances include having worked with multi-Grammy winners Alejandro Sanz, Luis Enrique, and Susana Baca; as well as working with artists such as Pedrito Martinez, John Santos, Juan Medrano “Cotito”, La India, Tito Nieves, Bayonics, and Grupo 5, and more.
Erick has taken part performing in various festivals and venues, such as San Jose Jazz Festival, Latin Grammy Awards, Fillmore Jazz Festival, the Independent, The Regency Ballroom, The Fillmore, the Blue Note Napa, San Francisco International Salsa Festival, Berklee Performance Center, Boston Convention Center, the Beantown Jazz Festival, and many more.
Along with performing, Erick works in composing and arranging in Jazz, Pop, and Latin music. Currently he is working on several projects, including his own project featuring original jazz compositions for various ensembles.
Always a strong advocate for music education, Erick forms part of the faculty at Community Music Center, as well as serves as a private music teacher in his home studio, teaching piano in styles such as Jazz, Latin, R&B, and Pop, as well as music theory, composition, and arranging.
People who are interested in this workshop can dive deeper by exploring private lessons and group classes and ensembles.
