By Lina Broydo
A Fabulous Evening with Sting and the San Francisco Symphony
February 14 & 15, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
Get ready for the most romantic Valentine’s Day celebration with iconic Sting performing live with the SF Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.
The 17-time Grammy Award winning artist will perform his most celebrated songs reimagined for orchestra, accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony with conductor Edwin Outwater. Selections will include fan favorites such as “Englishman in New York,” “Fragile,” and “Every Breath You Take,” among others. Composer, singer-songwriter, actor, author, and activist Sting was born in Newcastle, England before moving to London in 1977 to form The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers.
The band released five studio albums, earned six Grammy Awards® and two BRIT Awards, and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. One of the world’s most distinctive solo artists, Sting has received an additional 11 Grammy Awards®, two BRIT Awards, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, four Oscar nominations, a Tony nomination, Billboard Magazine’s Century Award, and MusiCares 2004 Person of the Year.
In 2003, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his myriad contributions to music. Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he has received the Kennedy Center Honors, The American Music Award of Merit, and The Polar Music Prize. Sting has been awarded honorary Doctorates of Music by the University of Northumbria (1992), Berklee College of Music (1994), University of Newcastle upon Tyne (2006), and Brown University at its 250th Commencement ceremony (2018). Throughout his illustrious career, Sting has sold 100 million albums from his combined work with The Police and as a solo artist.
Get your tickets now!!!!
Information
Tickets start at $75;
Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco
Japanese Pianist Mao Fujita Makes his Steinway Society – The Bay Area Premiere Appearance
November 18, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
With an innate musical sensitivity, the 24-year-old pianist Mao Fujita is one of those special talents to come along only rarely, equally at home with Mozart as with the major romantic repertoire. Born in Tokyo, he was still studying at the Tokyo College of Music in 2017 when he took First Prize at the prestigious Concours International de Piano Clara Haskil in Switzerland, along with the Audience Award, Prix Modern Times, and the Prix Coup de Coeur.
He was the Silver Medalist at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Fujita, who started piano lessons at the age of three, won his first international prize in 2010 at the World Classic in Taiwan, and became a laureate of numerous national and international competitions such as the Rosario Marciano International Piano Competition in Vienna (2013), Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians (2015), and the Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Piano Competition (2016). Fujita made his highly anticipated US recital debut at Carnegie Hall in January 2023 to great acclaim.
And aren’t you lucky to have a unique opportunity to hear Mao Fujita in the Bay Area?! The 11/18 concert’s repertoire features the brilliant compositions by Chopin and Lisht. See you there, for sure!
Information
408.300.5635; steinwaysociety.com
General Admission: $70/$60/$50; Senior & student: $65/$55/$45
Livestream online: $25 per household / live + unlimited listens for 48hrs.
Visual and Performing Arts Center
21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino, located at De Anza College
The DeYoung Open 2023: Bay Area Artists Shine at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Now through January 7, 2024
Discover today’s premier Bay Area artists as they exhibit and hopefully sell their amazing artwork at the world renowned deYoung and the Legion of Honor Museums in San Francisco. Building on the tremendous success of the inaugural presentation of The de Young Open in 2020, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are hosting the triennial of this juried community art exhibition that draws on submissions by artists from the nine counties surrounding the bay—Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.
Artists from diverse backgrounds, ranging from self-taught amateurs to trained professionals, were encouraged to apply, and their work was juried anonymously and solely on the merits of the work itself.
The Museums provide participants the opportunity to offer their works for sale and retain the proceeds, as a gesture of support for the Bay Area’s artist communities.
In addition, the Museums will acquire a selection of exhibition artworks for its permanent collection. This is a very unique opportunity for the local artists to become well known in the world of art.
Information
415-750-3600; famsf.org
The deYoung Open 2023 is free every Saturday, and requires a timed ticket for entry into the exhibition.
Photo courtesy of Gary Sexton
Winter Wonderland in the Heart of Silicon Valley
November 17, 2023 through mid. January, 2024
Downtown Ice returns to downtown San Jose!
It’s your exciting annual opportunity to skate under the warm California sun (a sun block is a must!) and be surrounded by beautifully decorated and colorfully lit-up tall palm trees. It is truly magical. Up to a half a million people come from Northern and Central California to downtown San Jose to enjoy Downtown Ice, Christmas in the Park holiday displays, Winter Wonderland amusement rides, plus performing arts, concerts, SJ Sharks hockey, museums, galleries, restaurants and shopping.
The grand opening of Downtown Ice will inaugurate the annual holiday festivities on November 20th at 5:30 p.m. in downtown San Jose. “Those are great experiences to see and be a part of – and makes the whole event worthwhile” says Tricia Lee Nabb, who has managed rink operations since 1997. And don’t forget to purchase a cup of hot chocolate!
Information
Visit sjdowntownice.com for events and downtown details, and parksj.org for parking information.
Downtown Ice is located at 120 S. Market Street
Photo courtesy of Greg Ramar
