SF Girls Chorus and Chanticleer Join Forces

Those that have been following the season plans for the San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) and/or Chanticleer probably know by now that these two ensembles will be joining forces next month. They have agreed on a program structured into three segments, one for each of the groups and one for joint performance. The title of the program will be Neighbor Tones, which is not merely metaphorical, because both of the organizations are based in the Kanbar Performing Arts Center at 44 Page Street.

The SFGC portion of the program will begin with another preview of excerpts from Tomorrow’s Memories: A Little Manila Diary, which SFGC commissioned Matthew Welch to compose in 2020. This will be followed by “Baba Afzal Kashan,” one of the movements in Richard Danielpour’s Three Parables, which SFGC commissioned in 2019. The other two compositions in this segment will be “Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell and “Father Death Blues” by Philip Glass.

Composer Ayanna Woods (provided by the composer, courtesy of SFGC)

The Chanticleer segment will also begin with a recent commission. The ensemble commissioned Ayanna Woods in 2021, and the result was her composition of “close[r], now.” The remainder of the segment will be more traditional. The first selection will be “Civitas sancti tui,” a five-voice motet in William Byrd’s collection entitled Liber primus sacrarum cantionum (the first book of sacred canticles). This will be followed by Jonathan Woody’s arrangement of the spiritual “God’s Gonna Trouble,” better known as “Wade in the Water.”

The program will begin with combined forces, so to speak. The opening selection will be a world premiere excerpt commissioned for both ensembles. The commission was awarded to composer Ayanna Woods, whose composition is entitled “Years of Light.” This will be followed by Erin Bentlage’s arrangement of “Desert Song, composed by säje. The remaining selections will be “O Daedalus, Fly Away Home” by Trevor Weston and Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” setting.

This program will be given its San Francisco performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 17. Ticket prices range from $21 to $63. Tickets may be purchased online through a City Box Office Web page or by calling 415-392-4400. The venue will be Herbst Theater, whose entrance is on the ground floor of the Veterans Building, located on the southwest corner of McAllister Street and Van Ness Avenue.