What do Ansel Adams, Cuban Jazz and Salsa, Jack London and the Santa Rosa Symphony have in common?
They are all part of this summer's third annual Green Music Festival in a beautiful wine country setting by the lakes at Sonoma State University. Attendance at this year's Festival is expected to top 30,000 people at the Rohnert Park campus.
Events include an Independence Day Pops concert and fireworks celebration featuring the Santa Rosa Symphony in a program of patriotic standards and Wild West film scores, an Ansel Adams Centennial Exhibition in the University Art Gallery, and a Cuban Jazz and Salsa concert.
This year's festival, under the artistic leadership of Jeffrey Kahane, is focused around the theme, "On Common Ground: Evolving Landscapes in Music, Arts and Ideas." The theme will be explored musically with symphonic music that evokes landscapes from the American West and international locales, and jazz and salsa music by two Cuban musicians.
It will also be explored through the photographs and lifetime achievements of Ansel Adams, and a seven-part lecture series focused on the meaning of various California landscapes in Jack London's writings. The festival schedule includes:
INDEPENDENCE DAY ON THE GREEN - 7:30 p.m., July 4, lawn area. Conductor Jeff Tyzik leads the Santa Rosa Symphony in a program of patriotic standards and Wild West film favorites. Fireworks follow. Gates open at 4 p.m. for picnicking, games for kids and entertainment. Family-oriented event. Tickets $10-$52. Reserved tables available. Event expected to sell out at 4,000 people.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT ON THE GREEN - 6 p.m., August 3, lawn area. Conductor and Festival Artistic Director Jeffrey Kahane leads the Santa Rosa Symphony in an international travelogue program of Gershwin's "An American in Paris," Respighi's "Pines of Rome" and Von Suppé's"Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna." Guest pianist Jon Nakamatsu, a gold medal winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will be featured in "Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor," often referred to as The Song of Norway. Gates open at 4 p.m. for picnicking, fine wine and food. Tickets $8-$48.
CUBAN JAZZ AND SALSA ON THE GREEN - August 4, lawn area. Two star musicians from Cuba are featured. 4 p.m. - Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Cuban Jazz composer-pianist nominated for three GRAMMY' awards this year, seasons Afro-Cuban rhythms with New World classical and jazz traditions. 6:30 p.m. - Cuban Son Singer-Songwriter, Albita, an international superstar hailed as the Cuban Diva, flavors her songs with the soulful poetry of Latin dance and romance. Gates open at 2 p.m. for picnicking, fine wine and food. Tickets $6-$35.
CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES - 8 p.m., July 20, Evert B. Person Theatre. Jeffrey Kahane & Friends, including principals from the San Francisco Symphony and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, entertain with Schubert, Shostakovich, and Brahms. Tickets $15-$22.
CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES - 4 p.m., July 21, Evert B. Person Theatre. Jeffrey Kahane & Friends II entertain with Hadyn, Ravel, Brahms. Tickets $15-22.
ARTS & IDEAS LECTURE SERIES: ON COMMON GROUND - 7 p.m., Wednesdays June 26-August 7, Evert B. Person Theatre. Seven free public lectures on various themes about Jack London's works and California landscapes, from his quest for beauty in the Valley of the Moon to the architecture of Wolfe House to his experiences in West Oakland. The July 10th lecture will feature the curator of the Ansel Adams Centennial Exhibition addressing Adams' landscape photographs, his lifelong efforts to protect natural landscapes and his experiences in Sonoma County.
ANSEL ADAMS CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION - July 11-August 18, Sonoma State University Art Gallery. An important selection of approximately 70 original prints, with an emphasis on images of Northern California and Sonoma County and his acknowledged masterpieces, celebrates Adams' 2002 centennial birthday. The curator for the exhibition, Mary Street Alinder, was Ansel Adams' chief of staff, assisted him in writing his autobiography and wrote the definitive biography on Adams after his death. Admission $5-$7.
GREENFARM YOUTH FESTIVAL WEEKEND - July 27 and 28. Two days of performances crown the Greenfarm summer season of arts and education programs for youth.
For tickets and information on all events, call (707) 546-8742 or visit the web site at www.greenmusicfestival.org. Buy tickets to two or more music events and enjoy a $3 discount per ticket. Tickets go on sale April 1. All events take place at the Sonoma State University campus in Rohnert Park, 1801 E. Cotati Ave. approximately 40 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.
