INAUGURAL CONCERT AT 945 ArtSpace: Vijay Iyer with Hafez Modirzadeh 1/23/2020
Asian Improv aRts, Lenora Lee Dance, and API Cultural Center are pleased to present
Vijay Iyer (piano) with Hafez Modirzadeh (saxophone)
Thursday, January 23, 2020
7:30 pm – 8:45 pm
At 945 ArtSpace
945 Clay St., San Francisco, CA 94108
Tickets: $25 adv./ $35 at the door - Limited Seating!
For tickets click here
If driving, the Portsmouth Square Parking Garage is recommended, with entrance on Kearny at Clay http://www.sfpsg.com/index.html
Contact: [email protected]
This is the INAUGURAL CONCERT for 945 ArtSpace, a project of Asian Improv aRts, Lenora Lee Dance, API Cultural Center, and the Chinatown Community Development Center. The purpose of 945 ArtSpace is to provide a dedicated venue for artists and cultural activists to work in the intimate setting of a community-based storefront.
Composer-pianist VIJAY IYER has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in modern music. He was described by the New York Times as a “social conscience, multi-media collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinking, and multicultural gateway.” A winner of multiple awards including a 2017 United States Artists Fellowship and 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, he holds a lifetime appointment as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University.
Composer-saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh is active in the realms of performing, teaching, recording, publishing, and presenting cross-cultural perspectives regarding musical culture, tradition, and innovation. He has been instrumental in the ImprovisAsians annual festival held at San Francisco State University for the past 15 years. He is a Professor of Music and advisor for Jazz and Creative/World Music Studies at San Francisco State University.
Both Vijay and Hafez are valued contributors to Asian Improv’s work and legacy over the decades. 945 ArtSpace is extremely proud to present these extraordinary artists and community members as part of our first season here at 945 ArtSpace.
June 2019 Performances!
Chinese Historical Society of America
Museum Presents:
Towards Equality Artists’ Showcase
June 8, 2019 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Jon Jang CD Release Concert June 19 2019
Towards Equality Artists’ Showcase
Chinese Historical Society of America Museum Presents:
Towards Equality Artists’ Showcase
June 8, 2019 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Left: Photo of Lenora Lee by Robbie Sweeny. Center: Photo courtesy Cynthia Tom. Right: Photo courtesy Katie Quan.
“Towards Equality” Women Artists Lenora Lee, Katie Quan, & Cynthia Tom will discuss their experiences leading workshops at CHSA. They will show audience members new works-in-progress, inspired by their time at CHSA.
The event will be held at the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum in San Francisco, CA
For details & artist bios, please visit https://chsa.org/event/towards-equality-artists-showcase/
Seating is limited – Purchase tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/towards-equality-artists-showcase-tickets-61614291003 Tickets include admission to CHSA’s galleries and exhibitions.
ImprovisAsians 2018 coming October 17, 19 and 23
Asian Improv aRts in association with the Sound and Social Justice Commons and San Francisco State University Creative Music Studies
Present
ImprovisAsians! 2018
October 17, 19, and 23, 2018
San Francisco State University
Creative Arts Building
1756 Holloway Ave.
San Francisco, CA
ImprovisAsians! is an annual series of performances and discussions exploring the connection between the performing arts and community-building. All events are free! Click on links for the details!
ImprovisAsians 2018: Alcatraz Reflections and Meditations #50
Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 01:10 PM
ImprovisAsians 2018: Pulsivity/Resonance and Meditations #50
Friday, October 19, 2018 at 01:10 PM
ImprovisAsians 2018: No No Boy Project
Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 01:10 PM
Asian Improv aRts is pleased to support 2018 Music Day presented by InterMedia September 30
InterMusic SF presents
SF Music Day 2018
Sunday September 30, 12-8pm
War Memorial Veterans Building
401 Van Ness Ave. at McAllister, San Francisco CA 94102
Admission Free
Listen local at the eleventh annual SF Music Day, the Bay Area’s free daylong music festival in downtown San Francisco, presented by InterMusic SF. SF Music Day celebrates a sweeping panorama of music of our region, with nearly 40 ensembles performing over eight hours — from string quartets to jazz combos, new music pioneers to chamber groups steeped in musical sounds from across the globe. Come with open ears, to experience all that the Bay’s vibrant music community has to offer. Visit intermusicsf.org for festival schedule and to browse the full list of music ensembles.
This year's program features:
- A special performance by the Jon Jangtet featuring Angela Wellman, Francis Wong, Gary Brown, and Deszon X. Claiborne
- "Japanese American Home Movies to Light," by Mark Izu with Brenda Wong Aoki
- Hammond organ player Brian Ho playing a set of original music with his trio.
- Pianist Motoko Honda leading her quartet Simple Excesses in a set of cinematic jazz compositions.
Info:
https://www.intermusicsf.org/sfmd
Video:
Facebook event:
Lenora Lee Dance Beneath The Surface October 6 - 14, 2018
Asian Improv aRts and API Cultural Center present
The World Premiere of
Beneath The Surface
A new underwater, multimedia experience by Lenora Lee Dance
Saturday, 10/6 – 8:30pm
Sunday, 10/7 – 6:30pm & 8:30pm
Saturday, 10/13 – 8:30pm
Sunday, 10/14 – 6:30pm & 8:30pm
Performances will begin on time, please arrive early.
Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) celebrates its 11th Anniversary Season with the World Premiere of Beneath The Surface, LLD’s first underwater, multimedia experience premiering in a two-week run 10/6 – 10/14/18. Beneath The Surface serves a meditation on forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption, speaking to the power of individuals to transcend.
Audiences are reoriented for a unique perspective that merges memory, contemporary reality, and social commentary, experiencing epic storytelling inside an underwater world.
SUGGESTED PARKING:
Portsmouth Square Parking Garage
733 Kearny (between Clay & Washington)
ADMISSION:
There are a VERY LIMITED number of tickets available. Purchase your tickets early!
Arts Patron – $60 (reserved seating & invitation to VIP celebration with the cast on 10/22/18)
General Admission – $40
Seniors 65+, Students with Valid ID – $30
For more info: www.LenoraLeeDance.com
For questions or high resolution images, email [email protected], (415) 913-8725
We encourage guests with special needs or questions to contact us in advance.
855 Sacramento St
San Francisco, CA 94108
United States
Google map and directions
Stories in Motion in Collaboration with Chinatown Community Development Center
Special series of performances in CCDC housing July 19, 24, and 26!
Don't miss Boxes June 29 and 30 - a new interdisciplinary work by Melody Takata
Not knowing who we are could be wonderful. Is personal identity a "box"? Referencing the work of writer Kobo Abe, this new interdisciplinary collaboration from Melody Takata explores the investment in identity in today’s racialized and technology-driven existence. In this pursuit, Boxes brings together a multi-dimensioned ensemble drawing on artistic languages from traditional Japanese culture to the avant garde visual, media, and sound arts. Featuring musician/dancer Melody Takata, saxophonist Francis Wong, tuba player William Roper of Los Angeles, bassist, shamisen, taiko artist, and filmmaker Tatsu Aoki of Chicago, Taiko and Visual Artist Kioto Aoki of Chicago, and Grandmaster of the nagauta (kabuki style) shamisen Chizuru Kineya of Tokyo.
Admission free. Seating is limited so please reserve by going to https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3470786
Boxes is a presentation of Japan Week/SF 2018.
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Jon Jang to premiere Pledge of Black/Asian Allegiance May 19
Asian Improv aRts is proud to announce that renowned composer, pianist, and bandleader Jon Jang will premiere his newest work The Pledge of Black/Asian Allegiance at the 120 year old Buddhist Church of San Francisco (BCSF) on May 19, 2018 at 8 pm. Located in San Francisco’s historic Japantown neighborhood, BCSF’s address is 1881 Pine St. Tickets: $20 general $10 for BCSF members. For tickets visit: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3405264
For more detailed information visit: http://www.asianimprov.org/jon_jang_s_pledge_of_black_asian_allegiance
Dr. Amanda Kemp (Photo by Nick Gould)