Free Mission District Concert Series Highlights Culture, Originality, and Social Justice
Erick Peralta
The Community Music Center (CMC), a nonprofit music school that has served San Francisco for over 100 years, is announcing its 28th season of the Shenson Faculty Concert Series. The series aims to celebrate the immense and wide-ranging talent of the CMC faculty through free concerts at Sha’ar Zahav in the Mission District. Spanning various genres such as jazz, classical, Eastern European folk, R&B, soul, and original compositions with social justice reflections, the summer series promises a vibrant musical experience. These community concerts are made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Shenson Foundation, a San Francisco-based trust that annually supports Bay Area arts organizations with grants. The selection of faculty members to present their artistic work is conducted by a committee from Community Music Center.
Rita Lackey
The series will commence on July 13th with a performance by jazz vocalist and pianist Rita Lackey, who has previously opened for notable artists like B.B. King and Maria Muldaur. Lackey, in her musical “gumbo,” will showcase jazz standards, soul tunes, and original compositions. On July 20th, Bulgarian violinist Dorisiya Yosifova will take the stage, presenting a program that encompasses Eastern European flavors and emphasizes the works of women composers from Baroque to Contemporary styles. Additionally, Yosifova will debut a solo commission based on a Bulgarian folk tune composed by Jillian Honorof.
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August 3rd will witness Afro-Latin pianist Erick Peralta guiding the audience on a musical journey with his jazz quintet. Peralta’s arrangements will blend traditional and Peruvian folkloric sounds with contemporary and jazz elements, creating what he refers to as a “Neo-Creolism of Peruvian song.” Finally, on August 10th, critically acclaimed jazz composer and pianist Jon Jang, who is of Chinese-American descent, will present his concert titled “Civil Wrongs: Music about Black American & Japanese American Incarceration.” This performance commemorates the 35th Anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act on August 10, 1988, which granted reparations to Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II. Jang’s concert will feature his original composition “Reparations Now!” as well as Charles Mingus’ “Meditations on Integration.”
Jon Jang
Regarding her selection for the concert series, Rita Lackey expressed her excitement, stating, “For me, the Shenson concert is an amazing opportunity to showcase my musical abilities. The fact that the concerts are free for the community is just really a great thing. The concert gives me a chance to launch myself as a bandleader, concert artist, and share my talents as a pianist and vocalist.”
Erick Peralta
For more information and to RSVP to the concerts visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/
Concert information:
Shenson Faculty Concert Series
All concert take place at 7pm at Sha’ar Zahav (290 Dolores St. San Francisco)
Thursday, July 13: Rita Lackey: Jazz, R&B, and Soul
Thursday, July 20: Dorisiya Yosifova: A Journey Through Time
Thursday, August 3: Erick Peralta: The Neo-Creolism of Peruvian Music
Thursday, August 10: Jon Jang: Civil Wrongs: Music about Black American & Japanese American Incarceration
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