13 January 2025 Update: I had been wondering about this, and found an article about the Symphony Chorus on one of San Francisco’s npr and PBS member station’s website. The Symphony Chorus strike ended in December 2024 and you can read about it here. Fortunately, orchestral mismanagement is not disbanding the Symphony Chorus at this time, or at least for the next two years. I’d like to make one correction from the article: Chorus (capital C) is for a choral ensemble, such as San Francisco Symphony Chorus. The upper case C also denotes respect for the Chorus, since some (many?) people see a Chorus as second class musicians. Then chorus (lower case c) is for the chorus of a song. A song has verses and a chorus in many cases. They are two different words (It’s Chorus, not chorus), but most of the time the wrong chorus word is used by most people, including music critics and people who write articles about classical music, who should know better. This is one of the first things I learned at the Conservatory where I trained. Apparently others didn’t have the same training. Well, I guess it depends upon where you go. (How many times have I written that?) Here’s their article: After Strike, SF Symphony and Chorus Members Reach Tentative Agreement. And for those who don’t click through to the article and only read this, below is an image of San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on stage courtesy of KQED. I hope they don’t mind my posting it. If they do, I’ll remove it. I remember being on that stage when I was in the Symphony Chorus when Vance George and Margaret Hillis were Chorus Directors. Well, Ms Hillis was Interim Chorus Director from Chicago (Founder and Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus) and then Vance became the permanent Chorus Director. He was wonderful; I have nothing but kind words for him. It was my first experience as a chorister being up above the Orchestra. With my experience in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall — with the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the University of Maryland Chorus — the Chorus was on stage behind the Orchestra. To tell you the truth, I preferred that. Being up above the Orchestra — as you can see from this picture — felt distanced, like we (the Chorus) was too far away from the Orchestra. We were essentially on the second story, I guess you could say. Or it seemed that way. And we had no contact with the orchestral musicians being up there. Whereas in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, we were directly behind the percussion and the brass musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra and international guest touring orchestras.

8 December 2024 Update: The San Francisco Symphony and Symphony Chorus were scheduled to perform Messiah on 6-7 December 2024. But since the Symphony Chorus is supposedly still on strike, it would appear that the performances were cancelled. I have found nothing about the performances — no reviews — so I assume they didn’t take place. That’s because orchestral mismanagement continue their disrespect for the Symphony Chorus and refuse to meet the demands of the musicians’ union, the American Guild of Musical Artists.

25 November 2024 Update: I got to thinking about this…Going back to what the music reviewer said about the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and their inconsistent vowel formations:  How is that possible with a Chorus of this expected caliber, *unless* the standards have been lowered.  I say that from experience. All the three Orchestra Choruses I sang with — Choral Arts Society of Washington, University of Maryland Chorus and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus — all the choristers knew (or were expected to know) the Latin text and we needed no training on vowel formations, which is, in part, why with the stellar 150-voice University of Maryland Chorus, for example, we didn’t rehearse with the text until less than a week before our performance with the Kennedy Center’s National Symphony Orchestra.  The University of Maryland Chorus was known for their very crisp diction so Dr Traver’s method worked extremely well. Then when we used the text, for new choristers, Dr Traver (one of my choral mentors) would say, “I want the K of Kyrie to be heard in the last row of the hall, not just in the orchestra seating. Otherwise it will sound like yrie and there is no such word.” He made sure we had very crisp consonants. Or as he would say, “Spit the consonants.” He did that type of thing with consonants throughout the piece. Dr Paul Traver drilled the Chorus most of the time on vowel sounds/syllables (such as do-do-do or bah-bah-bah, that type of thing replaced the syllables of the text).  We did not use the text for the piece we were working on in rehearsals until just before the performance.  The reasons for that were: to keep the text “fresh”/new — since it was new for us to be singing with the text in performance so we were all very alert to now using the text and not vowel sounds/syllables — and to continue to reinforce our correct vowel formations for the entire Chorus. Also, in rehearsals, Dr Traver knew we didn’t need to use the Latin text for a Requiem setting based on our auditions and the experience of each choristers he selected at our audition.  But with the Symphony Chorus, it sounds like some choristers have not sung the Latin Requiem text before — how can that be?; lowered standards? — and therefore they don’t know the correct vowel formations for each word of the text.  I saw and heard some choristers on the picket line that Margaret Hillis might refer to as “you sound like Church Choir sopranos,” which was not a compliment. I heard individual voices as well as noticeable vibrato/wobbling on occasion in their Verdi “performance” when they sang part of that in front of Davies Symphony Hall.  One of the former Chorus Directors, Vance George, was sitting there in solidarity with the Chorus. He was sitting in front of the Chorus/picket line and at the time I wondered what he was thinking about what he was hearing such as the ugly vibrato (as I recall, it was coming from a soprano, which is usually the case from my experience; sopranos seem to have the worst trouble controlling their voice and noticeable vibrato) as well as voices sticking out.  My choral friend heard it and pointed it out and asked, “Is that because they’re singing outside and it’s noisy?” I dismissed that. I remember on one occasion the Symphony Chorus sang a deliberately schmaltzy and heavy-vibrato version of “Happy Birthday” to Vance and he said in response, “Well thank you very much for that, but we won’t be needing that vibrato again.” Everyone laughed. Of course Vance remained polite and said nothing in front of the picket line at Davies Symphony Hall, but I know that he heard what I was hearing and that’s not how he prepared us in the San Francisco Symphony Chorus.  So again, I’m wondering if the standards have been lowered and that is part of the reason why mismanagement does not want to put any more money into the Chorus and/or plans to or wants to disband the Chorus?  That may or may not happen, but it won’t at all surprise me if it does. Did they read the review of the Fauré Requiem?

19 November 2024 Update: I read a review of the Fauré Requiem performance, or the performance that the reviewer went to. It was wonderful to read that the orchestral musicians in solidarity with their Chorus gave their Symphony Chorus a long ovation on stage before the performance began. As for the Chorus’s performance, it was not good. The reviewer wrote (I’m paraphrasing): It was difficult to find much beauty in their performance despite this being a beautiful piece (see the performance I posted from The Trinity Chapel Choir from Cambridge University in the UK, down the page). And Kazuki Yamada’s, the guest conductor, didn’t help matters with his first downbeat. It was not clear for the choral entrance and the Chorus “pulled apart.” The reviewer wrote of “Yamada’s first downbeat — a gesture too ambiguous for the unison declamation to land.” The choral entrance is not in unison. I had originally typed that from what she wrote, but I questioned it and had to check the score and have made that correction. The piece begins with the choral entrance — a d minor chord — of first and second bass (on d and f below Middle C), first and second tenor (on a and d), alto on f (above Middle C) and the sopranos on a. I used lower case letters because the piece begins in the key of d minor. I guess to some listeners the beginning (text: Requiem aeternam) might sound like it’s in unison if all one hears is the soprano section. I’m not saying that was the case in this performance, but that’s a guess. Also, the textures of the piece were “muddy” and phrases had no direction and the tempi were extremely slow. The Chorus sang with inconsistent vowel formations — oh dear, that’s not good; that’s amateurish — and the occasional individual voices were heard. Not good. That is not at all what one expects of a credible and well-prepared Orchestra Chorus of a major symphony orchestra. Chorus Director Jenny Wong prepared the Chorus. Or did she? The reviewer said that it sounded like the Chorus was sight-reading. Maybe they were. Maybe they had had no rehearsals because they were on strike. I would think that most of the choristers would have previously sung the piece in their extensive choral experience, so it shouldn’t have been new to them. But if there were no rehearsals to work on diction, phrasing, ensemble, polish and other aspects of choral excellence, then this is what you get.

Note to Symphony Chorus: Stop performing, if you want to maintain any credibility in your supposed ongoing strike. I can’t recall any group being on strike and going to work at the same time, can you? Insanity. You’re either on strike or you’re not.

18 November 2024 Update: So I told my choral friend that the Symphony Chorus performed the Fauré Requiem, which I had not expected them to do because they’re still on strike, correct? Yes, because choristers were picketing in front of Davies Symphony Hall last night and they have not had their grievances addressed to their satisfaction. I can’t recall any group being on strike and going to work at the same time, can you? Who does that? The San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Insanity. My choral friend was left shaking his head as well. He didn’t understand it either. He said, “How lame. They’re just like Democrats who talk out of both sides of their mouth about the convicted felon. And one heard a lot of that during the recent presidential campaign from Harris and Biden in reference to the convicted felon and rapist, and some of us began to see Kamala Harris quite differently than we had from the start. For example, she told the convicted felon after he allegedly won the election “to unite the nation.” What drugs is she on to think that he has any intention of uniting the nation after the nonstop hate and divisiveness that he spewed during the campaign at his cult rallies? And after what she said about him — that he wants to be a tyrant and a dictator (which he does) — during the campaign? What is wrong with her? Biden did the same type of thing. This past week, Biden had a back-slapping meeting with the piece of trash/the convicted felon/rapist*** too as if they were best of friends and buddies. Their meeting was described as “gracious.” [scream] This is Insanity. So with the Symphony Chorus: They caved into mismanagement and performed the Fauré. [Sigh] Rather than standing strong and with principles. Does the Symphony Chorus live under delusions that if they gave in to mismanagement and performed the Fauré and then Messiah in December — are they going to cave in and perform that too? — that mismanagement won’t disband them? Ha! Let’s tell it like it is: No matter how much the San Francisco Symphony Chorus eats the ass of mismanagement, if mismanagement want to disband the Symphony Chorus, they will. Period. Is the Symphony Chorus going to cave in and perform Messiah in December? You’re losing credibility with your so-called strike. I had thought that the Chorus would not be performing the rest of the season because of mismanagement’s disdain for the Chorus and their decisions regarding the American Guild of Musical Artists and their legitimate demands.

***Regarding the convicted felon/rapist: “He’s a rapist who was convicted of 34 counts for falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments made to keep an adult film actress quiet about his own extramarital affair.”—The New Republic

17 November 2024 Update: It appears that the Symphony Chorus performed or is performing the Fauré Requiem as of this writing. That’s surprising. I’m not sure why they’re doing that. Some choristers formed a picket line outside Davies Symphony Hall before the performance. Their current status/levels have been agreed to by mismanagement. Mismanagement has refused to explain why they could not give the American Guild of Musical Artist choristers raises of any kind or performing guarantees after July 2026.” Mismanagement also want to reduce Symphony Chorus performances from 26 to 23 in the current season, resulting in a 7.5% reduction in compensation ($22,053 to $20,411), but vows [Ed. oh there’s that word “vows”; watch out when someone “vows” as it usually means they’ll do the opposite like most politicians do] to proceed with any scheduled choral concerts. Does that sound like an organisation that is interested in having a Chorus? Not to me it doesn’t. It sounds like they ultimately (and slowly?) want to get rid of you. I sense that mismanagement doesn’t give a fuck about the Symphony Chorus. It’s too bad that the San Francisco Symphony can’t manage itself as some orchestras do and fire all of these elitist basura of mismanagement who think they know best. Trash.

Self-governing/co-operative structure orchestras:

By the way, here’s a list of some self-governing/co-operative structure orchestras: the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in New York City, the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra in the District of Columbia, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the New Philharmonia Orchestra.

10 November 2024 Update: Well, I heard an ad earlier today from the San Francisco Symphony promoting their Fauré Requiem performances in mid November 2024. I presume the Symphony Chorus remains on strike, so why the ads? So mismanagement can cancel the performances at the last minute as they did the Verdi? I was reading comments about this on reddit and everyone was using the wrong chorus word (they were all using lower case c). Some Conservatory training for you (I learned this in my Freshmen year): Lower case c for chorus is the chorus that is part of a hymn or a song, as in “let’s sing the chorus now.” No one was using the word Chorus (capital C) as I and the San Francisco Symphony use when referring to their Chorus and not using their full name. Someone wrote, “San Francisco Symphony chorus.” Why the lower case c there? What is wrong with people? Our society’s language use has really become fucked up. I think, in part, because of typing on so-called “social media” and the sloppy and abbreviated language used on there. I’m constantly reading the word “your” being used for “you’re.” I guess it’s part of the dumbing down of our society, and the same for the word Chorus versus chorus.

(4 November 2024). I can’t find anything new online of an official capacity about the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, so I assume things are as they were when the Symphony Chorus went on strike before the Verdi Messa de Requiem performances, supported by the San Francisco Symphony musicians. From what I read online, orchestral mismanagement refuse to negotiate with the Symphony Chorus. So that’s where things stand apparently. One commenter said that mismanagement is trying to, “destroy the Chorus.” Well, that won’t surprise me to be honest. I think the Symphony Chorus may ultimately be disband, and I’ve thought that since the strike began. The Chorus is scheduled to perform the Fauré Requiem in mid November 2024. I assume they’re not rehearsing for it because they remain on strike. Those performances may be cancelled at the last minute, just as the Verdi performances were cancelled at the last minute. Then the Chorus is scheduled to perform Messiah in December. No loss there if that doesn’t happen, in my opinion. It’s time to give that over-performed oratorio a rest. That thing is dragged out every year at this time. Aren’t people sick of it yet? If they were performing Ralph Vaughan Williams’s very neglected symphonic choral work, Hodie, I wouldn’t say that. If the Chorus is disband, when mismanagement programmes a symphonic choral work in the future on the odd occasion, I guess they would invite a local Chorus to perform with them, just like the Kennedy Center’s National Symphony Orchestra does. There is the San Francisco Choral Society, but I’ve not heard them to know their quality level or whether they match the level of excellence of the SF Symphony, but, would mismanagement care about the level of choral excellence at this point? I’m not convinced that they would. As I recall, before the Symphony Chorus was founded at the suggestion of Seiji Ozawa, the San Francisco Symphony invited the Stanford University Chorus to perform with them. Maybe they would start doing that again. Well, their official name is the 180-voice Stanford Symphonic Chorus.