San Francisco Choral Society Opens New Season

Featured Taiwanese composer Chiayu Hsu (photograph by Les Todd, courtesy of SFCS)

This month will conclude with the return of the San Francisco Choral Society (SFCS), led by Artistic Director Robert Geary. The program will reflect on prevailing conditions with the world premiere performance of “To a Lost Year,” composed by Chiayu Hsu. Hsu was selected from nearly one hundred applicants that responded to an SFCS commissioning project. She will become the seventh composer of the last fifteen years to write a new choral work for the organization. Inspired by events of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work is in three movements scored for SATB choir and string orchestra. The accompanying ensemble will be the California Chamber Orchestra.

The premiere of “To a Lost Year” will be coupled with a performance of George Frideric Handel’s HWV 232, his setting of the Latin text of Psalm 110, which begins with the words “Dixit Dominus” (the Lord said). The music is structured in nine movements, alternating choral passages with individual vocalists performing as soloists and in one duet. The participating singers will be sopranos Shawnette Sulker and Shauna Fallihee, countertenor Clifton Massey, tenor Mark Bonney, and baritone Sepp Hammer.

This program will be given two performances, both at 8 p.m., on Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30. The venue will be the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 1187 Franklin Street, located on the northwest corner of O’Farrell Street. Ticket prices are $50 for Premium seating at Orchestra Level, $40 for the side and rear sections of the Orchestra, and $35 for general admission seating in the Balcony. City Box Office has created separate Web pages for purchasing tickets for April 29 and April 30, respectively. Both Web pages include a map of the seating areas.

Those attending either performance above the age of five years old will be required to show proof of full vaccination and booster (if eligible) and matching photo identification at the door. Audience members will also be required to be fully masked (covering nose and mouth) during the duration of the concert. Full vaccination and booster is currently defined as completion of at least the three doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or two doses of the Johnson & Johnson (or one dose of J&J and an mRNA booster) vaccine administered two weeks or more in advance of the concert.