Capital Public Radio’s Arts and Theater Critic Jeff Hudson joins us for this week’s Sound Advice to preview the fall concert season with country/western, Mexican traditional, classical and gospel music.
Sacramento Chamber Music Society, in Davis on Sept 18, Sacramento on Sept. 19, both 7:30 p.m.
The Sacramento Chamber Music Society puts on lovely concerts at Congregation Bet Haverim in Davis, and in the Music Recital Hall on the Sacramento State campus. This weekend’s program includes the Beethoven “Moonlight” Sonata, performed by pianist Dmitry Cogan of San Francisco, and several works featuring the clarinet, played by Patricia Shands, who is on the faculty at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.
John Anderson, Harris Center, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.
There has long been a loyal following for country, western music in the Folsom area. Now that Folsom has a beautiful venue – the 800-seat main hall at the Harris Center – more country/western stars are stopping in Folsom when they tour. John Anderson is an established artist who recorded several gold albums and Number One country singles in the 1980s and 1990s.
Ramón Ayala, Gallo Center, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
People call Ramón Ayala “The King of the Accordion.” He made his first hit record back in 1963, he’s made over 100 albums, and he’s won four Grammy Awards. He is enormously popular with Mexican American audiences, and when he tours California, he plays in towns like Modesto and Madera and Lemoore. Ayala played the Gallo Center last year, and he drew such a large and enthusiastic audience that they immediately booked him again.
Mavis Staples, Mondavi Center, Sept. 30, 8 p.m.
During the early 1960s, Mavis Staples was the lead voice of The Staple Singers, a family group featuring her father Pops and her siblings. They would perform at civil rights rallies and black churches and Freedom Marches in the Midwest and the South. Fifty years on, Mavis is still releasing new albums and touring, though at this point she’s a solo artist – father Pops died 15 years ago, and sister Cleotha died in 2013. Mavis has returned to her gospel roots in recent years, like her new album “Your Good Fortune.”
Handel and Haydn Society, Mondavi Center, Oct. 17, 8 p.m.
The Handel and Haydn Society is the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States. They were founded in Boston in 1815 to perform the great oratorios by those two composers – Haydn had just died in 1809, Haydn’s oratorios were still “new music” at the time. The Handel and Haydn Society is touring the nation to mark their 200th anniversary, and they will be at the Mondavi Center on October 17, performing – you guessed it – three different pieces by George Frideric Handel, including this excerpt from “Messiah.”