Sunday Miscellany: From My In-Box

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has a grand radio broadcast series on KUSC, starting this afternoon at 4 p.m. with Turangalila. Want to catch E-PS's Duke Bluebeard's Castle? It's on April 17....The Sanford Dole Ensemble has what sounds like a terrific upcoming program: James MacMillan's Seven Last Words from the Cross and Robert Kyr's new On the Third Day, which the Ensemble commissioned. It's at one of my favorite venues, St. Gregory of Nyssa, 500 De Haro in SF, on April 17 at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. $30/$25/$20...We hear a lot of talk about how musical organizations need to connect with their communities. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is conducting a four-week food drive in Boston. (Yes, disgracefully, people go hungry in the United States.) If you're in the Boston area, consider donating through the BSO's actual or virtual food drive; in Alameda County, where I live, consider donating now or at another time to the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Unemployment in Alameda County is over 10%, so a sad number of our fellow citizens are suffering this year.....WQXR has a new opera blog, written by Fred Plotkin and Olivia Giovetti. Looks good so far!....The Napa Valley's Festival del Sole has announced its upcoming season...This week's San Francisco Symphony program should be great: Osmo Vanska conducts a world premiere by Thomas Larcher, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with concertmaster Alexander Barantschik playing the very violin on which the premiere was played, and RVW's A London Symphony, a work you don't get to hear very often in these, that is, American, parts.