Musicians

The San Francisco Bach Choir has been an important part of the Bay Area’s cultural life for the past six decades. The oldest continuing community choir in the western United States, SFBC played a major role in establishing choral music as a serious art form in Northern California while introducing thousands to the great works of J.S. Bach. The choir has performed most of the major works of choral literature, including J.S. Bach masterpieces such as the Mass in b minor, the St. John Passion, the St. Matthew Passion, and numerous motets and cantatas. Under the leadership of late director David Babbitt, the choir expanded its programming focus, specializing not only in the music of Bach, but in polychoral music from the rich German choral tradition spanning the late 16th to 18th centuries. It has performed many works in this early antiphonal style, and has also premiered compositions in this style written specifically for the choir by Mr. Babbitt. Under the leadership of new director Corey Jamason, the choir continues this tradition and launches a new era of musical discovery.

The San Francisco Bach Choir's membership of eighty to ninety singers allows us to perform works that vary choir composition both in size and in numbers of parts. Our repertoire often employs multiple choirs, arranged in antiphonal formation throughout the performance space and has included works for up to as many as 40 different parts. The chamber choir Concentus, is drawn from the full choir and performs works requiring a smaller ensemble of singers.

The San Francisco Bach Choir performs with many renowned vocal soloists and its own period orchestra and chamber consort selected from internationally acclaimed instrumentalists including violinist and concert master Cynthia Roberts; cellist Elizabeth Reed; natural trumpet specialist and orchestra manager John Thiessen; and many other fine artists.

(photo by Gene Hsu)