NOON CONCERT with KRIS DESBY and GLORIA JUSTEN
Hidden Gardens: Women Composers from Renaissance Italy to San Francisco Now
Kris Desby, Cello and Glorian Justen, Violin
From the Courts of the Medici to the concert halls of the 21st Century, women have participated in the musical arts as highly-skilled performers and creative composers. This duo concert, featuring Gloria Justen (violin and viola) and Krisanthy Desby (cello), takes listeners on a journey to discover interesting music by female composers from 1600s Italy to 2000s San Francisco. The program includes unique arrangements by Justen of pieces by Lucretia Vizzana, Marieta Priuli, Anna Bon, Carlotta Ferrari da Lodi, Elsa Sangiacomo, Alba Rosa Vietor. Many of these composers were well-known during their lives, but they were left out of the mainstream musical canon, only to be rediscovered now. Gloria will share fascinating historical information and glimpses into the life stories of the composers to give each piece context. The duo will end the program with one of Justen’s own works, Petite Suite: Five Sound Paintings for Viola and Cello, which was commissioned by Marin County resident Barry Peterson as a gift for his partner Leslie Allen, an accomplished Sausalito painter and an amateur cellist.
MUSICIANS
GLORIA JUSTEN
Gloria Justen is a violinist, violist, and composer based in San Francisco. She has released two albums of original music, and her compositions, drawing upon influences from Bach to contemporary electronic music, have been performed by soloists, small ensembles and chamber orchestras in the United States and Europe. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she has performed and toured with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (as Concertmaster from 2005-2011) and the Philip Glass Ensemble, and she has played many works by contemporary composers. She has also been a recording session violinist for many pop music stars. Other sound art activities include playing electric violin with electronic music, collaborating with modern dancers, and creating audio collages with environmental sound. Gloria currently is an independent composer, performer, publisher, and recording artist. She teaches violin and viola in her home studio and at the Community Music Center of San Francisco. Her website is gloriajustenmusic.com.
KRIS DESBY
About Noon Concerts
Our 2025/2026 season of signature Noon Concerts shares talent from around the world. All concerts are offered to the public free of charge; donations encouraged. Donations help us continue to offer these high-caliber concerts and help offset the musician fees. Join us to celebrate the transcendent power of live music.
Curator
We have had the good fortune of having Beni Shinohara as our Noon Concerts Curator for the last 9 years. Beni is a highly respected and incredibly talented Bay Area musician. She has made our Noon Concerts one of the area’s sought-after engagements for many performers and we are thrilled to have her curating our Season once again.
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