OPUS 7
This resplendent vocal ensemble performs two major works by Northwest composers, Seven Last Words by Bern Herbolsheimer, and the world premiere of Stabat Mater, by Opus 7 composer-in-residence John Muehleisen. Also on the program is choral music by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Dupré, and Grechaninov. (And for those keeping track, thanks to the readers who e-mailed me adjectives for this group last December. I'm saving them for warmer weather.) St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave, 782-2899, 8 pm, $17.
ALEX KELLER and DAVE KNOTT
Stringboard maestro Dave Knott not only has an ear for stringing string on wood, but a knack for placing 'em too. Heck, I strummed one of his dulcet stringboards while taking a leak at Cornish. Coupled with the contact-microphone-driven, octophonic surround-sound sorcery of Alex Keller, this should be a sonically turbulent treat. I'm sure they'll encourage the audience to strum a string or three as well. Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 329-4224, 8 pm, $6.
MONKTAIL CREATIVE MUSIC CONCERN
This protean collective of musicians bring their tatterdemalion style of free improvisation to the Blue Moon, where innumerable drunks (including yours truly) have found God on the obverse of a napkin or in a pile of peanut shells. Blue Moon Tavern, 712 NE 45th St, 545-8190, 9 pm, free.SUNDAY MARCH 23
ELECTRONIC MUSIC FROM CORNISH
I always like hearing student composers mess with electronic music. Rather than fret over the range of an English horn or fuss over balancing strings and brass, most electronic-music students tend to pilfer the more interesting elements (timbre and rhythmic ingenuity) of pop music, which makes it more interesting for all concerned. Composers on the program include Marquis DeSoncoeur, Stephanie Helm, Todd Higley, Morgan Huie, Jason Kiturkes, Ben Noble, Chris Pew, and Chris Stewart. Soundbridge space at Benaroya Hall, Second Ave & Union St, 336-6600, 2 pm, $5/$7.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 26
GEORGE and OLIVER
The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns has bedeviled music writers for decades with his un-French umlauted "ë." This prolific musician is mainly remembered for Carnival of the Animals, a spry and delightful chamber work that remained unpublished until his death in 1921. Coleen George and Sandy Oliver perform the two-piano version of Carnival of the Animals for what is surely the best classical music bargain in town, Sherman Clay's Music for Lunch concert series. Sherman-Clay Piano & Organ, 1624 Fourth Ave, 622-7580, 12:15 pm, free.
COGNITIVE DISSIDENTS
Cog-Dis honcho and chief conspirator Ffej has corralled a passel of noise acts I've never heard: Human Abstract, komafuzz, Ardabus Rubber, Doom Stew, and Orchard. All promise one sort of sonic mayhem or another, ranging from "junk (odd percussion) and electronics processing the garbage (junk)" to "vocals, guitar, and keyboards along with feedback manipulation, tape noise, radio, CBs, and countless other devices." Coffee Messiah, 1554 E Olive Way, 861-8233, 8 pm, donation requested.
