Welcome back! Now that you’ve read our Fall Preview, here’s your first weekly slate of concerts, with Opera Philadelphia, Variant 6, and a couple outdoor concerts happening, including the first of two delightfully off-centered shows to open the week.
Spotlight: Wherever You Are — Tuesday through next Tuesday, Roxborough Pocket Park
In situ is a Philadelphia-based ensemble of improvisers, composers, and multi-instrumentalists, and they will be at Roxborough Pocket Park on Ridge Ave (next to the sadly still out-of-commission New Ridge Brewing Co.) performing a piece by group member Joshua Marquez as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The ensemble will be spread across the park, so you’ll experience a different version of Wherever You Are standing at any given point in time; audiences are encouraged to walk about the small park, though movement is not required and there will be seating offered. To get the full idea of the piece, you may have to hear it multiple times from multiple places, but not to worry: there are five performances, and tickets are pay-what-you-can all the way down to free. The ensemble will perform the piece nightly, there will be a short break, and then a different member of the ensemble will lead an improvisation.
Sept. 8-11 and Sept. 15, Roxborough Pocket Park, 6170 Ridge Avenue, pay-what-you-can ($15 suggested); tickets and more information.
Thor & Friends + Hour — Wednesday, MAAS Building (NB: access by stairs only)
This will pique your interest if you’re a fan of minimalism à la Terry Riley or Steve Reich, but expect company from those whose primary music diet isn’t classical. Thor Harris was once a member of the long-running experimental rock band Swans, and with his project Thor & Friends he makes meditative mallet percussion-based music with a healthy dose of improvisation. Opening is the West Philly chamber ensemble Hour, whose sound is reminiscent of folk and film music.
Sept. 9 at 8 p.m., MAAS Building, 1325 North Randolph Street, $15-$25, tickets and more information.
Mitridate, re di Ponto — Wednesday, Thursday and Sept. 13, Academy of Music
Bruce Hodges has provided plenty of coverage of this production already, so we’ll simply add that Opera Philadelphia opens its season this Wednesday with one of Mozart’s early operas, featuring General Director & President Anthony Roth Costanzo and board member/former artistic advisor Lawrence Brownlee in starring roles.
Sept. 9 and 10 at 7 p.m., Sept. 13th at 2 p.m.; Academy of Music, 240 South Broad Street, $11+ (Pick Your Price; few tickets remaining); tickets and more information.
Black Voices in American Art Song — Thursday, Philadelphia Ethical Society
Aurora Classical is a local arts organization inspired by 18th-century Philadelphia journalist Benjamin Franklin Bache’s Philadelphia Aurora, which stood for the rights of “plain folk” — the organization’s main focus is accessibility. On Thursday, they’re presenting a recital of music by Black composers from Burleigh and Johnson all the way to the present, featuring bass Martin Hargrove and pianist Julia Hanna.
Sept. 10 at 7 p.m., Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square, pay what you wish; tickets and more information.
Never Land — Thursday and Saturday, Latvian Society of Philadelphia
What started as a classical voice recital around the implications of creative freedom is now a drag cabaret for baritone and mezzo on themes explored in Peter Pan. In Never Land, presented by NoLibs-based Liberty City Arts, performance artists Dicky Dutton and Heather Jones portray Hook and Wendy, who must free themselves from a haunted fairy tale which also traps them in their assigned identities. (Despite the title and framing, this is an 18+ show.)
Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m., Sep. 12 at 8 p.m.; The Latvian Society of Philadelphia, 531 North 7th Street, $35 (or pay-what-you-can from $10); tickets and more information.
Arabesque — Friday, MAAS Building (NB: access by stairs only)
Variant 6 opens their season with a program of solos and duets featuring artistic director and soprano Rebecca Myers as well as mezzo Elisa Sutherland, joined by lutenist/theorbist Dušan Balarin. The group draws from the 17th century with music by Barbara Strozzi, Henry Purcell, Sigismondo d'India, and Claudio Monteverdi, followed by a garden reception.
Sept. 11 at 7 p.m., MAAS Building, 1325 North Randolph Street, $25-$45; tickets and more information.
Follow the Sound — Sept. 13, Awbury Arboretum
Bowerbird has been hosting a series of Follow the Sound performances in various parks and outdoor spaces, combining a guided nature walk with live music. Next Sunday’s walk features music performed by flutist Elijah J. Thomas and cellist Thomas Kraines, and is guided by Jason Hall, a team member at In Color Birding, which provides an entry point to birding for BIPOC communities in and around Greater Philadelphia.
Sept. 13 at 10 a.m., meet at Lightning House, 900 East Washington Lane, free (reservations encouraged); more information.
