The San Francisco Bach Choir offers dedicated singers the opportunity to study and perform both Early Music and the diverse repertoire of great works from other eras and genres. We use historically informed performance practice, and perform with world-class professional instrumentalists and soloists, both period and modern.
Our volunteer singing membership is drawn from the Bay Area’s large community of trained, non-professional musicians. Our seventy-voice volunteer choir holds auditions periodically throughout the year. We are looking for experienced choral singers with good musical skills and an enthusiasm for participating in an active and dynamic musical organization.
The San Francisco Bach Choir is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment, and strives to bring the joy of music to all. We invite everyone to be a part of our community regardless of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, physical appearance, language, social or economic status, or educational background.
Schedule
We rehearse Tuesdays 7-10 PM* at Calvary Presbyterian Church at Fillmore and Jackson in San Francisco (with Saturday workshops 9/14, 10/5, 11/2 and 11/23 from 10AM – 3PM). Our planned concert dates for the 2019-2020 season are:
- Sunday, October 20, 2019, 4pm
- Saturday, December 7, 2019, 7:30pm
- Sunday, December 8, 2019, 4pm
- Saturday, May 9, 2020, 4pm
- Sunday, May 10, 2020, 4pm
* – Exception: Instead of Tue. 10/8, rehearsal is Thu. 10/10
Try Us Out
Our first rehearsal of the season on Tuesday, September 3rd is open to anyone wishing to sit in and see what our rehearsals are like. Rehearsal begins at 7:00, but please arrive by 6:40 to check in and get situated. Please also let us know you plan to attend via this very brief form.
Dues and Expenses (2019-2020)
- Full season dues: $360 if paid in advance
- October & December concert dues: $100 per quarter
- May concert dues: $200 (two quarters)
- Music: generally $15-35 per concert set (charged at cost)
- No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Audition Schedule
Our next round of auditions has not been scheduled yet. Please submit the inquiry form below, and we will get in touch as soon as we have more information.
What to Expect at Your Audition
- Vocalizing: using mostly familiar exercises, to discover: What is your comfortable and usable range? What voice part should you sing? What are your best vowels and what strategy can we use to improve the less-good ones? Is your breath working for you? Are there other adjustments we can make to increase the ease and health of your singing, and the flexibility and beauty of your tone?
- Sight-reading: Recognizing that there can be a wide range of sight-reading ability there will be three, graduated sight-reading exercises. All auditionees will be expected to be able to sight-read the first and part of the second exercise (given a starting note) without accompaniment.
- Prepared music: New singers, please bring two copies of a prepared song or choral work. Simple is fine! A hymn, folk song, carol beautifully sung is preferable to something difficult which is not completely mastered.
Audition Inquiry Form
If you would like to set up an audition or be notified about plans for our next round of auditions in the Summer, please complete the inquiry form below.