HOME / EVENTS / MINI-CONCERTS

 

ATHENAEUM MINI-CONCERTS

Free concerts at noon every Monday from fall through spring . . . no wonder the Mini-Concerts are the longest-running and one of the most popular classical music series at the library! This series was founded by Glenna Hazleton in 1970 at the Athenaeum, and has been going strong ever since. The concerts feature both local and touring musicians, prize-winning students, university music faculty members, local chamber ensembles. . . and the repertoire also includes jazz, folk and world music. There are no reservations, no tickets . . . just line up at the side door of the Athenaeum before noon. (Donations are always welcome!) Mini-Concerts take place every Monday at noon and last about an hour.

 

For more information, call us at (858) 454-5872.

Support Mini-Concerts
 

JOAN & IRWIN JACOBS MUSIC ROOM
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
1008 Wall Street
La Jolla, CA 92037

CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS

Every Monday at 12 noon

Free admission; doors open at 11:50 a.m.
Reservations are not necessary.

  • Masks optional. If you have a fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, please stay home.

 
Featured
Kenneth Liao, violin & Igor Pandurski, piano
Apr 22
Mini-Concert
Kenneth Liao, violin & Igor Pandurski, piano
Mini-Concert

Monday, April 22, 2024
12 PM

Violinst Kenneth Liao will perform the first half of the program unaccompanied, and his San Diego Symphony violin colleague Igor Pandurski will join him for the second half, but on piano.

Mini-Concert
Courtly Noyse (Renaissance & Medieval music)
Apr 29
Mini-Concert
Courtly Noyse (Renaissance & Medieval music)
Mini-Concert

Monday, April 29, 2024
12 PM

Long ago four people used to meet every year under a tree on top of Mount Palomar to sing madrigals. In 2003, it suddenly occurred to them that they could meet more frequently outside the context of the San Diego Early Music Society Workshop, and so they arranged to get together "down the mountain". They were joined by two more friends, and Courtly Noyse was born. This lively mix of personalities soon developed the blend of humor, imagination and versatility in the performance of Renaissance music that has become their trademark.

Mini-Concert
Margaret Tait, cello & John Wilson, piano
May 6
Mini-Concert
Margaret Tait, cello & John Wilson, piano
Mini-Concert

Monday, May 6, 2024
12 PM

Cellist Margaret Tait joined the San Francisco Symphony directed by Seiji Ozawa in 1974. Although engaged throughout her career as an orchestral musician, she has a deep and abiding love for chamber music. She is a founding member of the Aurora String Quartet, performing worldwide for twenty-two years. Margaret recently relocated to San Diego and focuses on performing works for solo cello and chamber ensembles.

Mini-Concert
Colin McAllister, guitar
May 13
Mini-Concert
Colin McAllister, guitar
Mini-Concert

Monday, May 13, 2024
12 PM

Colin McAllister is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he is a 2021-2022 Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellow. His performances as a guitarist and conductor have been hailed as ‘sparkling….delivered superbly’ (San Francisco Chronicle), ‘ravishing’ (San Diego Union Tribune) and ‘an amazing tour de force’ (San Diego Story), and he has recorded on the Summit, Innova, Centaur, Naxos, Albany, Old King Cole, Vienna Modern Masters, Carrier and Tzadik labels. His research interests include contemporary music performance and pedagogy, musical modernism, and the apocalyptic paradigm as manifested in varying phenomena—literature, music, and art.

Mini-Concert
Mini-Concert
Elegancia Doble (Naomi Hobbs & Yumiko Oya, piano 4-hands)
Mini-Concert

Monday, May 20, 2024
12 PM

Check back soon for more info!

Mini-Concert
La Jolla Renaissance Singers
May 27
Mini-Concert
La Jolla Renaissance Singers
Mini-Concert

Monday, May 27, 2024
12 PM

Since 1963, La Jolla Renaissance Singers (LJRS) has presented the finest of early choral music to the San Diego area. The LJRS performs music written during the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, with occasional forays into the Romantic and Modern periods. In period costume, the ensemble performs throughout San Diego County.

Mini-Concert
Billy Lee and The Swamp Critters (zydeco, cajun)
Jun 3
Mini-Concert
Billy Lee and The Swamp Critters (zydeco, cajun)
Mini-Concert

Monday, June 3, 2024
12 PM

Raised in the Golden Triangle, on the border of Texas and Louisiana, Billy Lee and the Swamp Critters presents Gulf Coast Music—a gumbo of Cajun/Zydeco, Mardi Gras, and Texas Swing. They get folks up and dancing to bring in good times.

Mini-Concert
Jimmy Patton & Enrique Platas, guitar & percussions
Jun 10
Mini-Concert
Jimmy Patton & Enrique Platas, guitar & percussions
Mini-Concert

Monday, June 10, 2024
12 PM

Guitarist Jimmy Patton and percussionist Enrique Platas have combined their talents to form this award-winning duo. Their music can be described as having an international flair as they incorporate flamenco, Middle-Eastern, salsa, calypso, Brazilian, and other world rhythms into their compositions and arrangements. Jimmy and Enrique's musical collaboration has given creation to their unique, fiery world-music style that has captivated audiences from all over. Listeners will experience virtuosic guitar passages accompanied by exotic percussive rhythms, which together produce a sound that will grab your soul.

Mini-Concert
No Mini-Concert Today
Jun 17
Mini-Concert
No Mini-Concert Today
Mini-Concert

Monday, June 17, 2024
12 PM

Due to a private event, there will be no Mini-concert today. We hope to see you next Monday!

Mini-Concert
The Goliards, Medieval ensemble
Jun 24
Mini-Concert
The Goliards, Medieval ensemble
Mini-Concert

Monday, June 24, 2024
12 PM

Wendy Greene holds a Master’s in Voice from New England Conservatory. In San Diego she has worked in the San Diego Opera Chorus, at St. James by the Sea, and at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Cathe Sobke takes the term multi-instrumentalist to a new level! Ms. Sobke holds degrees in composition and music theory from SDSU. Born and raised in Germany, Ms. Sinz began recorder studies at the age of seven with Renate Stollenberg at the Institute of Music Leverkusen (near Cologne).

Mini-Concert
Caprice Strings
Jul 1
Mini-Concert
Caprice Strings
Mini-Concert

Monday, July 1, 2024
12 PM

Caprice Strings performs music for weddings and receptions in a broad range of styles and settings, from formal catholic masses at USD’s Immaculata Cathedral to outdoor ceremonies at Balboa Park. They have performed at virtually every major hotel in the San Diego area. Consider us for preludes, ceremonies, rehearsal dinners, cocktails, receptions, or celebration breakfasts. 

Mini-Concert
Irving Flores, piano
Jul 8
Mini-Concert
Irving Flores, piano
Mini-Concert

Monday, July 8, 2024
12 PM

Irving Flores is an accomplished pianist, composer, arranger and music producer. He has performed with Bill Watrous, Charles McPherson, Abraham Laboriel, Poncho Sanchez, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Alex Acuna, Akira Jimbo, Rene Camacho, Cuba’s “El Negro” Hernandez, Gilbert Castellanos, Peter Sprague.

Mini-Concert
Coral MacFarland Thuet, vocals with Mikan Zlatkovich, piano & Ben Wanicur, bass
Jul 15
Mini-Concert
Coral MacFarland Thuet, vocals with Mikan Zlatkovich, piano & Ben Wanicur, bass
Mini-Concert

Monday, July 15, 2024
12 PM

Jazz singer Coral MacFarland Thuet sings fluently in Spanish, English, and Portuguese with a repertoire that combines jazz and Latin American music.

Mini-Concert