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Call it faith or myth, love or admiration – inspiration that flows from the spiritual, the mystical, the unknown or the well-known. Our opening concert of the season brings together works by four women composers, all celebrating the power and influence of feminine forces in human history, lore, religion and art. A newly commissioned song cycle by San Francisco-based Emma Logan weaves a tapestry for ensemble and mezzo-soprano soloist (Kindra Scharich) through poetic meditations on the biblical figure of Eve. Laura Elise Schwendinger’s The Artist’s Muse paints a musical canvas upon seven iconic female portraits across centuries of visual art. San Francisco native Mary Kouyoumdjian’s Moerae (The Fates) renders depictions in sound of Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, the Greek mythological trio whose spinning, measuring and cutting at the cloth of time determines the destiny of mortals on Earth. And Augusta Read Thomas’s Terpsichore’s Box of Dreams creates a balletic fantasy inspired by the ancient Greek Muse and goddess of dancing, engaging the group in a virtuoso display of musical athleticism. These entrancing sonic narratives about women, and by women, unfold onstage at the beautiful Art-Deco treasure that is the Brava Theater for Women in the Arts, in the Mission District of San Francisco.
Guest Artist: Kindra Schirach, mezzo-soprano
Laura Schwendinger - The Artist’s Muse (2017) - Bay Area premiere
Emma Logan - Mother Eve (2024) - world premiere (SFCMP commission, supported in part by a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission)
Mary Kouyoumdjian - Moerae (The Fates) (2010)
Augusta Read Thomas - Terpsichore’s Box of Dreams, for 13 Virtuosi (2023) - West Coast premiere
