Articles by Beth

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Ahoy,

It’s been a minute since I’ve posted….I’m not much of a blaaahger as you can see. Thanks to all of you who’ve attended my concerts this year, without my fans I would not have a career in music, thank you for your continued fandom!

Trance Mission Duo

My last show of the year is in one of Bernard Maybecks gorgeous homes, a sweet Berkeley micro-venue: Saturday December 16th, 3pm, with Clarinet Thing. If you missed our recent sold-out concert at the Hillside Club, this is your chance to hear what we’re up to.

In the new year on January 6th, 7:30, we’ll be presenting playwright/performer Joy Cutler at Red House Speak Easy in her solo show Anatomy Lesson. Joy lives in Philadelphia, this will be her first performance on the west coast of this poignant work.

In January~February I’ll be touring parts of Europe with the ever fabulous musician Stephen Kent. As most of you know, we founded Trance Mission together in ’91. Check my homepage for tour details as they develop.

Happy holidays,

Beth

 

I really had no idea this would occur but…I just received an Emmy award for my score for Mantis Shrimp, an episode of KQED’s fine Deep Look series. Maybe it was the bassoon patch I used? What a thrill to have such a prestigious award, I’m speechless.

For the past year I’ve been working on Water Worship, an oratorio about our most precious resource with live original music and films. It premieres Sunday, June 11th, 4pm, at the Luggage Store Gallery. Performed by The Beth Custer Ensemble, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble string quartet, Dean Santomieri narrating, Bart Hopkin on experimental instruments.  There will be some gorgeous water footage by William Farley , Federico Cusigch, and others. Craig Baldwin will be projecting found footage from his massive archives.

Advance tickets highly recommended!

See you there!

Hey Everyone,
Where would I be without you? I’m in deep gratitude to you all. To mom Jean Huffman who bought me my first clarinet, mail order, the same one I play today! To Lucija Kordic and Alexander Bailey who’ve designed cool media for me for decades, and Anne Hamersky who’s taken gorgeous press photos of all my ensembles. To media peeps Derk Richardson, Joel Davis, Sandy MirandaSedge Thomson, Ton Maas, and countless others running vital media around the globe.To the directors who’ve hired me Cathy Lee Crane, Bill Farley, Joe Goode, Brad Coley, Octavio Solis, Jo Kreiter.…and so many others. To SF Arts Commission who are funding Water Worship and Blue Mountain Center, where I began composing it.

And…..I’m Emmy Nominated. Thank you KQED.

And to all my musician collaborators, and to my great husband Federico Cusigch, love you.
Very special thanks to all my fans. I’m truly nothing without you.

I’m restarting our Red House Speak Easy house concert series again with amazing Rinde Eckert. An amazing musician with a voice like no other, I got to perform with Rinde in the early ’90’s on Gina Leishman‘s lovely Burning Dreams opera in San Diego. Don’t miss this cherished musician in our intimate, acoustically wonderful house concert setting.

Stephen Kent and I will be toiling away on a new CD during the months of October and November. To celebrate our toils, we’ve got another Maybeck Studios gig on October 16th, 3pm. Don’t be square!

I have the premiere of my first foray into composing for orchestra coming up. Thanks to Bernie Weiner, three songs I composed, two with lyrics by Weiner, will be performed by the Mill Valley Philharmonic November 4, 5, 6 in Mill Valley and San Rafael. Check their site for times.

Can you believe I’ve never been to New Orleans? I can’t. I remedied this quandary by putting two plane tickets on a credit card for early October in celebration of my husband’s 65th birthday. If you’d like to buy us a meal or a beignet, a concert ticket or a plane ticket, go here to contribute. Much appreciated.

Cheers,

Beth

I’m am so very grateful to be in the splendid Adirondacks on a composer residency at Blue Mountain Center.

Being an independent musician with no label support, no hit records nor trust fund, I apply for a lot of grants and residencies to support my work and pay my musicians. I’ve never tracked it but I would say for every fifty things I apply for, I get one and Blue Mountain Center is one of those. Dedicated to social justice and supporting independent artists, we need places like BMC now more than ever.

If you’ve any inclination, consider making a donation of any size to Blue Mountain Center. They remain on the cutting edge of supporting artists and activists in one of the most glorious settings I’ve ever experienced. AND they are presenting a screening of MY GRANDMOTHER at the local Indian Lake Theater, 2pm July 9th.

Again, I couldn’t be more grateful.

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My very favorite annual concert is coming up Tuesday, June 21st wherein I’ll be performing duos with Stephen Kent at the gorgeous Oakland Columbarium Chapel of the Chimes on the Garden of Memory event. Thanks to Sarah Cahill who has invited me to perform since it’s inception over 15 years ago, this is a delightful way to hear a gaggle of great musicians in a Julia Morgan designed edifice that is jaw dropping in it’s beauty.

Sunday June 19th I’ll be performing with Stephen at a KPFA benefit at the Crafts Fair in Richmond, 3-5pm. Entrance is free, come on out!

Shortly thereafter I’m off to the Adirondacks to compose a few different pieces including arranging songs I created with writer Bernie Weiner’s poetry for the Mill Valley Philharmonic and begin researching my new large scale work Water Worship that will be premiered in 2017-18 with Left Coast Chamber Ensemble.

Have a lovely summer, come say hi!

 

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