SF GIRLS CHORUS TO CONCLUDE SEASON WITH PREMIERES FOLLOWING NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC BIENNIAL DEBUT

NEW WORKS BY AARON JAY KERNIS, GABRIEL KAHANE, THEO BLECKMAN AND LISA BIELAWA PLUS MUSIC BY TIMO ANDRES AND THIERRY ESCAICH

JUNE 12 AT SF CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC

San Francisco, April 7, 2016 – Following its performance as part of the prestigious New York Philharmonic Biennial June 9 with The Knights chamber orchestra and Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the five-time Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus will return to San Francisco perform the new works featured in New York as it closes its 2015-2016 season. The concert, entitled Luminous Premieres, will feature newly commissioned works by Aaron Jay Kernis, Gabriel Kahane, Theo Bleckman and SF Girls Chorus Artistic Director Lisa Bielawa’s My Outstretched Hand with text by Mary MacLane, plus Timo Andres’ Comfort Food and Thierry Escaich’s Vocis caelestis (2009) with an instrumental chamber ensemble. The concert will be conducted by Music Director Valérie Sainte-Agathe Sunday, June 12, at 7 pm at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Tickets are priced $18-$36 and may be purchased at sfgirlschorus.org.

The season-closing concert features premieres created expressly for the San Francisco Girls Chorus by an engaging and diverse foursome of gifted American composers. Aaron Jay Kernis’ work was premiered by the New York Philharmonic when he was just 23 years old. Full of dramatic virtuosity, his style often features a dense and lush tonal palette with glorious melodies stacked one on top of another in sensual, sonic, heart-stirring constructions. Contemporary bard Gabriel Kahane’s pop-infused style has been praised for its beguiling and insightful lyrics, soul-touching simplicity, and contemporary relevance. Theo Bleckmann is a Munich-born jazz vocalist and composer whose work is playful yet sophisticated. Lisa Bielawa takes her inspiration from literary sources and close artistic collaborations and her work has been described as a combination of the layered precision of a Vermeer and the conscious recklessness of a Jackson Pollock. Completing the program is composer/pianist Timo Andres, who will accompany his serene meditation on comfort foods, inspired by a list of them from friends.

MEDIA CONTACT Scott Horton Communications 510-735-9200 Scott@SHCommunications.org