Approaching a half a century of existence, the San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) — from its Prep Chorus for 4- and 5-year-olds to the teen stars of the Premier Ensemble — is putting its house in order to continue its mission of providing generations of girls not only with music education but also a sense of discipline and self-empowerment.
SFGC announced on Wednesday, Sept. 25, the appointment of Seth Ducey as the organization’s new executive director, effective Sept. 30.
Ducey most recently served as executive director of the Golden State Youth Orchestra in Silicon Valley, where he managed financial strategy, faculty and staff operations, and the overall organization.
From 2017 to 2019, Ducey served as director of operations and education at the Oakland Symphony, where he worked closely with the late Michael Morgan, who led the orchestra as music director for 30 years. Ducey’s earlier experience includes a 17-year tenure at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he managed concert operations and worked with both collegiate and pre-college students.
“Becoming the new executive director of the San Francisco Girls Chorus aligns perfectly with my passion for arts education and my experience with youth orchestras,” said Ducey. “Leading the talented team at SFGC is a true privilege, and I am dedicated to creating enriching opportunities for young women and gender-expansive youth.”
Ducey succeeds Cristine Kelly, SFGC’s interim executive director since February, when Adriana Marcial stepped down after five years with the organization, including the worst of the pandemic.
Asked about her interim role with SFGC, Kelly told SF Classical Voice:
“I am a professional interim executive director and a member of Bay Area Interim Executive Directors, which has worked with many arts organizations in the area.
“Current examples include Jim Rettew, who is the interim CEO at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and Sharon Dolan, who is the interim executive director at Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.
“I myself was the interim at the Oakland Symphony in 2017–2018. Many boards utilize the services of an interim as we are experienced in the opportunities and challenges of leadership transition.”
Ducey begins his role with SFGC at the start of the 2024–2025 season as the Premier Ensemble joins singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan on Oct. 6 at San Francisco’s free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park.
Having closed its last season only a couple of months ago with a tour of South Africa, SFGC is now heading to the War Memorial Opera House to sing in San Francisco Opera’s production of Carmen in November and December. Later in the season, SFGC appears in a holiday concert at Davies Symphony Hall, in The Pigeon Keeper with Opera Parallèle, and in J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Cantata Collective.
SFCG’s current leadership includes Ann Miller as board president, Valérie Sainte-Agathe as artistic director (she joined the ensemble as music director in 2013), and soprano Rabihah Dunn as administrative manager. Sainte-Agathe’s predecessors as artistic director have included Elizabeth Appling (1978–1992), Sharon J. Paul (1992–2000), Susan McMane (2001–2012), and Lisa Bielawa (2013–2018).
Each year, some 450 girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth from 45 Bay Area cities, ranging in age from 4 to 18, participate in SFGC’s training programs. The organization has an annual operating budget of approximately $2.7 million, with eight full-time staff, 15 part-time staff, and a board of 10.
SFGC has appeared on five Grammy Award-winning recordings and toured to such venues as Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall. In the Bay Area, the chorus has performed regularly with such organizations as SF Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco International Film Festival, and Kronos Quartet.
The tuition for the Prep Chorus is $1,445 per year. Major support for SFGC comes from the Elizabeth Avakian Scholarship Fund, which annually awards over $150,000 in full- and partial-tuition scholarships. Approximately one-third of enrolled choristers receive some sort of scholarship; 15 percent of scholarships are for families living at or below the poverty line.
