Singing the Praises of Southwest

The Southwest Chamber Music Society has been steadily building its reputation since it was founded in 1988, but the group, which emphasizes 20th-Century repertory, took a quantum leap forward when it recently announced that soprano Phyllis Bryn-Julson had become a member.

“She has a career that has put her in the forefront of contemporary music for many years now,” said Southwest founder Jeff von der Schmidt. “It’s extremely flattering to have an artist of Phyllis’ reputation joining us.”

For her part, the celebrated 50-year-old soprano responded modestly. “There are very few groups here that do my repertoire,” she said from her home in a Maryland suburb outside of Washington. “In Europe, I can go and sing almost with every group. This is standard repertoire there at this point. Here, we’re still in the process of teaching and educating the public. So it’s nice to find a group that’s another home in America.”

Bryn-Julson’s association with Southwest began in April, 1993, when she sang the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s “A Winter’s Tale” with the group at Chapman University. The work had been commissioned by a consortium of organizations that included Southwest. Subsequent appearances with the group included a performance of songs by Elliott Carter in January, 1994, and a benefit concert last March.

Her first outing as a formal member of the group came early this month, when she traveled to Los Angeles to record works by Ernst Krenek with Southwest for CRI Records. The CD won’t be out “for about a year,” says Von der Schmidt. “It will be out for our 10th anniversary.”

Next season with the chamber group, Bryn-Julson will open and close the six-concert season, singing Schoenberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire” at the first pair of concerts (Sept. 16 at Pasadena Presbyterian Church and Sept. 17 at the Santa Monica Museum of Art), and works by Boulez and Berio on May 24 in Pasadena and May 26 in Santa Monica. (For a complete schedule, call (800) 726-7147.)

Even as a member, Bryn-Julson anticipates her involvement will remain limited to two programs a season. “They can’t overdo vocal repertoire, and I also have to be careful not to overwork myself,” she said.

Her schedule includes regular appearances guesting all over the world, plus teaching full time at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

She added Southwest to these commitments, she said, because she likes its style. “This group seems to plunge into the things that should have been done 25 years ago,” she said. “They commission works. They’re starting to do CD work. They’re going to be a viable group on the music scene. They get things done--not only our own heritage repertoire, but playing foreign composers as well. I believe this group is going to last into the next century and that’s unusual, and I want to be a part of that.”

She also wants to foster more understanding of the “difficult” contemporary repertory. “I always like to get people to do their homework, to read up on the composer, be prepared and not be blindsided and cold,” Bryn-Julson said.

While she admits she has sung contemporary works she didn’t “have sympathy for,” nevertheless she “really [tries] to put a positive attitude out there. I feel the audience can tell when an singer is not all together in sync with the composer. Beside, I don’t think it’s my position to judge. It’s up to audiences and society to decide what is lasting and what isn’t, what are lasting works in this century.”

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NIGHT MOVES: The 73-year-old San Francisco Opera will move its 1996-97 season to two other local theaters while the War Memorial Opera House, its home since 1932, undergoes major seismic upgrading and renovation.

The new season, which runs Sept. 6, 1996, to Feb. 23, 1997, will include nine operas--six to be presented in the larger Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and three at the Orpheum Theatre. The Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove St., has 4,500 seats, as compared to the 3,200 at the Opera House. The Orpheum, 1192 Market St., seats 2,500.

Productions at the Civic will include Verdi’s “Aida” and Bizet’s “Carmen,” plus a concert by tenor Placido Domingo with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra on Oct. 20.

Productions at the Orpheum will include Stewart Wallace and Michael Korie’s “Harvey Milk,” co-sponsored by SFO, and Puccini’s “La Boheme.” The Puccini opera will be triple-cast so that performances can run continuously through the month of June, 1996.

The Civic will be altered to accommodate the operas. The proscenium arch, curtain and orchestra pit will be eliminated. A three-quarter-in-the-round thrust stage will be constructed, with the orchestra visible on an elevated level above and at the back of the stage.

Two projection screens, approximately 50 feet wide and 25 feet tall (about the size of the current Opera House proscenium opening) will flank the stage, allowing scenic projections and live video camera projections during the operas. The screens will also accommodate supertitle translations.

Additionally, a 50-foot turntable will be incorporated in the stage.

The Orpheum also will be modified, to enlarge the orchestra pit.

The renovations at the War Memorial, where SFO will open its 75th season on Sept. 5, 1997, will be mainly structural, with one exception. The original seats and carpets will be replaced, but the intention is to keep the same look.

Information: (415) 565-3227.

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THE WINNER: Rufus Choi, 18, a native of Los Angeles, won the $20,000 top prize at the first Han Romanson International Piano Competition held June 19-26 in Seoul, South Korea. A former student of Los Angeles’ Daniel Pollack and Konstantin Sirounian, Choi recently completed his first year at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where he is on full scholarship. He was one of approximately 300 pianists who entered the competition, which was narrowed to a field of 24 semi-finalists.

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SEVEN DATES: The Los Angeles Master Chorale has announced its seven-concert 1995-96 season. Paul Salamunovich will conduct the opening Oct. 22 program of opera choruses and all other concerts except as noted: the American Boychoir conducted by James Litton (Nov. 5); holiday music (Dec. 17); music by Jewish composers (Feb. 4); Handel’s “Messiah” led by Dennis Keene (March 10); “A Mystic Vigil” (April 28); Verdi’s Requiem (May 11). All concerts will take place in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. except for May 11, which will start at 2 p.m. Series tickets: $45.50-$269.50. Information: (213) 626-0624.*