1930s – The Beginnings A choral renaissance began to unfold quietly in 1938 when Fred Waring invited twenty-two year old Robert Shaw to New York City to work with The Pennsylvanians on his radio show, Chesterfield Pleasure Time Show. The fifteen minute show aired live five nights a week, performed once for the East coast …
Continue reading Mentors and Memoirs: A choral story, 1938-2007
“After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music,” writes Aldous Huxley. True! Musicians know this with certainty, with enthusiasm, from the Greek, “en theos”, enlivens our inner god, our passionate inner self with a conviction of worthiness that gives life meaning. We make a difference in the world. And, we get …
Continue reading My life in choral music so farBy Dr. Susan Medley When the 2005–06 season closed for the San Francisco Symphony Chorus (SFSC) last summer, it marked the end of an era. Vance George, the conductor, who led them for 24 seasons, retired at the conclusion of the Chorus’s June Verdi Festival. Under George’s leadership the Chorus won four Grammy Awards, an …
Continue reading An interview with Vance George
