SFGC Makes Carnegie Hall Debut with Philip Glass Ensemble

SAN FRANCISCO GIRLS CHORUS MAKES CARNEGIE HALL DEBUT
WITH PHILIP GLASS ENSEMBLE IN MUSIC WITH CHANGING PARTS
FEBRUARY 16

REPEAT PERFORMANCE  IN DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL PRESENTED BY
SAN FRANCISCO PERFORMANCES
FEBRUARY 20

San Francisco Girls Chorus
Photo Credit: Carlin Ma

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 12, 2018 – The San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC), led by Music Director and Principal Conductor Valérie Sainte-Agathe, will make its Carnegie Hall debut alongside the Philip Glass Ensemble on Friday, February 16, 8:00 p.m. with a rare performance of the composer’s groundbreaking 1970 work Music With Changing Parts. The program will be repeated in San Francisco on Tuesday, February 20, 7:30 p.m. in Davies Symphony Hall under the auspices of San Francisco Performances.
 
Music with Changing Parts was originally composed for the Philip Glass Ensemble. This new performance, which will include SFGC and a brass section from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, was arranged by Philip Glass Ensemble Music Director Michael Riesman, SFGC Artistic Director Lisa Bielawa and composer Philip Glass. For the past 26 years, Bielawa has served as vocalist and keyboardist with the Philip Glass Ensemble and will appear as keyboardist in these performances alongside the chorus in this newly arranged version. Through recent collaborations with SFGC, Philip Glass has become familiar with the chorus and notes that it will “be a pleasure to be working with such a talented and wonderfully trained group of young women.”
 
These performances will mark the second occasion this season that SFGC have performed the music of Philip Glass as part of the nationwide activities for the composer’s 80th birthday celebration. In October 2017, Philip Glass Ensemble members Michael Riesman and Andrew Sterman joined SFGC for a season opening concert that was praised by the Bay Area Reporter as “ambitiously planned and perfectly executed.” Commenting specifically on this unique collaboration, the Bay Area Reporter went on to say “Traveling in such esteemed company is a well-earned result of the organization's enduring vision.”

SFGC's debut at Carnegie Hall coincides with the February 16 release of its next album, Final Answer, on Orange Mountain Music. While in New York, SFGC will perform a release concert at Le Poisson Rouge on February 13 featuring selected works from the album.

Artistic Director Lisa Bielawa
Photo Credit: Carlin Ma

Speaking about the upcoming February performances, Artistic Director Lisa Bielawa said, “Everything about this program represents a culmination of SFGC’s artistic vision - our commitment to being an advocate and champion for the music of our time, showcasing our extraordinary young women on the world’s biggest stages, and collaborating with leading artists, ensembles, and organizations.” Bielawa added, “As one of my final projects as Artistic Director of SFGC, I cannot think of program that better synthesizes all that this organization has strived to achieve than this.”

Valérie Sainte-Agathe
Photo Credit: Joe Fanvu

“The engagement represents a major milestone for SFGC,” added Music Director & Principal Conductor Valérie Sainte-Agathe, “The opportunity to continue to serve as a cultural ambassador for the Bay Area while presenting the unique, powerful sound of our young women at Carnegie Hall is something this organization has looked forward to for a long time. Being able to do this alongside Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble will be an unforgettable experience – for the organization and for our choristers.”
 
This performance at Carnegie Hall marks the third time in as many years that SFGC has been presented on the East Coast. In June 2016, SFGC performed in concert with the Brooklyn-based orchestral collective, The Knights, for the NY PHIL BIENNIAL festival. And in April 2017, SFGC travelled to Washington, D.C. at the invitation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to perform, again with The Knights, on the Center’s acclaimed SHIFT Festival of American Orchestras. 
 
Single tickets for the New York performance on February 16 range in price from $14.50 to $95 and are available through Carnegie Hall at http://www.carnegiehall.com and 212.247.7800.
 
Single tickets for the San Francisco performance on February 20 range in price from $45 to $120 and are available through City Box Office at http://www.cityboxoffice.com and 415.392.4400.
 
CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
 
Carnegie Hall Presents
“Music With Changing Parts”
Featuring Philip Glass Ensemble and San Francisco Girls Chorus
 
Friday, February 16, 2018, 8 p.m.
Carnegie Hall, New York
 
Philip Glass: Music With Changing Parts
 
Single tickets range in price from $14.50 to $95 and can be purchased through Carnegie Hall at http://www.carnegiehall.com and 212.247.7800.
 
For more information, please visit carnegiehall.org.
 
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San Francisco Performances Presents
“Music With Changing Parts”
Featuring Philip Glass Ensemble and San Francisco Girls Chorus
 
Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco
 
Philip Glass: Music With Changing Parts
 
Single tickets range in price from $45 to $120 and can be purchased through City Box Office at http://www.cityboxoffice.com and 415.392.4400.
 
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About the San Francisco Girls Chorus
Now in its 39th year, the San Francisco Girls Chorus’s founding Artistic Director, Elizabeth Appling, prepared the first-ever chorus of girls to perform with the San Francisco Opera, an opportunity previously reserved only for boys. Founded with a vision to become an international-caliber chorus for young women, SFGC has grown into a renowned, industry-leading performing arts and music education organization. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director, Lisa Bielawa, and Music Director, Valerie Sainte-Agathe, SFGC serves nearly 300 choristers ages 5-18 from 45 cities and all 9 Bay Area counties each year. Served by a music faculty of 21 teaching artists and 7 administrators, the organization operates a professional-level performance, recording and touring ensemble; the four-level Chorus School training program; and a Preparatory Chorus.

SFGC collaborates annually with leading arts and cultural organizations including the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Film Festival, and the Kronos Quartet, among many others. The Chorus has toured to more than a dozen countries and performed at major national and international venues including the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama, New York’s Lincoln Center, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, the World Choral Symposium in Kyoto, Japan, the World Vision Children’s Choir Festival in Korea, and the Gateway to Music Festival in China. SFGC’s commitment to artistic excellence has been recognized through numerous awards, including five GRAMMY Awards and three ASCAP/Chorus America Awards for Adventurous Programming.

SFGC also owns and operates the Kanbar Performing Arts Center, a six-story hub for the arts in San Francisco’s Civic Center district that annually serves more than 30 arts organizations. SFGC’s current annual operating budget is $2.4 million.

PHOTO CREDITS
San Francisco Girls Chorus / Carlin Ma
Lisa Bielawa / Carlin Ma
Valérie Sainte-Agathe / Joe Fanvu
 
PRESS CONTACT
Brenden Guy, Marketing & PR Consultant
(415) 640-3165
brendenguy@gmail.com
marketing@sfgirlschorus.org