2008 cultural events

This page lists 38 cultural events I attended in 2008. Movies are listed on my films page, not here. The program index page displays thumbnails of all the printed program images. Cities are in California, except as noted.

I have hard copies of printed programs for most of these events, but I have not scanned them yet.


I started keeping event data in the format used by this page in 2010, so data from 2010 to date is accurate. I started keeping appointment calendar data in .txt format in August 2005. I later extracted 2005-2009 event data ex post facto, so data for 2005 to 2009 is less complete and a bit less accurate. I have older pocket calendars and hard copies of event programs going back to 1963, but I have not yet scanned programs for years before 2010 or entered event data for most years before 2005.

See also: 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1971 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 All

Click on a heading below to sort the list accordingly. Click on a Program link to see the printed program for an event. Enter a search string (e.g., "Mahler", "Berkeley", "piano") below to filter the output.


Date Category Description Performers Venue City Works
01/17/08 @ 20:00 Concert San Francisco Symphony Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Elisabeth Chojnacka, harpsichord
Davies San Francisco Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2
Xenakis: A l'Île de Gorée
Schubert: Symphony in C 'The Great'
01/28/08 @ 20:00 Concert Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam Mariss Jansons, conductor Davies San Francisco Strauss: Don Juan
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
02/07/08 @ 20:00 Concert Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Robert Levin, fortepiano
Herbst San Francisco Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor'
Reicha: Overture
Schubert: Symphony No. 3
02/11/08 @ 19:00 Chamber Earplay Mary Chun, conductor Herbst San Francisco Program Einbond: Beside Oneself
Davies: Hymnos
Horst: Creature Songs
Vivier: Paramirabo
Feldman: I met heine on the rue fürstenberg
Festinger: Diary of a Journey
02/22/08 @ 19:00 Sports SAP Open tennis HP Pavilion San Jose
03/13/08 @ 20:00 Concert Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Nicholas McGegan, conductor Herbst San Francisco Graun: from Cleopatra e Cesare
Hasse: from Marc'Antonio e Cleopatra
Quantz: Flute Concerto
Handel: from Giulio Cesare
Heinichen: Concerto
Mattheson: Cleopatra
03/14/08 @ 20:00 Concert SFCM Baroque Ensemble Corey Jamieson, conductor SFCM San Francisco Vivaldi: Gloria
Charpentier: Les Arts Florissant
03/15/08 @ 17:30 Indian Sarangi Aruna Narayan, sarangi Jain Temple Milpitas
03/16/08 @ 14:00 Chamber Richard Stoltzman Richard Stoltzman, clarinet Gould San Francisco Schubert: Sonatina
Schumann: Fantasiestucke
Sculthorpe: Songs of Sea and Sky
Bernstein: Sonata
Brahms: Sonata No. 1
04/03/08 @ 20:00 Concert Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Nicholas McGegan, conductor Herbst San Francisco Handel: Zakok the Priest
Handel: Coronation Anthem No. 1
Purcell: My Beloved Spake
Purcell: Chacony
Purcell: Rejoice in the Lord Alway
Handel: Dettingen Te Deum
04/05/08 @ 20:00 Chamber Richard Fleisher Richard Fleisher, piano Gould San Francisco Schubert: Fantasy for piano four hands
Ravel: La Valse
Schubert: Sonata D. 960
04/06/08 @ 19:30 Concert The Armed Man SF Choral Society St. Paul's San Francisco Jenkins: The Armed Man
04/12/08 @ 20:00 Indian Hindustani vocal Laxmi Tewari, vocals Ives Hall Petaluma
04/13/08 @ 14:00 Opera L'Egisto SF Conservatory Cowell San Francisco Cavalli: L'Egisto
04/20/08 @ 19:00 Chamber Beaux Art Trio Herbst San Francisco Dvorak: Piano Trio 'Dumky'
Kurtag: Work for piano trio
Schubert: Piano Trio
05/03/08 @ 20:00 Theater Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) Bus Barn Stage Co. Los Altos Long/Singer/Winfield: Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)
05/11/08 @ 19:00 Recital Rafael Blechacz Rafael Blechacz, piano Herbst San Francisco Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 9
Debussy: Estampes
Szymanowski: Variations
Chopin: 24 Preludes
05/17/08 @ 20:00 Concert Ben Vereen Ben Vereen JCC San Francisco
05/18/08 @ 14:00 Theater Figaro Berkeley Repertory Theater Berkeley Rep Berkeley Epp/Serrand: Figaro
05/28/08 @ 19:00 Chamber Earplay Mary Chun, conductor Herbst San Francisco Program Burns: Xerox Book
Sciarrino: Lo spazio inverso
Parra: Trio 'Wortschatten'
Fürrer: Presto con fuoco
Davies: Ave Maris Stella
06/01/08 @ 14:00 Opera The Turn of the Screw SF Lyric Opera Cowell San Francisco Britten: The Turn of the Screw
06/06/08 @ 20:00 Opera Mordake John Duykers, vocal Shotwell Studios San Francisco Wold: Mordake
06/13/08 @ 19:30 Rehearsal Lucia di Lammermoor San Francisco Opera Opera House San Francisco Program Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
06/14/08 @ 14:00 Recital Sunset Academy of Dance Sunset Academy of Dance Lowell HS San Francisco
06/20/08 @ 19:00 Recital Star Dance Studio Star Dance Studio Herbst San Francisco
07/26/08 @ 20:00 Theater The Merry Wives of Windsor Murphys Creek Theater Stevenot Murphys Shakespeare: The Merry Wives of Windsor
09/04/08 @ 20:00 Concert San Francisco Symphony Micheal Tilson Thomas, conductor
Katia and Marielle Labèque, pianos
Davies San Francisco Ligeti: Lontano
Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5
09/19/08 @ 20:00 Concert Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Nicholas McGegan, conductor Herbst San Francisco Arne: Comus
Rameau: Pygmalion
09/23/08 @ 20:00 Opera Die Tote Stadt San Francisco Opera
Donald Runnicles, conductor
Opera House San Francisco Program Korngold: Die Tote Stadt
10/10/08 @ 14:00 Memorial Harvard 1968 Memorial Memorial Church Cambridge
10/11/08 @ 20:00 Cabaret H/R 1968 Reunion Cabaret JFK, Jr. Forum Cambridge
10/17/08 @ 20:00 Theater Machinal SFSU SFSU Little Theater San Francisco Treadwell: Machinal
10/20/08 @ 19:30 Chamber Earplay Mary Chun, conductor Herbst San Francisco Program Higdon: Dark Wood
Carter: Steep Steps
Carter: Canon 'In Memoriam Igor Stravisky'
Carter: Au Quai
Zivian: Trio
Furman: Sureña
Kraft: Vintage Renaissance and Beyone
10/24/08 @ 20:00 Concert Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Paul Goodwin, conductor
Gonzalo Ruiz, oboe
Herbst San Francisco Bach: Suite of Sinfonias
Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 1
11/13/08 @ 20:00 Concert Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Nicholas McGegan, conductor Herbst San Francisco Beethoven: Triple Concerto
Haydn: Symphony No. 88
Mozart: Symphony No. 35 'Haffner'
11/26/08 @ 10:00 Rehearsal San Francisco Symphony James Gaffigan, conductor
Hillary Hahn, violin
Davies San Francisco Tchaikovsky: Voyevoda
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Glinka: Kamarinskaya
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1
12/04/08 @ 20:00 Concert San Francisco Symphony Mark Wigglesworth, conductor
Lang Lang, piano
Davies San Francisco Wagner: Overture and Venusberg music from Tannhäuser
Wagner: Music from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
12/12/08 @ 20:00 Concert Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Nicholas McGegan, conductor Herbst San Francisco Vivaldi: Concerto
Scarlatti, A.: Cantata Pastorale
Corelli: Concerto Grosso 'Christmas Concerto'
Geminiani: Concerto Grosso
Handel: Agrippina condotta a morire
Dall'Abaco: Concerto