Now or Never premieres in San Francisco

After three days of rehearsals by the members of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, NOW OR NEVER received its first performance Friday night at the Herbst Theater in San Fran. Conductor Ben Simon led eight excellent wind and brass players for the 40-minute silent comedy with Harold Lloyd, and I got to sit back for a change and enjoy the film with the several hundred concertgoers who came out on a miserable night to hear sublime music by Stravinsky, a lovely, delicate, new piece by Berkeley composer Cindy Cox, and then my octet. It went marvelously, and I heard that the next two performances were even better, in Palo Alto and Berkeley. Tonight they finish the series in Vallejo. I hope to have a recording to post soon.