Dawn Harms Appointed Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) Music Director
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) August 26, 2013 -- The Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) has appointed Dawn Harms as its new Music Director, following a season of concerts conducted by four final candidates.
The 2013-14 season’s opening concert is Saturday, September 7, 2013 at the SF Conservatory of Music, starring Frederica von Stade, who will perform the trio from Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. Rachmaninoff’s Symphony #2 will conclude the program.
The Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) is an orchestra that provides a safe and supportive environment for musicians of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. BARS makes cultural, social, and educational contributions to the San Francisco Bay Area by performing ambitious repertoire to a high standard.
"Dawn brings passion, expertise and wonderful musicianship to guide BARS’s artistic course, and the orchestra is thrilled to be working with her," commented Richard Horan, BARS President, adding "Dawn’s dynamism and energy will continue the upward trajectory of BARS as it enters its sixth season."
Says Harms, "I am excited to be chosen to help lead the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, a one-of-a-kind organization here in San Francisco, as it is a wonderful place for gay and lesbian, bisexual transgender as well as straight musicians who aspire to participate in the highest quality music making together, as a community."
About Dawn Harms
Dawn Harms' very diverse musical career ranges from being a chamber musician, violin soloist, concertmaster, and conductor. Dawn is a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster for the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Co-Concertmaster with the Oakland East Bay Symphony. Harms was also chosen to be one of the Fellows at the exclusive American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, where she worked with many world-renowned conductors. She is co-founder and Music Director of the Music at Kirkwood Chamber Music Festival and serves on the faculty at Stanford University.
Harms has appeared in concert with Frederica Von Stade, Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg, Zheng Chao, and Eugenia Zukerman and has also premiered and performed works by composer Jake Heggie. Her recent guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, the Livermore Amador Symphony, and Symphony Parnassus, with recent solo appearances including the Folsom Symphony, Paradise Symphony, Sacramento Symphony, Symphony Parnassus, and the Stanford Symphony Orchestra.
In addition, Harms records regularly at Skywalker Ranch Studios on sound tracks for movies and video games, and recently conducted extra shorts on the film "Ratatouille."
A strong advocate for music education, she was Music Director and conductor of the Amarillo Youth Orchestra. She designs and has performed her own family show throughout the United States, New Zealand, and Japan. Dawn recently performed her one-woman family show with the Lincoln Symphony in Nebraska, the Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, and the Napa Youth Symphony. Dawn plays on her cousin Tom Waits' CDs "Alice" and "Blood Money," and also has two solo CD's, "The Black Swan" and "The Hot Canary."
More on BARS
This past season marked BARS debut at Davies Symphony Hall in collaboration with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus along with their world premiere of "I Am Harvey Milk." For more information about BARS and its 2013-14 season, please visit http://bars-sf.org.
Link to photos: http://bars-sf.org/press/images/.
Media Contacts:
Richard Horan, President
president(at)bars-sf(dot)org
2261 Market St., #178A, San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 57-VIOLA
Lea Saslav
LS Communications
leasaslav1(at)yahoo(dot)com
(415) 235-6149
Lea Saslav, LS Communications, Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, http://bars-sf.org/, 415-235-6149, [email protected]
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