The award-winning Young Women’s Chorus of San Francisco returns to Old First Concerts for its beloved annual Carols by Candlelight performance. Start your holiday season with this candle-lit concert, featuring Benjamin Britten’s exquisite A Ceremony of Carols alongside other traditional carols and those re-envisioned for chorus and harp.
The Young Women’s Chorus is the premier ensemble of the Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco. The Chorus, conducted by Artistic Director Dr. Matthew Otto, is comprised of singers ages 12-18, and has been praised for its beauty of sound, stellar musicianship, and dynamic programming. Acclaimed in the American Record Guide for its “refined and beautifully controlled singing,” the Young Women’s Chorus has also won many competitive, national awards including the American Prize in Choral Performance; the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award from Chorus America and American Composers Forum; and the ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award. They have performed with the London Philharmonia Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony and graced stages from Carnegie Hall to acclaimed venues in South Africa, France, Argentina, and Canada. Performing repertoire from early music to contemporary selections, the Chorus annually performs a professional series of concerts in the Bay Area, and commissions new works by leading composers.
Canadian Matthew Otto, PhD, is an award-winning, internationally recognized conductor. Matthew led the Toronto Children’s Chorus and the Toronto Youth Choir for more than a decade. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition, Master of Music in Conducting and PhD in Music Education from University of Toronto.
Molly Langr is a freelance harpist who performs frequently with the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, the Utah Symphony, and the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra. Molly holds a bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.