This week we offer two arts events to look out for, with advance word courtesy of some articulate and hard-working press agents.
Renegade gay organist Cameron Carpenter is coming to the SFJAZZ Center this weekend, with performances Jan. 28-31. This is the first time he'll be playing his beloved International Touring Organ in San Francisco. Carpenter is regarded as a bit of a rebel in classical music, with a vast repertoire that includes pop, film scores, and theatre works in addition to the classical canon. He's also a natural-born showman: his concert attire often includes crystal-studded boots and a mohawk.
His International Touring Organ is also completely unconventional. Custom-built to Carpenter's exacting specifications rather than traditional pipes, it uses digitized sounds culled from instruments across the globe. He embraces the spirit of the instrument, while bringing it into the future and embracing its full potential. Tickets ($30-$75): go to sfjazz.org.
More LGBT musicianship: The Bay Area Rainbow Symphony [BARS ] was launched in 2008 as a way to bring LGBT musicians together to perform classical music. Most of the symphony musicians graduated from music conservatories or majored in music at universities, and many went on to perform with major Bay Area symphonic groups. Others cultivated more practical careers as doctors, lawyers, computer engineers, etc., while continuing to hone their musical skills for their own pleasure.
As BARS grew to a full 80-member orchestra, its goal expanded from one of local connection to shaping the public's perception of LGBTQ artists and composers while appealing to wider audiences. The BARS orchestral concerts are presented four times a year at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and other SF venues.
On Sun., Jan. 31, at 4 p.m., musicians from BARS will perform a chamber concert at the Community Church of Mill Valley, 8 Olive St. in Mill Valley. The concert will include a string quartet, a woodwind quintet, and a mixed nine-piece group (nonet) performing works by Dvorak , Schubert and Bay Area composer Joseph Stillwell . Tickets ($25) are available at millvalleyucc.org or brownpapertickets.com/event/536816.