Reviews

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Like a baseball game rescheduled after a rainout, there was one more concert on the San Francisco Symphony’s season calendar after last week’s grand finale with outgoing Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The orchestra staged its makeup performance of Verdi’s Requiem on Friday, June 20, a concert that was canceled during the Symphony Chorus’ strike in September last year. James Gaffigan generously stepped in to conduct the work, which Salonen would have led in the fall. The program is slated to be repeated on Sunday, June 22, at Davies Symphony Hall.

After its extraordinary contributions to Salonen’s farewell performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, the Chorus showed it was worth every penny of the anonymous $4 million gift made in the months following the strike. The singers came to the fore not just in the 90-minute Requiem, normally programmed by itself, but in a first part that included three choral pieces by Gordon Getty, himself a generous donor to the Symphony (and a co-founder of San Francisco Classical Voice).

Getty’s works are genial, melodic and accessible, and Gaffigan, a friend of the composer, led them deftly and with evident care. The Intermezzo from Getty’s 2017 opera “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” begins delicately, with spare lines in the marimba giving way to the harp, then acquiring a more definitive melodic profile in the strings. It’s a meditative piece that finds an unexpected climax when the choristers interject a school hymn, almost as if overhead from afar.

The Chorus also gave fine performances of “Saint Christopher” (2024), which features effective writing for voices, and “The Old Man in the Snow” (2020), a more substantial work in several sections that Getty skillfully sets apart with different instrumentation, including a trombone choir, keyboards and mallet percussion.

Symphony Chorus Director Jenny Wong did an outstanding job preparing this music, and the singers communicated its spirit with unfussy directness. But they were brilliant in the Requiem that followed intermission.

If the performance of the piece as a whole lacked finesse, their contributions were nonetheless stellar. The singing was artful, from the opening “Requiem aeternam,” with the sound humming in the air through the nasal consonants, to the explosive “Dies irae” and the stentorian “Rex tremendae.” The women made a luminous entrance in the “Lacrimosa” at the line “Huic ergo parce, Deus” (Therefore spare him, O Lord), and the whole chorus concluded with the fearful declamation and hortatory final fugue of the “Libera me.” The singers encompassed the range of Verdi’s writing in finely balanced sound that pulled emotion from every chord change.

Gaffigan’s conducting, however, emphasized drive and the titanic climaxes while shorting the Requiem’s poetic side. Certainly, this is a public religious work, conceived as a memorial to Italian art — first to the composer Gioachino Rossini and then, when that initial plan fell through, to author Alessandro Manzoni. But it’s not only theatrical. This interpretation was driven by inflexible tempos and a sameness to all of the climaxes and fortissimo outbursts that ultimately became wearing. Though the orchestra played well, earning deserved applause, the performance was missing a sense of transcendence and the overarching struggle of mourning and fear giving way to tranquility and acceptance.

The soloists — soprano Rachel Willis-Sørenson, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, tenor Mario Chang and bass Morris Robinson — were generally excellent. The notable exception was Chang’s effortful “Ingemisco” prayer, sung without any bloom in the tone and generally unresonant and unconvincing. The violins joined Willis-Sørenson in a moving “Sed signifer sanctus Michael” (Let the standard-bearer holy Michael), the soprano singing sweetly in one of the score’s many standout lyrical moments. If there had been more of those, this Requiem would have been even better.

Michael Zwiebach is a freelance writer. This review has been provided in partnership with San Francisco Classical Voice.

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I cannot recall ever having a more intimate operatic experience than listening to Gordon Getty’s touching opera based on the acclaimed James Hilton novella. The scoring is for what sounds to me like a chamber orchestra with prominent keyboard, harp, and percussion parts. As befits the poignancy of Hilton’s story, Getty’s approach (he wrote the libretto as well) is all very lyrical. Rarely do the dynamics get as loud as forte, as in pastoral English music by the likes of, say, Delius, but for all that there is no monotony. There are, however, stylistic similarities to the vocal writing of Britain’s leading opera composer, Benjamin Britten (which should be taken as high praise). The style is tonal and traditionally melodic.

As the program notes inform us, the opera was not premiered live but was “reimagined” as a film, due to the privations visited upon the performing arts by the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe the cast is the same in the film as in this recent recording, but whether or not that is so, I would look forward to seeing the film and even more so to seeing this work staged live. Getty’s creative take on the storyline — for example, having Dr. Merrivale as the narrator — and its musical transformation is frequently quite affecting.

The singers­—and Melody Moore, in particular—are absolutely convincing in their roles and sing beautifully. The chorus, British public school boys singing hymns, but occasionally used to add additional color, also sings splendidly. Dennis Doubin at the podium is in complete command and moves the opera along briskly but in a manner that never seems rushed. One reason I would love to see this staged (whether on film or in the opera house) is to see what one can only imagine listening to the recording: how the flashbacks and flashforwards embedded into the libretto are managed.

The scene (which is reprised to great effect towards the end of the opera) where Chips’s wife Kathie, who will die in childbirth, says her farewell, is not at all maudlin but is nonetheless extraordinarily moving. Also striking is the use of Melody Moore to sing the role of a young schoolboy meeting the aged Chips for the first (and last) time, who intones the titular “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” in a manner reminiscent of how it was sung by the long-dead Kathie. Even more moving is Chips’s final soliloquy, voiced over a boys’ chorus background, in which he identifies individual former students, some of them among those who died in World War I, by name, and they respond, and this concludes with his emotion-laden final cry, “My boys.” Then there is silence. I’m not sure the abruptness of that ending works for me. I understand the dramatic effect Getty was seeking in illustrating Chips’s death with the absence of further sound, but I would have preferred even a few bars of instrumental epilogue.

This is a distinguished, and extremely listenable, addition to the escutcheon of American opera. Highly recommended.

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Soon after its founding in 1988 by Francisco J. Núñez, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City proved itself able to serve both the musical needs of ethnically and culturally diverse youthful singers in its metropolitan area and the wider world of composers eager to write for young voice.

Instead of submitting to stoppage by the pandemic in 2020, the YPC decided to sing their way through it, seeking out a way to keep kids active and sharing music during social distancing. Nuñez, the chorus’s artistic director and conductor, and Elizabeth Núñez, his wife and the group’s creative director, invited composers to join them in assembling a compendium of rounds.

“This collection of canons ... became a lifeline,” notes Francisco Núñez . “The children, aged 7-17, sang and recorded on their phones, using headphones to stay in tempo, from their closets, bedrooms, kitchens. After they sent us their tracks, [our engineering team] created a mix using the Pro Tools digital audio workstation. The complete album preserves that shared experience of resilience and community.” This Time Round, named for the song form, is also the title of an award-winning documentary about the pandemic project; the album serves as its soundtrack.

Many of the 15 musical selections are brief and are presented a cappella. Approaches to the round format are fascinatingly diverse, some sticking to a distinct separation of repeated lyrical lines, others overlapping or blurring the mix.

Composer Samuel Adler, one of several on this album who’ve contributed multiple times to the YPC repertoire, provides 18 of the choristers a churchlike arrangement of his lyrics to “In Any Time of Great Distress,” affirming the vital role of music. The chorus confirms its ability to traverse the contemporary challenges of alternative melodic lines and harmonies with pieces by Paola Prestini (who sets a poem by Walt Whitman) and by Cuban American jazzman Paquito D’Rivera.

 “The Definition of Crisis,” by Ted Hearne, and “Heaven Is,” by Thomas Cabaniss (whose sons are YPC alumni), let us better hear and appreciate the qualities of individual young voices rounding with each other. “Dear Future,” words and music by Yuka C. Honda, deploys the composer’s electronic pulse behind three siblings, addressing what awaits beyond crisis. The most direct connection to the pandemic is voiced in the words and music of Derek Bermel’s “Cabin Fever,” delivered delightfully as a rap over a beat. 

Gordon Getty, a YPC artist-in-residence and legacy honoree, provides a spare piano accompaniment to a pretty setting of Emily Dickinson, one of his favored poetic muses. As in many of his choral works, “I Sing to Use the Waiting” establishes a traditionally solid foundation but proceeds to surprising devices and tempos. This reading has 10-year-old Sofia Abreu ingeniously harmonizing with herself.

Michael Harrison applies his training in Indian classical music to “A New Well,” where the chorus voices work modal melody lines over a drone. David Lang’s “when this all ends” is a surging tide of expression, the words swimming together and indistinct but enchanting. “Como Estoy In Casa,” by Michael Gordon, is sung by siblings in both Spanish and English, in the folky fashion of nueva canción. Elizabeth Núñez’s “My Rainbow in the Window” is a simple and charming song for a pair of young singers with piano accompaniment.

As its title suggests, “Power to the People,” words and music by YPC alumna Aneesa Folds (her first commission), is a gentle but compelling anthem arranged by Francisco Núñez. His own “Come Home” is the album’s penultimate work. Like the opening track, this one wears a quiet hymnal affect, nicely defining the sections of the chorus, expanded to 31 voices singing, “Soon we’ll get back (it won’t be long).”

Beyond being a feat of inspirational group action and engineering at a particular historical moment, This Time Round is a timeless and remarkable exercise in the deployment of single and collective voices across differing compositional approaches.

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If Festival Napa Valley’s Symphonic Finale was a poker hand, it would have been a royal flush. Presented Sunday, July 19, at the FNV Stage at Charles Krug in St. Helena, the late evening program featured the works of a quintet of American compositional royalty performed by Festival Orchestra Napa under the guidance of conductor JoAnn Falletta.

It a celebration of both the 250th birthday of the U.S. and the 20th anniversary of FNV, the non-profit Napa Valley Festival Association’s extensive arts performance and education program. The atmosphere was decidedly forward-looking, starting with the pre- and post-concert Family Zone at house right.

Falletta, a two-time GRAMMY winner who currently serves as Music Director for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, was an ideal guide for the multi-generational audience. She spoke from the podium in between numbers to insights and her passion for the music.

With noticeably crisp playing from the brass section, Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide opened the concert. Bernstein was “a wonderful composer, conductor, pianist, teacher, and an amazing person,” Falletta affirmed. She went on to talk about a Bernstein friend and mentor, Aaron Copland.

“…Copland had this wonderful way of showing us what our country sounds like, even though he lived in New York City and, at the time he was writing this music, had never gone west of New Jersey,” she said, setting up the performance of the Suite from Rodeo.

When it came time for the familiar “Hoe-Down” movement, art created by over 1200 artists “ages 5-95+” were shown on the rectangular video screen behind the stage, edited by Jonathan Robinson of Build Pictures for Festival Napa Valley Arts for All’s How I See Music program. The surrounding vineyards and neighboring buildings gave the entire suite an extra-idyllic visual framing.

The piece that has very likely been heard and performed live the least was also a highlight. San Francisco philanthropist Gordon Getty, the composer of Overture to Plump Jack, was in attendance and received an enthusiastic acknowledgement at his center aisle seat when thanked by Falletta for adding “a beautiful piece to our repertoire.”

Getty’s opera about Shakespeare’s Sir John Falstaff was written in 1984 and the operatic film of the work will receive its premiere early next year. Its overture expresses the title character’s impishness but also emotional perceptiveness through the low strings and what sounded like a brief jig.

Introducing Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Falletta described the composer-pianist’s ability to bridge the worlds of European classical and American jazz music. By the time that work concluded, one felt a warmth towards both the 20th Century musical canon and the City of Light.

The final selection was more of an encore and, as Falletta admitted, didn’t need much of an introduction “except to say that it has been called the greatest film score ever written.” John Williams’s Star Wars Suite was a reminder that not only has the 94-year-old written volumes of memorable movie music, he has created a legacy within his own legacy with his iconic scores for the fantasy franchise.

As celestial video played on the stage video screen, pop culture staples such as “Main Title,” “The Imperial March,” and “Throne Room/End Titles” brought back images and emotions to anyone who’s ever watched a TIE fighter battle an X-wing or a Jedi wrestle with the Dark Side of the Force.

Ushers wielding miniature red lightsabers guided exiting music fans all of them looking forward to FNV 2027.

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Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Festival Napa Valley proved again that the vineyards are fertile ground for both vintages and fresh artistic talent.

After a day that began with a music and wellness seminar led by soprano Reneé Fleming, and a display of classic cars, it was time for the orchestra to take over at Uytengsu Family Opening Night on Friday, July 10.

British conductor Stephanie Childress started the music at the venerated Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena with Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture.” The performance was both lusty and majestic, if at times a bit rushed, and ended beautifully. Shouts of “bravi” were heard from philanthropist and composer Gordon Getty, whose “Young America” (2001), was up next.

For his settings of poems by himself and 20th-century American poet Stephen Vincent Benét, the well-known Young People’s Chorus of New York City made its festival debut, arrayed in deep purple gowns. The ensemble has previously collaborated with Getty, and its ingenuous enthusiasm provided a natural support for Getty’s often romantic and sentimental verse and music.

Getty, a member of the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors, dedicated the performance to the late Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas, a friend and supporter of his music.

The first song, “Hark the Homestead,” was preceded by a sylvan Brittenesque intro that led to an innovative choral conversation. The voices were more traditionally balanced in “Heather Mary,” while “My Uncle’s House” showcased orchestral power, Wagnerian in dramatic force but suited to Napa rather than Valhalla.

Getty moved alluringly through the scenes of “War Interlude,” from the moody minor mode beginning to a reassuring response in the major. Martial percussion gave way to an avian perspective, gorgeously intoned by concertmaster Elizabeth Pitcairn. Throughout “Daughter of Ashville” and “When Daniel Boone Goes By at Night,” Getty employed harmonic and rhythmic changes, many of them unexpected and convention-defying.

Overall, this music provided challenges that were well met by the choristers, prepared by their artistic director, Francisco J. Nuñez. The group credibly conveyed and illuminated Getty’s ability, familiar to Festival Napa Valley regulars and to fans of his operas, to evoke the moods and mystique of olden times. The composer stood to the crowd’s acclaim at the conclusion of this orchestral song cycle.

The benign audience and environment of Napa are suited to showcasing tangents from Western classical tradition. This was evidenced by the world premiere of “As I Breathe” by Michael Thurber, a composer credited with co-founding the YouTube collective CDZA. The concerto is curiously structured as four songs on inspirational themes, with soloists Charles Yang and Nicolas “Nick” Kendall (amplified violins and vocals) and Ranaan Meyer (amplified double bass and vocals) of the Americana-classical Time for Three.

Thurber’s composition and the trio’s approach to vocals evoked alt-Broadway creations such as “Rent” and “Hamilton” in their pop urgency. Thurber’s lyrics, sometimes unclear and not included in the printed program, seemed sincere rather than snarky.

Instrumentally, the violinists in particular appealed with their pyrotechnics until they unplugged their instruments for the final song, daring in its complex time signatures and tricky syncopation.

“Have you ever heard anything like that?” Yang asked rhetorically.

Then the Young People’s Chorus was summoned for Nuñez’s “The Rhythm of Time,” a good-natured medley of arrangements of songs by Bob Dylan, the Doobie Brothers, and the Bee Gees. The singers swayed in time, their voices backed by playful orchestrations gleefully effervescing the old standards.

As the evening darkened, Time for Three returned for the program’s finale. Yang switched from violin to electronic keyboard for his composition “This Life,” which also had the trio singing a cappella about “where the water takes me home.” The piece successfully expanded the craft of the singer-songwriter to the classical concert setting and sent the audience home with a blessing.

Jeff Kaliss is a freelance writer. This review has been provided in partnership with San Francisco Classical Voice.

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Call it a bass man’s holiday.

In The Farther Shore, released on May 8 by Navona Records, Matthew Treviño traces his voyage across an edifying variety of modern compositions, displaying both their musical and lyrical attractions and how adeptly he adapts his craft to their differences.

Treviño has been a go-to for bass roles in modern opera recordings — a couple of them are represented here. But according to his album notes, the singer aims to defy expectations.

“The catalog of new music written for the bass voice remains limited [and] the bass voice carries a set of archetypal expectations,” Treviño points out. “My goal is to show how the singer can embody familiar characters and then gently unravel them.”

Attentively accompanied by pianist Scott Gendel, the album opens with Juliana Hall’s monodrama for Moby Dick’s “Ahab,” an undersea post-mortem which has the captain shouting defiance and sighing resignation. Treviño credibly conveys the hyper-dramatic text created by Caitlin Vincent. Hall’s music aptly follows Benjamin Britten’s balance of turbulent tides and silence.

Composer Matt Boehler, in a world premiere, sets texts by three poets under a collective title from one of the poems’ lines, The Great Gramophone of Puzzling Existence. The second poem, A.E. Stallings’s “Another Lullaby for Insomniacs,” begins a cappella and proceeds with spare accompaniment, showcasing Treviño’s lucid diction and superb interpretation of individual words and phrases. Ferlinghetti’s “Dog,” in the third poem, has a canine whimsically wandering the streets of mid-century San Francisco (where composer Boehler later received his conservatory training). Both composer and singer trot through this scenario with growls, yelps, and humorous delight.

A selection from Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up has Treviño working confidently in the low and high reaches of his range and modeling the art of voice acting. With Ben Moore’s setting of a poem by W.B. Yeats, the singer moves into the mode of a lied, or a folk song, as the evocative and adaptable Scott Gendel takes on a more familiar accompaniment role. The music is lyrically lovely, the voice soft and comfortable.

Treviño debuted the titular role in composer Gordon Getty’s one-act opera The Canterville Ghost at Leipzig Opera in 2015. Treviño has appropriately revivified “Insupportable!” in this collection, with its ghoulishly comic libretto (written by Getty) and its impetuous fortissimos. The singer spans Getty’s trademark wide intervals with compelling authority.

Another of Treviño’s debut roles is recapped as The Client in Robert Paterson’s Three Way. No humor here, but an affecting reading of the work’s creepiness by the singer.

Carlisle Floyd is honored as a forefather of modern American opera with an aria from his Cold Sassy Tree. Treviño is empathetic and psychologically credible in his depiction of the aging, lovestruck character Rucker Lattimore (with Floyd, like Getty, the librettist). This is a scene well set and well played; the music is modernly romantic. Treviño successfully takes on a regional accent, and extends it into the aria of reluctant politician Elisha, from Evan Mack’s Roscoe.

The album concludes, tastefully, with the world premiere of A Clear Midnight, a pellucid nocturne by the accompanist himself. There’s an ample offering of contemplative piano music, prettily pairing Gendel’s lyricism in his instrument’s higher octaves with Treviño’s lustrous lower voice.

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An Evening Dedicated to Future Generations Building a Better World Through Creative Collaboration

The Young People’s Chorus (YPC) of New York City presented its annual Gala Concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City on Monday, March 16th to a sold-out audience.

YPC Founder and Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez and Creative Director Elizabeth Núñez, were accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra and 450 young singers who performed works illuminating American culture through song. The evening also featured Grammy Award-winning coloratura mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who joined the choristers in reminding listeners about the vital importance of continuing support for moments like this: where upcoming generations are encouraged and financially supported in their musical collaboration. Now, more than ever, it is up to local communities to uphold safe spaces where youth can express themselves – in hope, creativity, and collaboration, building a better world together.

“All proceeds from [tonight’s gala] event directly support YPC’s award-winning after-school choral program, in-school music education initiatives across 17 NYC schools, and College Bound program, which ensures that 100 percent of YPC’s graduating seniors continue to higher education. They also support YPC Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx, as well as national and international performance opportunities that enable choristers to engage in cultural exchanges and showcase their talent on prestigious stages worldwide. In 2024, choristers toured China and New Zealand, earning five gold medals at the World Choir Games. In 2025, they toured throughout Japan and Canada, and in 2026 they will tour India,” said Francisco J. Núñez and Elizabeth Núñez.

Production Highlights

The evening’s program highlighted classical, spiritual, folk, and popular works, including Samuel Barber, John Leavitt, Gordon Getty, Meredith Willson, Claude Ely, Richard Smallwood, Joyce DiDonato’s “Endless Sky,” Harold Arlen, and a special compilation by Elizabeth Núñez arranged and orchestrated by Bálint Varga, “Through the Decades.”

Francisco J. Núñez and Elizabeth Núñez are a dream-team in action, and this particular concert showcased their dedication to young singers and the power of music to connect with anyone from anywhere. The singers onstage represented the complexity of humanity and how, when given the opportunity at an early age to feel the excitement of creative collaboration, it can change the world. The singers rehearsed several times a week leading up to this concert. It must be mentioned how the wonderful support of their guardians made this possible. Bravo to every hand involved in uplifting our youth and positively changing our world! This is where it all begins, with moments like this.

Choreographer Jacquelyn Bird did a masterful job at managing and maneuvering with the many young performers who were eager to sing and dance. Bird’s work illuminated the freedom and joy of expression while the youth were celebrated for being who they were as individuals while simultaneously collaborating with their peers onstage. Every singer was given the space and moment to shine in their unique way. All of this was made possible through the compassionate use of time during rehearsals with Bird.

Illuminating Music

John Leavitt’s “Festival Sanctus” opened the evening with singers onstage, in the balcony area above the stage, and in the aisles, singing with joy. The orchestra reduction by Varga was the perfect combination for this work as every voice was heard throughout the venue.

One of my all-time favorite works by Samuel Barber, “Agnus Dei,” was performed next. The audience was utterly captivated. I have heard this performed many times in my life, but I must say, this particular performance was one of the most inspirational and unforgettable experiences. The simplicity of the singers onstage singing in unison, and the stillness that enveloped the hall, created a respite for one’s soul. This piece requires precision, excellent timing, and well-trained voices, which the chorus exemplified with care and ease. One could sense how much rehearsal it must have taken to reach this point – the requirement of every singer to actively listen while singing with their peers, mirroring the subtle nuances of Barber’s composition. I hope to hear them sing this again in my lifetime. It was truly magical.

“Young America” by Gordon Getty and text by Vincent Benét, and “Music Man Medley” by Meredith Wilson, compiled by Elizabeth Núñez and arranged/orchestrated by Benjamin Wallace, celebrated America’s cultural past. Meanwhile, Joyce DiDonato’s “Endless Sky,” along with Mike Roberts and the children of EDEN participating choirs, ushered in America’s future.

Claude Ely’s traditional work “Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down,” arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory, orchestrated by Varga, followed by Richard Smallwood’s “Total Praise,” orchestrated by Damien Sneed and Varga, illuminated America’s timeless spirit – the historical body that keeps score and documents the complexities of America’s culture.

Both Ely and Smallwood’s works brought an energy from the singers that took this concert to a whole new level. Audience members looked upon the faces of the performers, gazed into their eyes, and saw how these works resonated with them personally – how the singers felt it in their bones and presented it onstage for all to see and hear. To witness the singers raise their voices and bodies in elation spoke volumes to the music’s power and reminded one how documenting history through music creates a universal language. This was an absolutely brilliant moment to experience.

Joyce DiDonato & “Through the Decades”

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is a big fan of YPC. She collaborated with chorus members from YPC during the Met’s 2023-24 season opening production of Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking,” and some of those members were present at this concert, making it feel like a “coming home” moment. She spoke before her solo performance about how important YPC is and how she wished when she was 13 years old that she could have been a part of a choir as amazing as this. DiDonato also thanked the parents and guardians of the young singers for making it possible for their children to be part of YPC, highlighting how it takes a village to raise a child. Additionally, and to her point, she mentioned how it takes financial support to make these rehearsals and performances possible for over 400 young singers. DiDonato’s performance of Harold Arlen’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” gave the audience time to reflect on these opportunities and to remember where making a better world begins.

“Through the Decades” was the concert’s final blow-out of fun, dance, and celebration. Compiled by Elizabeth Núñez, arranged and orchestrated by Varga, the singers performed works including “Get Happy/Anything Goes,” “Jackson 5 Medley,” “September/You Should Be Dancing,” “Walking on Sunshine/I’m So Excited,” “This is How We Do It/Vogue,” and “Party in the USA/Uptown Funk/Firework.” Bird’s choreography for this entire compilation had the singers in an all out party mode, full of life and uplifting expression! Audience members were singing along, swaying in their seats, applauding the moments of dance – especially the disco and vogue.

YPC’s Annual Gala Concert 2026, “In the Key of Love,” illuminated the support and effort it takes to make a better world, beginning with making it possible for every child, every voice, to seize every opportunity.

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It’s a special occasion when two of the Bay Area’s best ensembles join forces.

This was the case for Thursday’s performance of “In Winter’s Glow,” when New Century Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Girls Chorus met to great effect.

The Dec. 11 Christmas concert at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley showed the groups in their best light, with only a couple of famous carols in the mix. Both groups gravitate toward unusual repertory and have signature sounds that envelop and energize the listener — and it turns out that they mix brilliantly.

The Girls Chorus’ top level group is a wonder. These are teenagers who sing like professionals, perform confidently and freely, project words clearly, radiate a love of music and navigate difficult part-writing with ease. You will wait in vain for a tentative entrance, wavering pitch, any sign at all that these singers are, you know, kids.

Part of the credit goes to their SFGC training and Artistic Director Valérie Sainte-Agathe, who has molded their sound expertly. But make no mistake, each of these girls has become a superior musician in her own right.

The Girls Chorus made a breathtaking entrance in a traditional Christmas concert procession, singing William Billings’s “Bethlehem” (“While shepherds watched their flocks by night”). Listeners were able to appreciate the group’s balanced sound as it filled the church, and also the nearest singers’ individual parts.

Then the singers took up Benjamin Britten’s “A Wealdon Trio” (a rarity based on a Ford Madox Ford poem in a regional Sussex dialect) and Ola Gjeilo’s beautiful “Northern Lights” without a conductor. Saint-Agathe was in the seats and didn’t need to do much.

The New Century Chamber Orchestra made the most of its full-bodied, well-balanced and deeply penetrating sound in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins in B Minor, RV 580. They also shone in Edward Elgar’s “Serenade for Strings,” a work that plays to their strengths. The 1892 work, written as a birthday present to Elgar’s wife, Alice, is unfailingly beautiful but also unassuming, melodically rich and, like a true serenade, meant to seduce. Fortunately, this orchestra possesses a true pianissimo, and the dynamic range of their performance was thrilling.

John Rutter’s “Suite for Strings” proved to be a delightful surprise. The 12-minute romp through four English folksongs, including the still well-known “O, Waly Waly,” featured sweet solos by Music Director and Concertmaster Daniel Hope.

The groups collaborated on two modern carols by Gordon Getty, to whom the orchestra has dedicated its season, in recognition of his consistent philanthropic support. Getty is at his best in these melodic gems, with their homey, traditional sentiments in lyrics written by the composer. The frenetic, outdoor scene of “Candles on the Tree” is tremendous fun when sung by a youth chorus. The groups complement each other, thanks to the orchestra’s ability to play under the singers without sacrificing tone.

Jake Heggie’s collection of works, “On the Road to Christmas,” was written for NCCO early in the San Francisco composer’s career. The chorus sang two songs from it: a setting of “I Wonder as I Wander” and Heggie’s original “Christmas Time of Year,” with swinging music and lyrics that would not sound out of place on a Bing Crosby album. 

Another San Francisco composer, David Conte, was represented Thursday evening by his “Two Winter Scenes,” through-composed pieces with a warm, welcoming heart.

Even the encore was unusual: “Balulalow,” an English folksong with music by Peter Warlock, best known from its appearance on Sting’s Christmas album, “If, on a Winter’s Night.”

Don’t let the slightly offbeat repertory stop you. This is a rare and wonderful concert not to be missed.