The Sounds of War… The Pleas for Peace

The San Francisco Lyric Chorus, under the direction of Music Director, Robert Gurney, invites singers to join us for our Summer 2016 trimester.

We have openings in all parts. We know Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses will enjoy singing these profound and powerful compositions.

The Sounds of War… The Pleas for Peace

Joseph Haydn: Mass in Time of War

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem

Rehearsals begin Monday, May 23, 2016

Rehearsals are held on Monday nights from 7:15-9:45 p.m. in:

St. Peter’s Hall
Trinity+St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
1620 Gough Street (between Austin and Bush Streets)
San Francisco

Our concerts will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, August 28, 2016 at 5 p.m. in Mission Dolores Basilica, San Francisco.

To arrange for an audition (ability to blend and sing in tune, some sight reading skill expected) or obtain further information, contact Music Director Robert Gurney at 415-721-4077 or . For further information about us, check our website at http://www.sflc.org

This Summer 2016 we will perform two fabulous choral works that center on war and peace, Joseph Haydn’s stirring Mass in Time of War and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ profound Dona Nobis Pacem.

Joseph Haydn’s (1732-1809) powerful mass was composed in 1796 in the aftermath of the French Revolution, and throughout you hear the trumpets and drums of battle.

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ (1872-1958) Dona Nobis Pacem was composed in the turbulent years just before the outbreak of World War II, and was premiered in 1936. It contains settings of poetry from Walt Whitman’s Drum Taps, writings by English Quaker statesman John Bright, and Biblical texts. We will be accompanied by a quartet of professional singers, string quartet, timpani, and organ.

Formed in 1995, San Francisco Lyric Chorus is an auditioned, medium-sized, mixed-voice chorus that performs a diverse repertoire with an emphasis on classical choral music and rarely performed works. We are an inclusive and welcoming community of singers, committed to excellent musicianship and creative programming. The Chorus has featured performances of works by such composers as Berlioz, Mozart, Bach, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms, Fauré, Dufay, Josquin, Bernstein, Gjeilo, Howells, Pärt, Tavener, Lauridsen, Verdi, Britten, Whitacre, Dvorák, Kodály, Corigliano, and San Francisco composer Kirke Mechem, as well as our 10th Anniversary commissioned work, Illinois composer Lee R. Kesselman’s This Grand Show Is Eternal and the December 2009 World Premiere of Robert Train Adams’ Christmas Fantasy. We are especially proud of our Summer 2015 performance of classical choral music performed at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, including the first American performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’ oratorio, The Promised Land, since its American premiere and only American performance at the PPIE.

We have a wonderful sense of community and enjoy making music together and sharing it with our audiences. We would like to meet you!