Sights & Sounds is your weekly guide to the Bay Area arts scene through the eyes and ears of local artists. Our guest is Mads Tolling: violinist, composer, and bandleader of The Mads Men.
Tolling told KALW's Jen Chien about three cool arts events happening this weekend around the Bay.
Prompter happens on Friday, 1/15, at Pianofight in San Francisco as part of SF Sketchfest. Performers read a fake "TED Talk" from a teleprompter and then are forced to ad lib portions of the speech during intervals when the screen goes blank.
TOLLING: It really ties into improvisation: you have something you start with, and then you have to make things up as you go along. It's part of the fun when not everything is totally prepared and polished.
The Gold Rush exhibit opens at the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University on Friday, 1/15, and runs through March 13th. Guest curator Chris Sicat brings together work that explores California's relationship with gold in the context of the state's history. Gold Rush is timed to coincide with the 50th or "golden" anniversary of the Super Bowl, being hosted by the city of Santa Clara in February.
TOLLING: These different eras kind of tie into each other – during the Gold Rush era, a lot of people came to California to seek fame and fortune, similar to the Silicon Valley digital "gold rush."
On Sunday, 1/17, the Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival (BAYOF) is at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. Six youth orchestras participate in this fundraiser that benefits charitable organizations: El Camino Youth Symphony; Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra; Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra; Young People's Symphony Orchestra; San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra; and BAYOF 2016 Festival Orchestra.
TOLLING: I'm a big fan of the youth orchestra tradition and being able to learn with kids your own age, playing music together, and the camaraderie that goes along with that.
