GOODBYE 55: D. Riley Nicholson & Friction Quartet

On December 6th, D. Riley Nicholson, Friction Quartet, and Julia O. present music for strings by Riley, Vivian Fung, and Stephen Feigenbaum.

On December 6th, D. Riley Nicholson, Friction Quartet, and Julia O. present music for strings by Riley, Vivian Fung, and Stephen Feigenbaum. Riley, Friction, and Julia each played formative roles at C4NM, and they are honored to celebrate C4NM’s legacy at 55 Taylor with this concert.

The program features two world premieres by Nicholson: without for four violins, commissioned by Julia O. in memory of her father, David Ogrydziak, and a new string sextet inspired by the music of Julius Eastman. Also on the program is a new edition of Riley’s Break. Friction Quartet adds their imaginative curatorial voice with Vivian Fung’s Insects and Machines and Stephen Feigenbaum’s Forever Reaching.

D. Riley Nicholson

As Production Manager, and later Project Manager of C4NM from 2016-2020, Riley produced hundreds of shows at C4NM. As a composer, he produced and premiered many new works of his own, including Shimmer for piano, electronics, and projections; Break and Bend for string quartet; and presented an electroacoustic album release of his Resurrection of Everyday People. As a pianist, he also performed his own music, as well as the music of Hans Otte and others appearing on C4NM curator Julia O.'s Hush series. Riley currently serves as the Executive Director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.—  rileynicholson.com 

Friction Quartet

Friction Quartet’s partnership with C4NM span premieres, recordings, and innovative concert projects. The quartet performed on the inaugural Switchboard Presents concert alongside The Living Earth Show and Mobius Trio, later returning to the series with Jeff Anderle on a bill shared with Makeunder. With Anderle, Friction premiered works by Mary Kouyoumdjian and Marc Mellits. As the Center’s inaugural Ensemble-in-Residence in 2015-16, Friction culminated its residency with Friction Turns Five, featuring a world premiere by Stephen Feigenbaumand. Other highlights include premieres for the Common Sense Composers’ Collective’s Spark album; CounterPaint; the Friction Commissioning Initiative launch event; and world premieres by students of the John Adams Young Composers Program.— frictionquartet.com

Julia O.

Julia O. (Julia Ogrydziak) is a violinist, multidisciplinary artist, and new music leader based in San Francisco’s North Beach. As a C4NM curator from 2016-2018, she brought contemporary artists from around the world, including Poland, Germany, London, New York, and LA, to San Francisco audiences, presenting many West Coast and world premieres. Her popular series Hush explored sound as meditation, offering a space to pause and breathe in a hectic world. She dedicates this performance to her father, a true music lover.

—  julia-o.com