Posted by Cassandra

If you’ve been racking your brain for a reason to cross the Bay Bridge look no further….. Uptown Oakland with its up and coming bar scene, top-notch restaurants and historical music venue is reason enough. I made my second trip to Uptown Oakland this past Wednesday to see Santigold at The Fox Theater, an historical Art Deco venue. With influences from everything from reggae, indie rock, punk and electro, Santigold’s music is on an entirely different spectrum from the classical music performances that I usually see in the city. Unlike the put together, polite audiences that you experience at Herbst Theater, Santigold’s performance at The Fox was instead an interactive experience with concert goers dressed in a uniform of neon, sequins and tattoos. Santigold has become a regular fixture at the music festivals that have helped define my generation such as Coachella in Indio and Lollapalooza in Chicago. When I heard she was going to be performing at one of my favorite venues in the Bay Area, I considered that reason enough to ditch my painting class, hop on the Bart and head over to the East Side. 

After getting our required pre-concert grub of greasy tacos and Pacificos, my roommate and I started our great ascent to the tippy top of the building to find our budget friendly seats. Up we went to the balcony section row S, a bit of a challenge for me now that I’ve gotten very comfortable in the orchestra section at Herbst Theater and the War Memorial Opera House. The sea of white hair that has become expected for me at the classical concerts I attend was replaced by a sea of cell phones, booze and smoke. Maybe I’ve been attending one too many classical concerts and forgot how my generation listens to live music, but hey, if that security guard is okay with that girl rolling on the ground as part of her dance moves, then so am I.

As the lights dimmed and Santigold entered the stage in her glow-in-the-dark dress, every seat in the house was disregarded as the rowdy crowd got to its feet. You sing, you dance, you drink, you yell and if you’re not doing any of these things at this type of concert then the performer failed. You’re encouraged to interact with the performance, voice (or yell) your appreciation and dance when the music makes you feel like dancing. Some of the audience became part of the show as Santigold filled her stage with audience members to act as her backup dancers for a song. This type of interaction with the audience is something that you rarely experience with classical music performances. It’s fun to watch the performer feeding off of the crowd’s enjoyment. I admit, some nights I’m in the mood for the more meditative experience with live classical music, but last night, I found my own groove on the other side of the Bay.

Upon learning that The Lion King musical production was coming to the city, I immediately prodded my boyfriend, Adam, to buy us tickets to see it for my birthday.  That was June. I politely reminded him in September.  December came, and there was that ticket-stuffed birthday card on top of my other presents!

We made our way to the SHN Orpheum Theatre Wednesday night for this must-see musical. Upon entering the lobby, it hit me that I haven’t been to a musical theater performance in years— in fact, not since Wicked came to San Francisco in 2008—I only go to classical concerts and intimate recitals. For example, I most recently attended the debut concert of my two friends’ classical guitar and voice duo, One Great City, presented by the Delphi Trio Emerging Artist Program at the First Unitarian Universalist Church. As I passed through the Orpheum Theatre lobby, my mind began to buzz comparing my surroundings with the performance experiences I am used to.

We took our seats and I took in my unfamiliar environment:

• What a rowdy and interactive audience. They will clap for (and through) anything.

• I’ve never seen so many children in a venue. (Duh, Kristin, it is a Disney production.)

• I can’t remember the last time I went to a concert where voices and instruments were amplified, and my classically-trained ears picked up a lot of things I wish weren’t amplified.
  
• The sets and costumes were amazing, but distracted me from hearing the talent.  
  
• Musical theater can provide a fun and accessible combination of musical, visual, and performing arts.

At intermission, or “half-time” as I facetiously call it, I started to relate these mental notes to Adam. He said I was acting like a “Music Snob” and listed the similarities between the musical experiences.

• Everyone gets annoyed when the lady in front of you has big hair, especially when she moves around in her seat.
• No one likes a grumpy usher, but is relieved when said grumpy usher scolds the teenagers taking pictures in the hall.
• An interactive or appreciative audience can add to the experience. Plus, the performers feed off of the energy.
• There is some form of performing arts for everyone and this is probably more accessible than a 20th century minimalism concert. 
• There is probably a kid among the audience and this is his first exposure to live performance. He could be inspired to start playing an instrument or sing.

Adam, with his bright, positive philosophies, made me realize I was being too closed-minded.  I guess experiencing each art form makes experiencing the next one even more enjoyable. It’s not always about being critical, but thinking critically with an open mind. I hope I am not a Music Snob and from this day forward, I declare that I will absorb the aesthetics of one art form and apply it to others in a thought-provoking way. 
Photo by: Disney

I had a chance to drop in for a couple of hours to the first day of Cal Performances' music education conference, "Reaching for the Stars." Matias Tarnopolsky is really doing some visionary work out there. Together with education director Laura Abrams, Matias envisioned an amazing two-day conference on music education as a focal point of the orchestra residency with Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. Dudamel is a musical product of Venezuela’s amazing El Sistema system, and the famous conductor was there along with his mentor and the program's founder, José Antonio Abreu. I dropped in to hear them talk and, as expected, the words were inspiring. But, as happens often with music, you can go to hear one thing and be surprised by another. And so it was with this. 

Just prior to Dudamel and Abreu, the audience got to meet Stanford Thompson. The Curtis graduate, a talented musician and trumpet player, Stanford shared a story of finding himself highly trained with a dream to play in the Philadelphia Orchestra. After a stint in Kenya to found a small program based on El Sistema, he was accepted as a fellow at the New England Conservatory’s El Sistema fellowship. And then he took these skills back to Philly and founded "Play on Philly," an after school program based on the principles of El Sistema. Yes, the written story is amazing. But the man himself was even more amazing. Hearing him talk with humility and humor about his path and the challenges brought tears to my eyes. I’m sure there was an easier – and certainly more lucrative – path for this incredible young musician, but I’m not sure any of those paths would have touched so many people or changed as many young lives. The kids are learning to play and experiencing great guests like Simon Rattle and Bobby McFerrin, but Stanford is also gathering data that proves HIS kids are also getting better grades and becoming better overall citizens. Stanford chuckled when he shared that each year the program sends the Mayor of Philadelphia a bill for all the kids they've kept out of juvenile hall.

I’d strongly encourage you to take the 6 minutes to watch the video below. Of course, the Dude was as incredible and inspiring as always. But it was nice to meet the next generation and see how the threads from that beginning in Venezuela connect – from Abreu to Dudamel to Thompson.

The Bolivars present two concerts, tonight and tomorrow night, at Zellerbach. I’ll be there for at least one – hope you see you “out and about” in Berkeley. 

As a recent grad that just moved to San Francisco, the cosmos dealt me a sweet piece of information last February when I heard Karen Ames was looking to hire someone with a background in public relations AND music. Karen suggested we meet at Opera Parallèle’s production of The Great Gatsby at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Expecting to preach about my hopes and aspirations of becoming a PR powerhouse to her,  instead she immediately enlisted my help in passing out press kits and trying to answer journalists’ questions. When the lobby settled down, Karen tested my musical knowledge– “How do you say, B-A-C-H?” – I must have responded correctly.

Ensemble Parallele’s (now Opera Parallèle’s)  production of The Great Gatsby was my first fully-staged contemporary opera production. I’d like to think I know a little bit about classical music, but I will admit that I know next to nothing about opera. I was expecting musical theater with more vibrato and the audience to be wearing bedazzled gowns—after all, opera people are “cultured.”  I was surprised that the crowd seemed pretty young and definitely not stuffy.  My career came full circle last Friday when I was thrilled to be among the audience in the atrium of the de Young museum waiting to watch Opera Parallèle – now “my” client in my job here. They were performing an “An Evening of Opera Arias”  as part of the Friday Nights at the de Young series. There were a lot of people in the audience that clearly were having their first operatic experience and I  found myself with fingers crossed that Opera Parallèle would convince them to take this new relationship with opera a bit further. I noticed three 40-somethings in front of me were whispering to each other during the performance, “What are you drinking, Sangria?!” (Where is the Opera Tattler when we need her?) The arias varied greatly and the three 40-somethings kept peeking at one another as though to ask, Do we like this? I think we do. In the middle of one aria, the man raised his beer to the two women and said, “We’re getting cultured!”

From that first day when I watched The Great Gatsby, I have attended many cultural performances but I realize that I have only seen the “tip of the iceberg” of the arts scene this city has to offer.  I’ve been to baroque music concerts of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra at Herbst Theater, listened to the worldly music of Jordi Savall presented by Cal Performances, heard young opera singers from Merola perform in the Opera House and there is so much more I want to do. I want my work to help get the word out further so that more folks in their 20s realize that there is a treasure trove of cultural arts in San Francisco just out there waiting.

Since this is the beginning, I figure I'd begin...at the beginning.  In May of 1986, David Landis took a chance on a young rock and roll publicist who had never before attended an orchestral concert and who  failed the "classical music pronunciation" test butchering such basics as Edo de Waart and Herbert Blomstedt.  Believe me, that gave him pause.  After taking a few days to think, David went  ahead and trusted his gut that Karen Cardell might just work out as Assistant Director of Public Relations for the San Francisco Symphony. With that decision, David gave me one of the greatest gifts imaginable.  No, it wasn't the JOB, though he gave me that and it turned out pretty terrific.  It was a chance to fall in love with classical music.  With that one decision, he transformed my life. 
 
I had a couple of key lucky breaks just prior to David giving me the Symphony job. The late Ken Baker, one of San Francisco's legendary rock and roll pr geniuses also took a chance on me.  I had enrolled in his publicity class at SF State at the advice of my neighbor Scott Ross who gave me some informal career counseling over a glass of wine...saying....if you want to really learn this, you've got to take Ken's class. After one paper, he hired me to work for his firm.  But even that wouldn't have happened had it not been for drummer Debbie Hopkins, then a member of the seminal San Francisco all-female punk band The Contractions. She was tired of drumming and managing and asked if I'd consider taking over band management.  Through a series of long daily phone conversations from my day job as a secretary,  Debbie walked me through baby steps of booking at the Mabuhay Gardens and Berkeley Square, negotiating contracts (at least one case of beer required), sound checks, and doing basic publicity (BAM Magazine).  I've never been quite sure why she took a chance on me, but this first leap of faith gave me an entree into the actual working world of music.  For that, I'm forever grateful. 

Since those early days, my life has been magical with hundreds of concerts of every kind and genre all over the world.  For a girl who grew up with no classical music, I have to pinch myself when I find myself sitting in the presidential box at La Scala for Nicola's debut, coaching Herbert Blomstedt on throwing the first pitch for the Giants back in 1998, working with the amazing Lynn Wyatt in Houston, escorting  Placido Domingo from his car to the stage, talking shop with Jonathan Miller, ,sitting four rows from the stage in Vienna's Musikverein or working with philanthropists Joan and Sandy Weill on the opening of Weill Hall.   I've worked hard -- but so many people have given me a leg up and a helping hand.  Thanks to them, I'm where I am now.  Out and About in San Francisco. 

You might wonder -- why blog?  Our goal isn't just to promote our clients (though we will certainly do that)  but to give you a sense of what we experience day and night as we are "out and about" in the cultural world here in San Francisco....and beyond.  We will write about our clients, but we'll also write about ourselves, our experiences, our passions, and our dreams. 

Speaking of dreams.... GO GIANTS!!!!!