The San Francisco Pride Band will grace the stage of the Herbst Theater on September 29 with a new concert that they promise will excite and move audiences. Titled "Portraits of the Americas," the concert will feature music from North, Central and South America.
The San Francisco Pride Band was previously known as the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, the name by which they were known since the 1990s. Previous to that, when the band was formed by Jon Sims in 1978, it was called The San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corps.
According to a statement at the band's website, the first name came about to more explicitly include lesbians in the band's membership. Lesbians had always been a part of the band's history, so the name change to Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band came about to acknowledge their presence, especially since their numbers in the band had grown.
The latest name change to the Pride Band is meant to make the band even more inclusive, to make sure it's known that everyone across the spectrums sexual and gender identity are welcome.
In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Pride Band Artistic Director Pete Nowlen spoke of what the audience can expect when they attend "Portraits of the Americas."
"This concert features culturally evocative pieces from South, Central and North America and is anchored by two exciting world premieres by Bay Area composers," Nowlen said.
The first piece is called "One Magnificent Light," and it comes from the band's composer-in-residence Mattea Williams.
"When embarking on a new journey or just stepping into something unfamiliar for the first time, the path may seem dark and unsettling even if you have an unexplainable certainty that it is meant for you and right for you," Williams said. "Inside all of us is one magnificent light. With courage, love and encouragement from others, the light can be ignited, joining with the magnificent light of a community that erupts into a technicolor superbloom."
"'Eyes to Look Otherwise'" by Juan Sebastian Cardona Ospina will feature saxophonist Michael Hernandez," said Nowlen. "It is inspired by three paintings of Tito Rodriquez. All three are Bay Area artists who were brought together by a commission from the Latinx Storytellers Project. It is a fascinating concerto for soprano saxophone and orchestra, I'm incredibly excited to bring these two pieces to life."
Hernandez spearheads the Latinx Storytellers Project which is bringing together Latinx voices from the Bay Area.
The band runs the BIPOC Compositions Program which was created in 2020.
"The first year we chose Roger Zare in a competitive call for proposals, who composed a fantastic piece, 'Awakenings,' which we premiered in 2023," said Nowlen. "Through that process we got to know Mattea and were very interested in her music. Since she is local to the Bay Area, we opted for a residency, of which 'One Magnificent Light' is the final installment. Next Spring we will premiere another new work, now under commission from Sacramento composer Carlos McMillan Fuentes."
Other highlights of the "Americas" concert are two pieces from Canadian Squamish First Nation Elder Bob Baker, and a piece inspired by the folk songs of the Sephardic Jews of Brazil. There will also be three pieces from Mexico, among them Arturo Marquez' "Paesajes Baja el Signo de Cosmos."
"'Paessajes' is inspired by the paintings of 19th century Mexican landscape artist Jose Maria Velasco Gomez and was composed for a retrospective exhibit of his works at the National Museum of Mexico," Nowlen said. "He wonderfully captures the scope and grandeur of Velasco's paintings."
They will also perform two movements of Nubia Jaime Donjuan's "Little Mexican Suite."
"Each movement is inspired by a tree that has some special meaning to her and connects that tree to a dance form," said Nowlen.
Nowlen feels that all the pieces in the concert express culture through music.
"The cultures represented are extremely diverse, ranging from Brazilian Sephardic Jews to Canadian First Nation people to the Bay Area queer community," he said. "I hope the audience will feel the expression of the diverse cultures and find the commonalities in the efforts of composers to express their culture in music and the desire of people to see and hear their culture reflected in art."
San Francisco Pride Band Presents Portraits of the Americas, September 29, 4pm, Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness Avenue, general admission $23, Seniors and Students $18. www.sfprideband.org
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