La Jolla’s Athenaeum is more than just one of the finest locations to experience music. A nonprofit membership library devoted exclusively to music and art, the institution is a cultural beacon in San Diego, promoting classical and jazz events at its La Jolla location, as well as at venues around town. Notably, the Athenaeum’s School of the Arts offers classes in University Heights as well, featuring the occasional music event. On Dec. 2, The Peter Sprague String Consort will perform at the intimate art studio. The seven-piece combo is essentially the mix of a piano jazz trio, a classical string quartet and a jazz trio with Brazilian samba and jazz swing influences. An all-star gathering of musicians, including guitarist and composer Sprague, bassist Bob Magnusson, drummer Duncan Moore, violinists Bridget Dolkas and Jeanne Skrocki, violist Pam Jacobson and cellist Carter Dewberry, the group will perform the world premiere of Sprague’s original composition, “Dr. Einstein’s Spin,” commissioned by Chamber Music America as part of their New Jazz Works program. “Dr. Einstein’s Spin” is played in three movements, with a musical storyline concerning Albert Einstein’s thoughts as he made his calculations about the universe and the world around us. The original music will be augmented by material from Chick Corea and a new arrangement of Bach’s Prelude No. 9. Sprague is without a doubt one of the finest guitarists to emerge from San Diego over the last 30 years. Although best known for his jazz work, he’s a virtuoso in just about every genre, a highly respected producer and engineer and the owner of esteemed studio Spragueland. His current discography stands at more than 300 releases, including work with dozens of artists ranging from bluegrass favorite Sean Watkins to up-and-coming instrumental jazz duo Mattson 2. It would be a rare moment that Sprague is not making music. Speaking by phone from his Del Mar home only hours after returning from a seven-date tour of Japan with jazz legend Dianne Reeves, he was already preparing to head out within the hour for a new project in Los Angeles. His enthusiasm for the project is contagious. “I’ve always had an interest in lots of different kinds of bands,” he said. “But my inspiration for this was that I saw Chick Corea in the mid-1980s, where he had a band like this — a string quartet, piano and they had Gary Burton on vibes. I was just intrigued by it. Way back then, I did a version of this band for a couple of years and time lapsed, but then four years ago, I wrote some new music and organized the group again.” To date, the group has released one album, “The Wild Blue” (2009), with work on a second already under way. While he enjoys playing with his regular solo and group gigs, he holds this band as special. “The string quartet is a really interesting sort of animal in that it’s self-contained. Everything is there if you want it,” he said. “These people can read anything you throw at them, so that’s kind of neat as a composer, knowing you can write some pretty complicated, involved stuff.” He good-naturedly noted the caliber of the performers in- volved can actually be a slight hindrance. “The most difficult part of this isn’t the music,” Sprague said. “It’s coordinating all the musicians. Of the string players, three live in Los Angeles, with one here, but all four are extremely great players involved with orchestras and studio sessions. Meanwhile, Bob Magnusson and Duncan Moore are two of the most in-demand performers in the area and there is my own schedule to work around. We go through a lot just trying to find a concert date we can all make and then finding dates we can rehearse, as this is music that takes a fair amount of that. It’s been a challenge.” Despite that minor quibble, Sprague is thrilled with the String Consorts activities. “Actually making the music, rehearsing the group — that has been a joy,” Sprague said. “There’s a neat spirit about the band. A lot of people say that this is different from a typical chamber piece because those can be so serious. Our musicians enjoy playing together so much, I think the spirit of our music comes off in a nice way. Although, this is serious, too, because we have a lot of fancy notes to deal with.” Peter Sprague: Friday, Dec. 2, at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library School of the Arts Studio, 4441 Park Blvd., 8 p.m. $21 member/$26 nonmember. www.ljathenaeum.org.
