Hadley McCarroll :: 88+ Piano Series

A single grand piano can sound like an entire percussion ensemble in the hands of Hadley McCarroll. On Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21, 2027, at 7:30 pm, we welcome Hadley to the Dresher Ensemble Studio in West Oakland to perform John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes as part of our 88+ Contemporary Piano Series.

Written between 1946 and 1948, this landmark of American experimental music begins with the pianist’s work inside the instrument. Following Cage’s instructions, Hadley places screws, bolts, and pieces of rubber between selected strings. One key might ring like a small bell, its neighbor answer with the soft thud of a drum. Across sixteen sonatas and four interludes, those sounds mingle with the familiar voice of the piano, inviting us to hear it anew.

Hadley McCarroll, hailed for her “… lively and exhilarating …” pianism (SF Classical Voice) is a well-known solo & collaborative pianist. She has performed with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet (Paris, New York), Festival del Sole (Napa Valley), Concerts in the Barn (formerly Olympic Music Festival) – Quilcene, WA, and in a rare solo recital with KRONOS Quartet violist Hank Dutt (San Francisco).

Hadley has given wide-ranging solo performances, including with the Santa Rosa Symphony (Carnival of the Animals, Beethoven Lives Upstairs), Old First Concerts, and Noontime Concerts. Hadley enjoys performing intriguing, passionate repertoire, frequently pairing masterworks of the past with new work of the present. Programs might include newly composed music, or works by Carter, Lachenmann and Ligeti alongside favorites by Beethoven, Debussy or Janáček. She especially enjoys performing contemporary music, and has premiered compositions by John Harbison and Robert Greenberg, among many others.

As pianist with the contemporary music ensemble sfSound, Hadley has performed works by Crumb, Cage, Berio, Glass, Grisey, and Spahlinger, among dozens of others. She has performed in unique venues and environments, including ZBelow, Project Arthaud, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, at Oakland’s historic Paramount Theater, with the Oakland Symphony (San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s production of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights) and at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens (Flower Piano – a multi-day festival of outdoor piano repertoire). For the past nearly 20 years she has performed as the pianist of the cello/piano duo martha & monica, appearing around California Hadley received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin. Hadley is a Faculty Collaborative Pianist at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Photo by Lenny Gonzales

88+ Contemporary Piano Series.

From December through May, seven pianists present five programs exploring what one or two pianos can do. The series focuses on contemporary American music, with room for two-piano duets, the percussive sounds of John Cage’s prepared piano, and works in which the pianist’s playing shapes the images on screen. Our intimate studio, home to Bösendorfer and Baldwin concert grands, lets you experience it all up close.

All performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 5, 2026 — Cahill-Myers Duo
Sarah Cahill and Regina Myers open the series with the world premiere of Theresa Wong’s Bodywork (2026), alongside works by Meredith Monk, Juan Sebastián Cardona-Ospina, Eleanor Alberga, and David Borden.

Saturday, January 30, 2027 — Clara Yang
Clara Yang pairs her own music with works by Reena Esmail, Lee Weisert, Stephen Anderson, Liliya Ugay, Philip Glass, Allen Anderson, and Christopher Cerrone.

Saturday, March 20 & Sunday, March 21, 2027 — Hadley McCarroll
Hadley McCarroll performs John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano (1946–1948). Choose either evening to hear the complete work.

Saturday, April 24, 2027 — Vicki Ray & Aron Kallay
Vicki Ray and Aron Kallay share a duo program featuring works by Dylan Mattingly, Paul Dresher, and John Luther Adams.

Saturday, May 22, 2027 — Keisuke Nakagoshi
Keisuke Nakagoshi closes the series with a solo recital of works by Mason Bates, Morton Feldman, Samuel Adams, and Samuel Barber.

Ticket Options:

Choose an individual performance or a discounted series pass at checkout. The five-concert pass includes December 5, January 30, one Hadley McCarroll performance of your choice (March 20 or 21), April 24, and May 22. Select the March date when choosing your pass.

Individual tickets are available for all six performances, including separate tickets for Hadley McCarroll’s March 20 and March 21 concerts.

Location: Dresher Ensemble Studio, 2201 Poplar Street Oakland, CA United States