Since its founding in 2006, sixty-voice Chora Nova has become an important part of the San Francisco Bay Area’s cultural fabric. Based in Berkeley, California, it is known as a chorus that presents innovative programs featuring a mix of well-known and unusual works. Programs such as Baroque masterpieces by Kuhnau (Fall 2008) and Zelenka (Fall 2008 and Spring 2013) or the contemporary cantata St. Nicholas by Benjamin Britten (Fall 2007) are prime examples. We presented the rarely-heard Mass in D Minor by Hummel in the 2012-13 season and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater in the 2013-14 season.
Our singers come from all parts of the San Francisco Bay region and from all walks of life. This diverse group has grown in skill and quality under the leadership of Dr. Paul Flight, who has been it Artistic Director since its inception. The chorus presents three concerts per year, in November, March, and May. Auditions are required for entry into the chorus. See the Auditions page for more information.
Concerts have included music that is modern and ancient, all accompanied by professional instrumentalists. The 2006-2007 inaugural season included performances of little-known and rarely performed works by Michael Haydn, the lesser-known brother of Franz Joseph Haydn, a concert of part songs and love songs by eighteenth and nineteenth century composers, and Mozart’s Solemn Vespers. This ambitious debut season was followed by repertoire that has included Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem in a chamber setting by Brahms himself, songs by women composers, works by Kodály, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle and Faure’s Requiem. Our recently concluded eighth season featured Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, a program of British music titled Of Home and Far Horizons: Music of the British Isles, and an all-Zelenka program featuring his Litaniae de Venerabile Sacramento, De Profundis, and the Gloria from Missa dei Filii.
