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San Francisco Choral Society

Vision: To be a premier symphonic chorus, inspiring and enriching people's lives through the joy and power of choral music.

Established in 1989, San Francisco Choral Society (SF Choral) is a nonprofit organization comprising auditioned, volunteer singers dedicated to the performance of choral masterpieces and commissioned works, accompanied by professional orchestras and soloists. SF Choral performs in the prestigious Davies Symphony Hall, historic Mission Dolores, St. Ignatius on the USF campus, and beautiful neighborhood churches such as St. Anne's, St. Paul's, and Calvary Presbyterian. SF Choral has appeared as guest artist for St. Mary's Cathedral, at the San Francisco Ballet, and on local television. SF Choral has been retained to perform for corporations such as Miki, [[1]], and Tonehammer. Over the years, more than 100,000 people have attended SF Choral performances.

Some of the works that SF Choral has performed include Requiems by Brahms, Mozart, Duruflé, and Verdi; Britten's War Requiem; the Bach B-minor, the Mozart C-minor, and Masses by Bruckner, and Stravinsky; Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Handel's Messiah and Israel in Egypt; Mendelssohn's Elijah; Vespers by Monteverdi and Rachmaninoff; Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, and Orff's Carmina Burana. SF Choral has sung pieces by living composers, including Morten Lauridsen, Arvo Pärt, Kirke Mechem, and then-living composer Moses Hogan. And the chorus has commissioned and premiered new works by composers Felicia Sandler, Kirstina Rasmussen, Emma Lou Diemer, Mark Winges, and Donald McCullough.

Mission

Inspired by the joy of singing and hearing choral music, the San Francisco Choral Society strives to be a premier symphonic chorus through the outstanding performance of choral masterpieces and new commissioned works. Infused with a commitment to excellence and education, SF Choral's professional artistic and administrative staff, soloists, and orchestras work collaboratively with all-volunteer auditioned singers to foster a vibrant, diverse, and interactive choral community, educate its singers and audiences, and extend its reach to youth.

Membership

SF Choral has 150-200+ singing members for any given quarter. More than 3,000 singers have sung as members since the chorus’ inception. In 2011, the membership includes ten original members.

In 1992, SF Choral began holding auditions for singers who wished to join. To encourage ongoing skills development, SF Choral offers low-cost annual classes, taught by professionals, to interested singers, including those who are not members.

Community Outreach

SF Choral reaches out to a broad audience, including future musicians and community leaders.

Audience

SF Choral offers complimentary tickets to several Bay Area nonprofit organizations for distribution to staff and those they serve, such as [[2]], [Open Hand], [Cancer Action], Hospice by the Bay, Edgewood Children's Center, Citizens Learning In Retirement, and Art and Film for Teenagers.

To enrich the audience experience, concert programs include detailed program notes. When performing commissioned works, SF Choral presents on-stage interviews with the composers. Post-performance receptions often enable the audience to meet the composer and learn more about the commissioned composition.

SF Choral's annual holiday concert is designed to appeal to people of all ages, including families with children.

Students

To encourage the next generation of choral singers, SF Choral offers high school students the opportunity to participate in music education classes, rehearsals, and performances at no cost to them.

The corporately funded “Tickets for Kids” program offers free tickets to performances for junior and high school students.

Board Fellows

Since 2004 the chorus has participated in the Stanford Board Fellows program. Each year two board fellows serve on the board as non-voting members in order to learn about and participate in non-profit operation and management as part of their Masters degree program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In exchange for this opportunity, the board fellows undertake projects using their business skills and education to benefit the chorus and further the chorus mission. Such projects have involved branding, logo and website development, and e-marketing initiatives.

Commissioned Works

In 2000, SFChoral instituted a program to expand the choral repertoire for large symphonic choruses by commissioning new works. Since then, the chorus has commissioned the following new works for chorus and orchestra:

Ubi caritas by Kirstina Rasmussen, performed November 2003
Songs for the Earth by Emma Lou Diemer, performed August 2005
Time Does Not Bring Relief by Felicia Sandler, performed August 2006
pax penetralis by Mark Winges, performed November 2007
Contraries by Donald McCullough, performed August 2009
Seven Songs for Planet Earth by Olli Kortekangas, co-commissioned with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra of Finland, Choral Arts Society of Washington, and Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, performed November 2010

Artistic Directors

Andrian Horn (1989-1992)
Magen Solomon (1992-1993)
Robert Geary, ASCAP award winner (1994-present)