Volti to Resume Performing before an Audience

Some readers may recall that the last time that the Volti a cappella choir performed before an audience was at the end of February in 2020, only about a week before public performances began to be cancelled in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In a little over two week’s time, Volti will resume presenting full-length concerts before its audiences. (Earlier this season Volti performed before audiences in partnerships with other ensembles. The first of these events took place this past October, when they joined with the members of the Del Sol string quartet, violinists Sam Weiser and Benjamin Kreith, violist Charlton Lee, and cellist Kathryn Bates, for the world premiere performance of Angel Island - Oratorio for Voices and Strings, composed by Huang Ruo. Then, this past April, they joined the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, led by Ben Simon, and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s’ Choir for the world premiere of Michael Gilbertson’s “Denial” oratorio.)

courtesy of Volti

The title of the new Volti program will be Shadows, Visions and Dreams. The program will begin with the world premiere performance of “In the Rain Shadow,” composed by Eric Tuan (formerly a Volti tenor) on a Volti commission. The text is taken from The Land of Little Rain, a book by Mary Hunter Austin about Owens Valley, located between the High Sierra and the Mojave Desert. This selection will be coupled with “Visions of a Child,” composed by Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate and inspired by the Pueblo Indian community of New Mexico.

The next selection will be Tania León’s setting of texts by Jamaica Kincaid. “Rezos (Dreams)” was commissioned by the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2003. In all likelihood, this will be the first performance to take place since the premiere. This will be followed by “And the world stopped, lacking you,” a setting of a 1916 poem by the British pacifist poet Vera Brittain set to music by the Iranian composer Aftab Darvishi. The program will then conclude with music by another Bay Area composer, Jens Ibsen. “How god comes to the soul” is a setting of a text by the Christian medieval mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg.

The San Francisco performance of this program will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 19. Like the 2020 concert, the performance will take place at the Noe Valley Ministry, which is located at 1012 Sanchez Street, between 23rd Street and Elizabeth Street. Tickets may be purchased in advance through a Tix event page. General admission is $40 with a $35 rate for seniors aged 65 or older and a special $15 rate for those aged 35 and under. Tix provides electronic tickets (which may be printed at home) at no extra charge.