Michael Zwiebach is the senior editor/content manager for SFCV. He assigns all articles and content, manages the writing staff, and does editing. A member of SFCV from the beginning, Michael holds a Ph.D. in music history from the University of California, Berkeley.
One thing that co-founder and lutenist David Tayler wants you to know about the group’s upcoming “Venetian Vespers” concert: It’s going to be fun ... exactly what you want this time of year amidst the cookie-cutter carols concerts.
Smuin Ballet avoids the whole Nutcracker scrum every year by doing a program they call The Christmas Ballet. It’s the opposite of traditional, despite its 20th anniversary this year.
There is a particularly Episcopalian (Anglican) Christmas service sometimes titled “Festival of Lessons and Carols.” In San Francisco, it makes you think of Grace Cathedral, where the Choir of Men and Boys celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Here’s a season-appropriate playlist for all those who have overdosed on carols relentlessly piped through shopping malls and other offices and public spaces. We’ve brought some seasonal favorites together for you to include it in your holiday mix.
Here, SFCV celebrates the life of Nelson Mandela through the many songs that were written for him and about him. There are dozens from which to choose, and many of them became rallying signals in the fight against the apartheid regime of South Africa.
O.K., maybe you’re thinking King Wenceslas not Henry VIII, but you can usually trust California Bach Society choral director Paul Flight’s inventive programming, so don’t judge this concert by its title.
If you’re at all moved by early music, you won’t want to pass up the chance to hear the San Francisco Bach Choir sing William Byrd’s motet O magnum mysterium along with a selection of Michael Praetorius Christmas carols.
