The College of Marin Department of Music is proud to offer a wide variety of music classes taught by some of the finest faculty in the San Francisco Bay Area. We offer a complete program for music majors for transfer, as well as a wide variety of performance ensembles suitable for all instruments and ability levels. We welcome all community members to join us in the serious pursuit of knowledge to enrich their musical lives through attending courses or enjoying our many fine concerts. This season the orchestra and choirs will be presenting the spring concerts including a series of music inspired by creatures, both real and imaginary.
All concerts are FREE unless otherwise noted.
Advanced Voice Class Recital Vocalise – Art Songs of Sergei Rachmaninoff
Linda Noble Brown, instructor
Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, Sergei Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day, and as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. His music contains a pronounced lyricism, expressive breadth, structural ingenuity, and a tonal palette of rich, distinctive colors. We are pleased to sing these haunting melodies for you (mostly in English, with a few brave souls daring to sing them in their original language!)
When
Wednesday, April 3, 11:10 am
Where
Lefort Recital Hall, PA 72, COM Kentfield Campus
COM Symphony Orchestra Concerto Concert
Tara Flandreau, director
Our first spring concert features winners of this year’s concerto competition performing a wide range of familiar and obscure repertoire, featuring both solo and duo performers. To open the concert, the orchestra will perform The Thieving Magpie Overture by Rossini. Flute soloists Bruce Salvisberg and Dawna Stebbins perform Coffee Nerves for two flutes and strings by Gary Schocker, clarinetists David Treganowen and Shelly Hodgen perform Andante and Rondo by composer and orchestra member Gary Friedman. We feature bassoon soloist Karen Wright in a movement from Mozart’s Concerto in B-flat Major, and cellist Gary Anderson in the first movement of the Dvorak Concerto for Cello in B Minor. For the finale, the orchestra will be joined by piano soloists Orly Kelly and Lois McManus, for the first movement of Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos in D Minor.
When
Saturday, April 20, 7:30 pm
Where
James Dunn Theatre, COM Kentfield Campus
Two Evenings of Chamber Music
Jessica Ivry, director
Small ensembles from the Chamber Music Class perform works by Haydn, Mozart, Stamitz, Dubois, and others. Different program each evening.
When and Where
Friday, May 3, 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 4, 7:30 pm
Lefort Recital Hall, PA 72, COM Kentfield Campus
Jazz Ensemble
Karla Avila, director
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with the COM Jazz Ensemble, in a fun-filled afternoon of sizzlin’ Latin grooves, smokin’ blues, and swingin’ big band tunes by jazz legends Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Stan Getz, Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, and more!
When
Sunday, May 5, 4 pm
Where
James Dunn Theatre, COM Kentfield Campus
Symphonic Band
Walter Mikolajcik, director
The Symphonic Band’s program features overtures and festive music. We will be drawing from the best of the wind band repertory including Mendelssohn’s Overture for Winds, Luigini’s Ballet Egyptien, and Teike’s Old Comrades. Also featured will be Holst’s Second Suite in F for Military Band, Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, and more. Come see why “everything is for the best in this best of all possible concerts.”
When
Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 pm
Where
James Dunn Theatre, COM Kentfield Campus
COM Symphony Orchestra
Tara Flandreau, director
Karla Avila, clarinet soloist
Our concert season concludes with classical favorites by Mozart and Brahms. New COM faculty member Karla Avila will perform as soloist in the beautiful clarinet concerto by Mozart. Keeping in the classical vein, the orchestra will conclude the program with Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn.
When and Where
Friday, May 10, 7:30 pm
James Dunn Theatre, COM Kentfield Campus
Saturday, May 11, 4 pm
Unity in Marin, 600 Palm Drive, Novato
Advanced Voice Class Recital – In Praise of Mothers
Linda Noble Brown, instructor
Mothers take all shapes and sizes, and have an enormous influence on our lives. We all have (or had) one, in one form or another. Our singers will reflect on composers’ many visions of the idea of motherhood. Songs will be chosen from classical vocal literature, as well as operatic and musical theatre offerings. This will prove to be a touching, funny and sometimes deeply moving recital. Join us on Mother’s Day!
When and Where
Sunday, May 12, 2 pm
The Tamalpais Retirement Community
501 Via Casitas, Greenbrae
Monday, May 20, 11:10 am
Lefort Recital Hall, PA 72, COM Kentfield Campus
Concert Band
Karla Avila, director
Featuring some of the greatest works in the symphonic repertoire, including classic American favorites by George Gershwin, selections from the great Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, and a special wind ensemble arrangement of the monumental masterpiece The Planets by Gustav Holst.
When
Tuesday, May 14, 1 pm
Where
James Dunn Theatre, COM Kentfield Campus
Marin Oratorio: Judas Maccabaeus by George Frideric Handel
Boyd Jarrell, director
Oppression, struggle, victory, and peace! All are found in the colorful tale of Judas Maccabaeus, the rebel leader who rallied his people against a Hellenistic invasion and restored the Temple of Jerusalem. Handel’s vibrant score depicts the changing moods of the Jewish people as their fortunes vary from dejection, to resolve, to jubilation. The MARIN ORATORIO, will be joined by full orchestra and guest soloists. Michael Belle in the title role will be joined by Christa Pfeiffer, Clifton Massey, and Paul Thompson.
When
Saturday, May 18, 8 pm
Sunday, May 19, 3 pm
Where
James Dunn Theatre, COM Kentfield Campus
Admission
Donation suggested: $20 general; $15 students, staff, seniors, and alumni
Call 415.485.9687 for information and ticket reservations or purchase tickets online at www.marinoratorio.org
Beginning Voice Class Recital – Genesis, First Open Recital
Linda Noble Brown, instructor
Our Beginning singers have been working all semester to perform their first time for you! This is always a terribly exciting experience, sharing the thrill and courage of singers stepping in front of a real audience. You will hear a lovely mix of folk songs and art songs, and maybe even a short aria, as the singers are allowed to make their own choice (from within the class repertoire). Come celebrate the fullness of life with us!
When
Monday, May 20, 2:10 am
Where
Lefort Recital Hall, PA 72, COM Kentfield Campus
College Chorus and Chamber Singers — Gloriana
Boyd Jarrell, director
Jeffrey Paul, accompanist
Renaissance England was an exciting time for the arts. Please join Chamber Singers and College Chorus as we celebrate this era and its influence. Elizabethan composers Dowland, Tallis, Byrd, and Gibbons will be featured, as well as modern settings by Emma Lou Diemer, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Benjamin Britten. “Come give us your hands if we be friends…”
When
Tuesday, May 21, 7:30 pm
Where
James Dunn Theatre, COM Kentfield Campus
Piano Repertoire Concerts
Jean Alexis Smith, director
Two concerts juxtaposing short solo keyboard works from the Baroque era with short piano works from 20th century composers. Each concert will feature a different repertoire.
When
Tuesday, May 21, 3:30 pm
Wednesday May 22, noon
Where
Lefort Recital Hall, PA 72, COM Kentfield Campus
Contemporary Opera Marin
Mozart and Salieri by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Ford Chaplin Foxtrot by Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Paul Smith, director
Contemporary Opera Marin, Paul Smith, director, continues its almost 15 year tradition of performing fully staged, English language productions of important works of the last one hundred years as well as unjustly neglected works from earlier times. This summer, as part of the Music From Marin Summer Festival, the company presents Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s fascinating psychological music drama Mozart and Salieri. Almost 100 years before the smash hit film Amadeus exposed the complex relationship between these two important composers, Rimsky-Korsakov scored Alexander Pushkin’s drama of the same name for tenor, baritone and chorus. This hour long work is preceded by Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s 20-minute satire Ford Chaplin Foxtrot.
Music From Marin Summer Festival
June 15 to 30, 2013
FREE performances throughout Marin County. Call 415.485.9460 for details.
Music Department Seasonal Calendar
For any member of the community seeking accommodations for the disabled, please contact (415) 485-9340. College of Marin students seeking academic adjustments should contact (415) 485-9406.