Happy Summer!

1. Ring of Fire CD

2. Quartetfest

3. Memories of Ring of Fire Concert

4. Memories of Leakey Event

5. Spring Fundraising Drive

1. Ring of Fire CD

It’s here! After six months of intensive work, we have released our new CD, “Ring of Fire: Music of the Pacific Rim” (on the Other Minds Records label). It includes “Spiral X: In Memoriam” by Chinary Ung, which Del Sol premiered at the Library of Congress this past fall, and pieces by other contemporary Pacific Rim composers such as Gabriela Lena Frank, Hyo-shin Na, Kui Dong and Jack Body. You can buy it through our website or from Other Minds. It will also be available from retailers later this summer.

2. Quartetfest

June 30th – July 3rd

Del Sol String Quartet will be presenting an expanded 4-day intensive QuartetFest this summer, June 30th through July 3rd. It will take place at the beautiful Pacific Heights home of Steven and Sara Khan in San Francisco that they are so generously donating for the event.

As one of San Francisco's premier string quartet training workshops for young chamber musicians, QuartetFest is a great opportunity for young string players to immerse themselves in the art of rehearsal and performance of the string quartet repertoire. One of Del Sol’s delights is to expose the students to a variety of contemporary music and improvisation during the course of the workshop. Often the students not only perform on their stringed instruments but also demonstrate their talent as composers or improvisers or both!
This year, jazz violinist Jeremy Cohen joins the members of the Del Sol String Quartet as their special guest artist, offering his expertise in coaching improvisation and various jazz and tango styles. A fun event for all, the QuartetFest ends with a concert presented by the students followed by a festive potluck dinner. We even have QuartetFest t-shirts, designed by artist Kris Yenney, for participants, friends and family. Contact Kate Stenberg for more info.

left to right: Grace Lu (violin), James Stoner (violin), Edwin Lai (cello), Hannah "Bing" Addario-Berry photo by Rick Shinozaki

3. Memories of Ring of Fire Concert

It was a fabulous experience to finish this big project with our May 2008 Home Season concert and CD release party, with our commissioned composer—Chinary Ung—in attendance. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s intimate Recital Hall, in their new building at Civic Center, was a perfect venue for the concert. Our new CDs (received hot off the press just days before the concert) were available to purchase at the party afterwards. In honor of Chinary we served delicious Cambodian food from Angkor Borei Restaurant as we mingled with the audience. And, of course, we could not have done all of this without your support--our audience, donors, board members and volunteers--and your continuing interest in hearing new music written now by composers still living and breathing! Thank you!

4. Memories of Leakey Event

On May 30 Del Sol performed at the Jewish Community Center of SF for The Leakey Foundation, in collaboration with The California Academy of Sciences. The event featured a fascinating lecture, “The Musical Instinct,” by cognitive archaeologist, Dr. Steven Mithen (University of Reading, UK). He made a compelling case for the evolutionary value of music and why humans evolved as a musical species. The Quartet enlivened the lecture and demonstrated his points by playing various short pieces, from Bach to Blitzstein and other music from Del Sol’s contemporary repertoire.

left to right: Hannah Addario-Berry, Charlton Lee, Dr. Steven Mithen, Kate Stenberg and Rick Shinozaki
photo by Jane Kumin

5. Spring Fundraising Drive

Individual contributions to the Del Sol Performing Arts Organization made up 20% of our total revenues last year and are critical to our continuing operations as a nonprofit organization. It’s never too late or too little to donate—we greatly appreciate support at whatever level. Gifts from donors like you enable the DSPAO to continue bringing new chamber music to the Bay Area by funding composer commissions and expanding our educational outreach programs like QuartetFest (see above). Please return your tax-deductible contributions as soon as possible. For more information, or if you prefer to donate online, please visit our website and click on the link to a secure site for credit card contributions. We are extremely grateful for your support!

Happy Spring!

1. Music at Kohl Mansion

2. Temecula Presents

3. CD Release and Concerts (May)

4. Quartetfest

5. Memories of Switchboard Music Festival

6. Memories of Stringwreck

7. Grant

8. Future Recording

1. Music at Kohl Mansion

We are in the midst of our "Music at Kohl Mansion: Music in Schools" program in Burlingame and Millbrae. For our school version of " Music of the Pacific Rim," the 3rd-5th graders are introduced to our puppets Emu and Crow, and everyone participates in an aural volcanic eruption! During April and May, we will visit 9 schools and perform for more than 1000 students.

2. Temecula Presents

For our Southern California fans, we will be making a stop at Old Town Temecula Theater. Come and hear repertoire from our "Ring of Fire" Other Minds album release!

3. CD Release and Concerts (May)

It’s here! Come get a copy of our new CD, “Ring of Fire” (released on Other Minds

Records) and hear the music live at our concerts on May 2 (SF with reception following the concert) and May 4 (Pt. Reyes Station). Included is “Spiral X: In Memoriam” by Chinary Ung, which we premiered at the Library of Congress last year. Pieces by other contemporary Pacific Rim composers such as Hyo-shin Na, Kui Dong, and Jack Body are also on the program. Composer Chinary Ung will attend the SF concert on May 2 for the West Coast premiere of his piece. These concert are funded in part by grants from the Argosy Foundation Contemporary Music Fund, Meet The Composer’s MetLife Creative Connections program, San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grant Program, San Francisco Grants for the Arts/Hotel Tax Fund, and the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation.

4. Quartetfest

June 30th – July 3rd
Del Sol String Quartet will be presenting their new expanded version this summer starting June 30th continuing through July 3rd. It will take place in a beautiful Pacific Heights home in San Francisco. This is one of San Francisco's premier training workshops for young chamber musicians and it is a great opportunity for young string players to immerse themselves in the art of rehearsal and performance of the string quartet repertoire. Jeremy Cohen joins QuartetFest as their special guest artist offering his expertise in improvisation and various jazz and tango styles. Contact Kate Stenberg for more info.

5. Memories of Switchboard Music Festival

March 30
There was such a diverse crowd, eager to appreciate the spontaneity and intense creativity of the festival. Rick Shinozaki, Del Sol violinist – “Del Sol had a blast at the inaugural season of the Switchboard Music Festival. Our two collaborations could hardly have been more contrasting: A really neat uncategorizable quasi-improv with Amy X Neuberg, segueing into the spiritually expansive music of Osvaldo Golijov with the masterly Jeffrey Anderle. There's a special excitement to be in on the inauguration of a new annual festival, and to see the fruition of our friends' dreams. May the Switchboard Festival continue to flourish and grow.” Read the CatSynth blog posting.

6. Memories of Stringwreck

April 10 - 13

Our collaboration with Janice Garrett and Dancers and choreographer Charles Moulton culminated in four performances earlier this month. It was a great success, receiving ovations each night and a flood of positive feedback all around.

"A delight from start finish...a continually thoughtful, surprising and even touching journey.”- San Francisco Chronicle

Kate Stenberg, Del Sol violinist- “What a joy to play the "Adagio" from Bach's Solo violin sonata as the rest of the quartet and dancers gracefully moved through the space. Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton did a wonderful job of working with gamut of temperaments as well as all the problems of dancing while playing something as difficult as a stringed instrument. In the end, we had a lot of fun!.”

Hannah Addario-Berry Del Sol cellist- “From the first rehearsal to the last performance this project was thrilling and challenging. Janice, Charles, and each of the dancers brought something really new and special to our quartet, and I very much hope that we will continue our work together.”

Dance Review Times review: “…a deliciously entertaining, slightly wacky evening of music and dance that could charm a turnip.”

SF Chronicle review: "A delight from start finish...a continually thoughtful, surprising and even touching journey."

7. Grant

FAC notified us that they are awarding us a $12k grant for our May 2009 Home Season (premiering Tania Léon’s first string quartet, commissioned by the Fromm Foundation).

8. Future Recording

We are preparing for our next recording, the music of Marc Blitzstein. This will be our third release on the Other Minds label, following our George Antheil album and "Ring of Fire." More details to come later!

Happy Spring!

1. Switchboard Music Festival

2. StringWreck
3. Memories of Other Minds 13
4. CD Release & Concerts (Ring of Fire)
5. Strings Magazine mention
6. New Board Member: Steve Pacheco

1. Switchboard Music Festival

Genre-bending! Convention-breaking! Eclectic! Get ready for an 8-hour, non-stop music festival where musicians push the boundaries of their respective genres. Del Sol’s cellist, Hannah Addario-Berry, says “I think that co-directors Jeff Anderle, Ryan Brown, and Jon Russell have done a fantastic job of creating an 8 hour marathon program which is wildly diverse in style. The only common thread that I see across all the sets is that it will be of high quality, exciting, and indefinable. I think it's a great chance for the fans of each of these groups to cross-breed and discover music they may not have had a chance to hear. I'm very excited to have yet another opportunity to perform Osvaldo Golijov's masterpiece ‘The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind’ with clarinetist Jeff Anderle.” More information at switchboardmusic.

2. Stringwreck – April 10 through 13

World premiere! Experimental interaction! Don’t miss this dance theater performance where traditional roles are abandoned. Together with Janice Garrett & Dancers and choreographer Charles Moulton, the Del Sol String Quartet will surprise you yet again. “Dancers become music stands that take flight with the sheet music. A violist is lifted high in the air and is soon at the tumultuous center of a fast moving dance routine. Competition, compassion, communication, misunderstanding, rivalry, harmony – the performers experience all of these as they encounter each other on the stage.”

3. Memories of Other Minds 13

Del Sol String Quartet returned to the Other Minds Festival again this year, performing works by Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, Elena Kats-Chernin, and Keeril Makan. “This is the best environment for the Del Sol Quartet,” says Kate Stenberg, violinist with Del Sol, “since we get to work directly with the composers. It was great to work with Elena (from Australia) and Leo Wadada Smith (from LA) and his percussionist Anthony Brown (from the Bay Area) for the first time and also with Keeril Makan again and new percussionist David Shively (from NY) for the piece. Plus, we got to explore the Estaciones de Luz, environmental maze sculpture by Mark Reeves (1984), out at the Djerassi. Ranch.”

Read the reviews: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ce00b37c-ef88-11dc-8a17-0000779fd2ac.html & http://www.sfcv.org/2008/03/11/meeting-of-the-minds/

4. CD RELEASE AND CONCERTS (MAY)

Mark your calendars now. Our new CD, “Ring of Fire,” will be released soon. Come hear the music live at our concerts on May 2 (SF) and May 4 (Pt. Reyes Station), which include the “Spiral X: In Memoriam” piece by Chinary Ung that we premiered at the Library of Congress last year. Pieces by other contemporary Pacific Rim composers such as Hyo-shin Na, Kui Dong, and Jack Body are also on the program. Composer Chinary Ung will attend the SF concert on May 2 for the West Coast premiere of his piece.

5. Strings Magazine mention

Strings Magazine, April 2008 "News & Notes" column, page 23
Awards & Accolades
Eleven chamber-music ensembles, festivals, and presenters were honored for their adventurous programming by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers at the annual Chamber Music America (CMA) National Conference in January. Among the recipients were the DEL SOL QUARTET (first place, Mixed Repertory), the SEATTLE CHAMBER PLAYERS (first place, New Music) and EARPLAY (2nd place tie, New Music).

6. New Board Member: Steve Pacheco

Steve Pacheco has joined the DSPAO board of directors, assisting with PR and Development. His day job is as a mobile software developer in Silicon Valley. He is always seeking out new live and recorded music and plans to take a music tour of Turkey in May. His meditation is his artwork, where he loses himself in watercolors.

Happy Year of the Rat

1. Preparing for Other Minds Festival 13
2. Rehearsals with Janice Garrett and Dancers
3. CD Release & Concerts
4. Report from CMA Conference in January
5. Review from 1/29 “Coming Together” concert

1. Preparing for Other Minds Festival 13

Other Minds Festival 13 is next week. Del Sol will be playing on Thursday and Saturday, March 6th and 8th. We are premiering a new string quartet by free jazz legend, Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, with trumpet and percussion. Smith’s piece, “Taif: Prayer in the Garden of the Hijaz,” suggests a beautiful painting of the sun with colorful spots and ribbons. We have made a recording of an interpretation of a section of this piece and will be playing alongside it during the live performance on Thursday. On closing night, Saturday, March 8, we play works by two other composers — Keeril Makan’s “Static Rising” with percussion, and works by Elena Kats-Chernin with the composer at the piano.

2. Rehearsals with Janice Garrett and Dancers

We have already begun rehearsals with choreographer Charles Moulton and Janice Garrett & Dancers in preparation for our April 10-13 joint performance. We are being choreographed into the live production and learning how to dance and play our instruments at the same time -- not an easy task!



3. CD Release and Concerts (May)


Our new CD, “Ring of Fire,” will be released soon. Come hear the music live at our concerts on May 2 (SF) and May 4 (Pt. Reyes Station), which include the “Spiral X: In Memoriam” piece by Chinary Ung that we premiered at the Library of Congress last year. Pieces by other contemporary Pacific Rim composers such as Hyo-Shin Na, Kui Dong, and Jack Body are also on the program.

4. Report from CMA Conference in January

Charlton, Hannah, Jane (Board President), and Peter Robles (our new Bookings & Publicity agent from NYC-based Serious Music Media) attended the 2008 CMA conference, going to concerts, workshops, and networking with other musicians, presenters, composers, and publishers over four action-filled days. At the CMA/ASCAP awards ceremony, Hannah, Jane and Charlton accepted the First Prize for Adventurous Programming on behalf of Del Sol.

Charlton participated in a panel discussion with Frank Oteri, editor of New Music Box. Charlton explained, "New music is anything that hasn't been heard before by whoever's hearing it! Haydn can be new music as much as anything written yesterday." Hannah joined the San Francisco-based group, Melody of China, for a performance of Yuanlin Chen's Wandering in the Journey for the CMA Commissions showcase concert.

5. Review from 1/29 “Coming Together” concert

Our January 29 “Coming Together” performance in Berkeley, presented by Berkeley Chamber Performances, drew a capacity crowd and was reviewed glowingly in San Francisco Classical Voice.

Happy Holidays!

Our holiday season has been merry, especially since we have been receiving good news every week.

1. CMA/ASCAP First Prize for Adventurous Programming
2. Argosy Foundation Grant Awarded
3. Welcome Patrick Flaherty
4. Happy Holidays

1. *** CMA/ASCAP First Prize for Adventurous Programming ***
CMA/ASCAP awarded Del Sol First Prize for Adventurous Programming, Ensemble-Mixed Repertory. Thanks to the generous support from our fans that enables us to concentrate on producing quality new music,this is the second time in three seasons that Del Sol has won this top, national award. Given annually, the award recognizes ensembles, presenters and festivals that have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to 20th- and 21st-century music, especially works written in the past 25 years. In addition to considering originality, the independent panel of judges looked for innovative presentation and audience-development strategies. The prizes will be given out at the Chamber Music America National Conference in New York City on January 5, 2008, which will be CMA’s 30th Anniversary. The awards are given jointly by Chamber Music America and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).

2. *** Argosy Foundation Grant Awarded ***
The Argosy Foundation’s Contemporary Music Fund has awarded DSPAO a generous grant of $12,000 for our Pacific Rim project (CD recording and May 2008 concerts). We will be working closely with our recording engineer during the next few months to edit the raw material we recorded at Skywalker Studios this past fall in time for a May 2008 release of the new CD. Donors have been critical for this project; contributors of $1,000 or more by February 2008 will be recognized as a sponsor in the CD liner notes.

3. *** Welcome Patrick Flaherty ***
This month DSPAO welcomed Patrick Flaherty to our board of directors. Mr. Flaherty is a 30 year broadcasting veteran with producing experience at the national and local level. Most recently he produced KQED TV’s “Spark,” the award winning local PBS program about arts and culture in the Bay Area. Last year he produced the Del Sol String Quartet story for “Spark,” first aired in April 2007 and rebroadcast this past October. Mr. Flaherty has a long standing commitment to the arts.

4. *** Happy Holidays ***
As the year draws to an end, we want to pause and thank you for your interest in and support of our work. We are thrilled to have such an educated, generous and excited public that inspires us to continue our vision to move new music forward. Thank you so much for your financial support that has been crucial to our success!
May the special gifts of health, peace, and happiness be yours throughout the upcoming year.

We’re “Coming Together” with clarinet and didjeridu this November!

Contents:
1. “Coming Together” concert, Nov. 30
2. Zellerbach and Hewlett Community Arts grant awarded
3. Follow-up (LOC, Skywalker Ranch, QuartetFest)

1. “Coming Together” Concert, Friday, 11/30/07, Old First Church in SF, 8pm

In collaboration with clarinetist Jeff Anderle and didjeridu player Stephen Kent, we’re bringing you another one-of-a-kind concert program entitled “Coming Together.” The six musicians, assembled into duet, quintet, and even sextet, will perform four memorable pieces from around the world.

Cellist Hannah Addario-Berry and clarinetist Jeff Anderle will kick off the concert with a passionate duet called "Coming Together," by Derek Bermel (b. 1967, New York). Bermel truly captures qualities of the human voice. The two instruments can be heard moaning, laughing, flirting, and even screaming. It is an unforgettable work that will stimulate the imagination!

Didjeridu player Stephen Kent and the quartet will perform “Quartet No. 16” written by Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe, who was inspired by letters from Afghan refugees in Australian detention centers.

In the third piece “The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind”, Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov fuses elements from the klezmer tradition with some of the more classical string quartet forms. The music is at times meditative, passionate, driving and haunting. Clarinetist Jeff Anderle will join Del Sol on an array of clarinets.

Lastly, all six musicians take a break from their usual instruments and instead use Mexican hand drums, stick drums, maracas, and claves. With clapping, stomping, and whispering they tackle an impressive and challenging piece by Mexican Arturo Salinas.

This program is co-presented by Old First Concerts in SF and also will be co-presented by Berkeley Chamber Performances in the East Bay on January 29, 2008.

More info.

2. Zellerbach and Hewlett Community Arts Grant Awarded

We think the program is exciting, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation did, too! They awarded us a combined $4,000 through Zellerbach’s Community Arts Program for the “Coming Together” concerts in November and January.

3. Follow-up

We were busy this time last year, but we’ve been even busier this year!


The audience of over 300 at the Oct. 19th Library of Congress concert greeted enthusiastically the world premiere of Chinary Ung’s new work, “Spiral X: In Memoriam,” dedicated to the millions of Cambodians killed by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime and gave a standing ovation at the end of the Peter Sculthorpe’s “Quartet Number 16” which concluded the program. We were thrilled that Stephen Kent was able to come out to Washington with three of his beautiful didjeridus in tow to join us for this performance. For those who are interested in which Stradivarius instruments from the Library’s collection the Quartet used for this concert, Kate played the "Betts" violin (1704), Rick the "Castelbarco" violin(1699), Charlton the "Cassavetti" viola (1727), and Hannah the "Castelbarco" cello (1697). (You may be interested in Stephen Kent's blog entry about this concert.)

Right after returning from DC we spent a week at the marvelous studios of Skywalker Ranch recording our upcoming Pacific Rim CD. There is something particularly unglamorous and grueling about recording. Our audience of silent yet critical microphones captured every moment for posterity (and subsequent editing by our recording engineer), and we raced against the clock to make every moment count – tackling the music phrase by phrase. As Rick put it, “by the end of each day we were pretty much toast.” You’ll be able to hear the result of all this hard work when we release the new CD, “Ring of Fire,” next May.

We went right from the recording week into our Fall QuartetFest intensive coaching workshop held at the Children’s Day School in San Francisco’s Mission District during the weekend of November 3-4. We coached 16 young string players, ages 8 to 18 assembled into four quartets, concluding with a recital (of works by Pleyel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Ravel) and potluck supper for participants, their parents, and supporters. We are especially grateful to our generous, long-time donors Sara and John Hendrickson, as well as the AMCP Foundation, for making QuartetFest possible.

Our 2007-2008 Season Kicks Off with Prestige & Publicity

Contents:
1. Library of Congress “Ring of Fire” Concert, 10/19/07
2. Free Noontime Concert, Thursday, 10/11/07
3. On TV Again!
4. Fall QuartetFest
5. More Good News About Grants
6. Future Bookings

1. Library of Congress “Ring of Fire” Concert, 10/19/07
We are honored to kick off our 2007-2008 season with a world premiere concert at the Library of Congress, which is “the de facto national library of the United States and one of the most important libraries in the world.” The venue for our concert, the Coolidge Auditorium, is renowned for the caliber of the artists who have performed there, and for premieres of newly commissioned works.

The work being premiered, entitled “Spiral X: In Memorium,” was written for Del Sol by Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung under a commission from the Koussevitsky Foundation. The piece, which includes vocalization by the musicians, has eight parts. Yes, eight ; one for each instrument and one for each musician’s voice. For this performance we will play on rare, 17-18th century, Italian stringed instruments from the Library’s collection. If you can’t make it to DC for this historic event, you can hear the next live performance at our Spring Home Season concert in May 2008.
For more info go to http://delsolquartet.com/concert.html.

Later this fall we’ll be recording this piece and works by other contemporary Pacific Rim composers such as Hyo-Shin Na, Kui Dong, and Jack Body. This CD will be released in 2008. Donors who contribute over $1,000 to our nonprofit Del Sol Performing Arts Organization before February will be listed as sponsors of this Pacific Rim recording in the CD liner notes.

2. Free Noontime Concert, Thursday, 10/11/07, 12:00 PM
Del Sol will perform as part of the UCSF Chancellor’s Concert Series at Cole Hall, UCSF Medical School, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco.
For more info go to http://delsolquartet.com/concert.html.

3. On TV Again!
The SPARK episode featuring Del Sol, first broadcast in April, will be shown again on Wed., Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m., and will repeat on Sun., Oct. 21, at 6:30 a.m. on KQED-TV Channel 9. The rerun also can be seen in the South Bay on KTEH-TV 54 and KCAH-TV 25 check www.kteh.org for details.

4. Fall QuartetFest
Once again, we’re holding our QuartetFest, a unique weekend (Nov. 3 & 4) for young string players. Four student string quartets receive coaching and perform both masterworks from the quartet literature and accessible modern works.

5. More Good News About Grants
The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation has awarded our nonprofit Del Sol Performing Arts Organization (DSPAO) a first-time grant of $15,000 for our Pacific Rim project (the CD recording this fall and the concert in May 2008). This institutional backing goes far but doesn’t meet all of our expenses. We’re still looking for more individual donors to support this important recording project. Other good grant news came from the Amphion Foundation, which has awarded the DSPAO $4000, an increase of 50% over their grant to us last year.

6. Future Bookings
We’re pleased to announce that we’ve engaged Serious Music Media to help us with bookings and publicity. They have been making headway with prestigious presenters as far out as 2010, with suggestions for exciting programs, some involving collaborations with other artists and art forms.