CMNC

When you come across music that you find inspiring, a great next step is to put together a group to prepare it for performance, so you can share your love of the piece with others.

If you already have a regular group that enjoys working on music, it’s a good challenge to take that next step of performing. This article will help you find places to perform. There are many in the Bay Area that provide wonderful opportunities for you to perform, and to hear your friends.

CMNC is always happy to help you find music to perform, and people to perform with. This can be through your own music assignment, and also through hearing others perform at CMNC master classes and performance samplers. When you attend without a preformed group, you will be assigned music to play, other players we hope you will find compatible, and a fantastic coach. When you come preformed, you have already chosen your music and colleagues, so we look for a great coach for you. If you have a piece you’d like to be coached on but do not have a group, we will be happy to look for other players to work with you on your chosen piece, but cannot guarantee this, as it depends on who else applies.

After working hard to prepare your piece for performance, it is totally worthwhile to perform it multiple times. This gives your group more chances to improve your performance, and gives your friends more opportunities to come and hear you despite their busy schedules.

To give you the best opportunity to improve your performance, it is highly recommended that you record every performance, and also some later rehearsals. It is amazing the things that one hears from a recording that go completely hidden while one is focused on trying to play in tune and in time and with the right spirit. I use Voice Record Pro for audio only. or the phone camera for video. You can put the phone on a music stand to hold it where it can see your group. Recording yourself can feel scary at first, but do it anyway. Your audience will be grateful if you make the effort to listen to yourselves and learn from this before playing for them.

Most concert series take applications around June to August for the coming year. However, go ahead and apply anytime. Unfortunately, planned performers have to cancel at times, just as they do at CMNC. If your group is able to be flexible with scheduling, you may be able to get in without waiting till the next season, by adding yourself to their waiting list.

Below are some places to perform. The list is likely incomplete, and soon out of date. Please send your updates including new series, additional churches, updated contact person, updated annual fee, and updated guidelines for existing series, to mblatt@pobox.com. CMNC will try to keep the list as up to date as we can, starting with a copy of this article, on the CMNC website.

Private Homes

For your first performance, the easiest venue is your house, or the house of a friend. Chairs can be rented. Pianos can be more challenging. Ask your friends with good pianos and decent-sized living rooms to help out. Offer to provide food and rent chairs, or whatever will encourage them to say yes.

Retirement Homes

Generally, retirement homes are enthusiastic to have performers they don’t need to pay for. If you have a friend in a retirement home, or some other contact there, it can be easy to schedule a time for your group to play there.

Churches

Some churches contribute to the community by providing their space as a concert venue. Many of you likely know the wonderful concert series at Old First Church in San Francisco, which focuses on providing opportunities for music professionals early in their careers. Other churches provide opportunities for those of us who are not professional.

St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Pleasant Hill. The church has been hosting excellent chamber music recitals since 2004, presenting 4 recitals per season (Oct, Jan, April, June). Concerts are usually on Sunday afternoons at 3pm. Entire pieces are welcome, there is no limitation to 20 minutes. Concerts are well attended and feature outstanding musicians who volunteer to perform for an always appreciative audience. Musicians and audience agree that St Andrew's is a great place to perform. Acoustics are excellent. Recitals are free to the public. Donations are accepted to benefit Contra Costa Interfaith Housing, which provides permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless families.
Contacts: Decky Thornton, deckyt@comcast.net
Bob Satterford, rbsatterford@gmail.com
More information: Chambermusicseries.wordpress.com

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin. This venue has hosted many chamber music concerts. Although there is no concert series per se, your group might be interested in renting the church to perform.
Contact: Milton Wong, milton.wong@csaa.com

Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Belmont. The series is currently [in 2019] on hiatus due to planned construction, but will be back in action when this is complete.
Contact:
Father Michael P. Barham, admin@GoodShepherdBelmont.org

Music Clubs and Associations

There are many such groups in the Bay area that exist specifically to provide performing opportunities to amateur groups. Joining and participating, as performer and as audience for others, will help you achieve your performing goals, meet new people, and enjoy wonderful concerts.

Senza Rito: The name of this friendly East Bay group translates to "without formality." Annual dues are $25 as of July 2019. Everyone who performs in a group at a Senza Rito concert is welcome to join as a member. You can also join before performing by finding two members willing to recommend you. Concerts are generally the second Saturday of the month at 2 PM and are held in private homes. You can play an entire work; no strict requirement to chop to 20 minutes.
More information: Senzarito.com

Soirée Musicale: Concerts are every two months in the South Bay on Friday nights. Concert venues include churches, senior complexes, and private houses. A different person puts together the program for each concert. There is no audition. However, if you would like a concert date, it helps if you know many players, to provide variety in your program, including strings and winds and sometimes piano and sometimes voice. I am on the board of Soirée Musicale. I especially like that Soirée Musicale gives me the opportunity to perform on multiple instruments, and to put together an entire program, not just 20 minutes.
Send questions to Contact: Miriam Blatt, mblatt@pobox.com
More information: Soiréemusicale.org

San Francisco Civic Music Association's chamber music series: Concerts are Saturdays at 3 PM at the San Francisco Noe Valley Ministry. To apply, you may need to provide a video of your group. This can be bypassed if someone on the committee is familiar with your playing. Preference is given to performance of complete works.
Contact: Julie Erickson, julie@sfcivicmusic.org
More information: Civic Center Music Series Application for 2022-23

Contra Costa Performing Arts Society (CCPAS): Master Artists concerts are twice per month on Tuesday evenings and Friday mornings at Grace Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek, from September through June. All concerts are free and open to the public. Paying annual membership ($35 in 2019) and passing an audition is required before your first performance. Auditions are held twice per year. If your group includes a CCPAS member, then the audition can be part of a Master Artists concert. Or you can perform if one member of your group has passed the audition. Performance time is limited to 20 minutes. CCPAS has many chapters, including Master Artists, Jazz, and the Recital Pianists’ Workshop.
More information: CCPA.org

Fortnightly Music Club: Formal concerts are Sunday evenings at the Palo Alto Art Center auditorium. Informal concerts are Monday evenings in private houses, attended by members. Dues as of July 2019 are $35 per year. Auditions are required for the formal concerts, but not for informal concerts. Auditions are held at the informal concerts, along with non-audition performances. Performance time is limited to 20 minutes.
More information: Fortnightlymusicclub.org

Etude Club: Classical music programs are held September - May at 1pm PM in the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley, on the fourth Monday of the month, except in December and May when they are held on the third Monday. Performances are free to the public and are followed by refreshments. Concerts last one hour and are performed by members. Each performance is limited to fifteen minutes. Annual dues in 2019 were $45. Membership applications are on the Welcome page of the website. There are two types of membership: Performer and General (non-performing). Members come from diverse backgrounds; some are musicians, others are not. What they share is a love of music and a wish to support it in the community. Monthly meetings give the opportunity to hear great performances by members, and make new friends and connect with old ones. To be accepted as a performing member, one needs to be sponsored by an existing member, and to pass an audition. Non-members are welcome to perform as guests of a performing member.
Contact: “Contact us” on the website.
More information: Etudeclub.org

Palo Alto Two Piano Club. Informal concerts are held once a month, on Wednesday mornings. They welcome players at all skill levels to perform at our monthly meetings, An annual public concert is held on a weekend. Repertoire is four-hand and two-piano works.
Contact: Marsha Rocklin, calgalr@yahoo.com

GroupMuse

GroupMuse deserves a category of its own. It is not a performing club, but a website and phone app you can use to find informal classical music concerts in houses near you, any time, any place. Their website says the performers are professionals, but accomplished amateurs can also join the community. It’s helpful to have a bio and audio or video recording of you or your group to post on the site. When you or your group are approved by the Groupmuse community, you can offer to perform at the home of a prospective host, or you can host your own concert. The audience generally pays a fee of $10 with all proceeds going to the musicians. You can waive the fee if you choose.
Contact: Bill Rudiak, brudiak@comcast.net
More information: Groupmuse.com

thisspace

thisspace is a newish group which lists churches and other spaces which can be rented for rehearsal or performance in the SF Bay Area. Some of their spaces include pianos. [info added July 2023]
More information: thisspace.io