Choral

Midsummer Vespers With S.F. Lyric Chorus

Joseph Sargent - August 3, 2009
Summertime typically signals a period of downtime for classical music, as many ensembles enjoy a well-earned hiatus or shift their programming toward lighter fare. Not so for the San Francisco Lyric Chorus, a talented choir under the direction of Robert Gurney.
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Doing the Work of Genius

Jesse Hamlin - July 28, 2009
Every time Robert Geary returns to Giuseppe Verdi’s stirring Requiem Mass, “it’s deeper in my blood, but I have to prepare and rethink it. And that’s wonderful,” says the noted artistic director of the 200-voice San Francisco Choral Society.
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Naughty and Nice

Joseph Sargent - July 28, 2009
Traditional notions of “summer fun” evoke a host of images: beach balls, barbecues, baseball. Music lovers should add to this list of B’s the name Banchieri — as in Adriano Banchieri, an Italian Renaissance composer and a pioneer of the madrigal comedy, a collection of madrigals strung together to present a comical story.
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Re-cycle, Re-view, Sing New

Michael Zwiebach - June 9, 2009
San Francisco Choral Artists

Artists, along with dung beetles and leafcutter ants, are among the most efficient recyclers in the world.

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Review

Renaissance Pleas for Mercy

Kaneez Munjee - June 9, 2009

To close a season embracing music mostly of the modern era, Chanticleer returned to its founding ideals on Sunday night at San Francisco’s Mission Dolores, with an entirely Renaissance program, sung a cappella.

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Review

Concerto Buon Viaggio

Anna Carol Dudley - June 8, 2009
The Grace Cathedral Choir is going to Italy, where the singers will experience performing Italian Renaissance and early Baroque music in its original physical and cultural context. On Sunday, the choir — 18 boys on the treble parts and a dozen men singing tenor and bass — offered a dress rehearsal for a large, enthusiastic audience, gathered to wish them a buon viaggio.
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Music of All the Americas

Jeff Kaliss - June 7, 2009
Pride comes naturally when you’re a singer with the San Francisco Boys Chorus. Just ask eighth-grader Dominique Shaw about the delightfully eclectic program that he and fellow choristers will be presenting at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco on June 13.
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International Orange Chorale

Michael Zwiebach - June 2, 2009
The San Francisco Bay Area is a little foretaste of chorus heaven. Choruses flourish here, and their activities are constant. So what makes a person want to found another chorus? In the case of the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, it’s as simple as wanting to choose your friends.

Renaissance Program Expresses the Divine

Lisa Petrie - June 2, 2009
The San Francisco Renaissance Voices, founded in 2004, is an ensemble dedicated to singing lesser-known and rarely performed early music, and this June they'll do just that. Their coming run of "The Darkness and The Dawn" (on June 13, 14, and 21) is an exploration of the Italian Renaissance, and the final installment of "The Polyphony Project," which explored the five major Renaissance schools.
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Review

Vocal Colors of the Golden State

Chelsea Nicole Spangler - June 1, 2009

The “California Fusion” program performed by the Artists’ Vocal Ensemble on Friday night brought music spanning several decades and continents to the audience at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley.