Michael Zwiebach | San Francisco Classical Voice

Michael Zwiebach is the senior editor/content manager for SFCV. He assigns all articles and content, manages the writing staff, and does editing. A member of SFCV from the beginning, Michael holds a Ph.D. in music history from the University of California, Berkeley.

Articles By This Author

Feature

Opening the Walls in Music's Mansion

Michael Zwiebach - April 8, 2010

If you grew up in the 1990s you probably know Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter who arrives this week to perform songs from his musical Whisper House with the San Francisco Symphony. His 1996 debut hit, Barely Breathing, about a stalled relationship, marries its catchy groove to an emotional honesty.

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S.F. Chamber Orchestra Sends in the Clowns and Musicians

Michael Zwiebach - April 3, 2010

There are a lot of brilliant ideas out there about involving children in classical music, but San Francisco Chamber Orchestra can stake a claim for one of the most original: conducting paired with circus clowns.

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Orlando Blooms at Philharmonia Baroque

Michael Zwiebach - March 23, 2010

Spring, the poets tell us, is the time for love, an emotion at the heart of many a musical work. It's also the time for Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra's annual Handel bash. And what better way to celebrate than with Orlando, Handel's operatic fantasy on love and madness?

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Old Hands at Young People’s Concerts

Michael Zwiebach - March 16, 2010

Lots of orchestras give concerts for children, but the Fremont Symphony does it with a twist: They get kids involved. “Last year, we had eight kids come up to the front and conduct the orchestra,” says Music Director David Sloss.

Switchboard Turns It On

Michael Zwiebach - March 8, 2010

After last year's hip, happening Switchboard Music Festival, one of the event's cocreators, Jonathan Russell, moved to Washington D.C and another, Ryan Brown, decamped to Princeton, New Jersey.

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Music From a Lover's Breath

Michael Zwiebach - February 23, 2010

Sometimes it’s hard to remember, but the larger part of classical music as we now know it was written for use and even entertainment, not for musing on the abstract and infinite.

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This American Land

Michael Zwiebach - February 9, 2010

The choral group AVE (Artists' Vocal Ensemble) returns to the stage on the President's Day weekend. The concert's title, “This American Land,” refers to the actual earth, and the music is connected by composers' musings on “the sacredness of the earth.”

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More From the Great Artist Series

Michael Zwiebach - February 9, 2010

While Voices of Music brought in oboist Gonzalo Ruiz for their recent “Great Artists Series,” their upcoming concerts of the Bach Violin Sonatas features violinist Carla Moore — a pretty great artist in her own right.

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Nordic Licorice Stick

Michael Zwiebach - February 9, 2010

Redwood Symphony’s artistic director, Eric Kujawsky, knows how to get professional soloists to play with his all-volunteer orchestra: persistence.

New American Chamber Music Mashup

Michael Zwiebach - February 3, 2010

The composers' collective CMASH presents the third annual New American Chamber Music concert, again focusing on voice and small ensemble. The young, San Francisco Conservatory-trained Picasso String Quartet joins forces with the One Art Ensemble and soprano Ann Moss to present new music by composers Vartan Aghababian, Wesley Brown, Matthew O'Malley, Miriam Miller, and Liam Wade.