Jeff Britton | SDUN Arts Critic

There is a wonderful alchemy of the arts taking place in San Diego and its chief practitioners are Kate Hatmaker and Demarre McGill.

The musicians—both members of the San Diego Symphony—began Art of Elan three years ago at the San Diego Museum of Art and the hour-long chamber concerts have proven to be as popular as they are eclectic. Hatmaker plays violin and McGill is the symphony’s principal flute, who audiences heard last month in a duet encore with Sir James Galway.

Presented in the museum’s Hibben Gallery, audience members are surrounded by venerable works of art while enjoying some rarely performed works by often-obscure artists. The season kicked off last month with five works by Hispanic composers that were inspired by a sculpture of the late Mexican artist Luis Jimenez.

On Nov. 30, the next concert sports an African-American theme based on a quilt in SDMA’s collection by Faith Ringgold and a story collection by Langston Hughes titled “Laughing to Keep from Crying.” Thus, the evening’s theme is a variation of that called “Laughter, Tears and Blues.”

“Kate and I have always liked that title,” said McGill of Hughes’ collection, who came across the quilt in the museum’s extensive catalog of works, many of which are not on display. “It stood in stark contrast to every other work we used for inspiration with its obvious references to black culture. A black female figure on the quilt stands out from the rest of the museum’s collection which, as a black man, immediately grabbed my attention.”

Opening the concert will be Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s “Blues Forms,” a rare work for solo viola, played by Amadi Azikiwe. Perkinson’s interests spanned the worlds of jazz, dance, pop, and film television and, above all, classical music.

Despite considerable racism, the 20th-century composer cofounded the Symphony of the New World in New York and was director of Jerome Robbins’ American Theatre Lab, as well as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He even composed a ballet for Ailey, “For Bird, With Love,” inspired by the music of jazz great Charlie Parker.

He also composed the score to the documentary “Montgomery to Memphis” about Martin Luther King, Jr. His music has a blend of Baroque counterpoint, American romanticism, elements of the blues, spiritual and black folk music, all with rhythmic ingenuity.

William Grant Still’s “From the Hearts of Women” features soprano Allison Buchanan, along with McGill on flute, Julie Pautz and Jessica Guideri on violins, Travis Maril on viola and Sarah Koo on cello. The piece celebrates the role of strong women in the black community with the concept that considerable beauty can arise from great hardship.

“He was amazing in that he was able to have such a great career as a classical composer since he was writing basically in a European white art form,” said McGill.

The final piece is by British composer David Bruce, who is not black, but who clearly understands the hardship of gold miners in South Africa. “Gumboots” features many of the aforementioned ensemble, plus John Klinghammer spinning out the bluesy theme on clarinet.

The atmosphere of all Art of Elan concerts is relaxed and they usually draw an audience with a wide age range, including many under-30 attendees. It’s a great way to experience chamber music and following each concert you can socialize with the musicians at the Prado Restaurant across the street in Balboa Park. It is also a way for seasoned classical music fans to discover rarely played works by worthwhile composers. The level of musicianship is top-notch as many of the players come from symphony orchestras and chamber groups across the country.

“Laughter, Tears, and Blues” premieres Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. San Diego Museum of Art. Information and tickets can be found by calling (619) 696-1969 or online at, www.artofelan.org.