History and Achievements
Beautiful sound, stellar musicianship and dynamic programming
The Young Women’s Choral Projects prides itself on consistently beautiful sound, stellar musicianship and dynamic programming. YWCP has won many accolades for its performances over the years—explore our achievements!
Founded
March 7, 2012
Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco
First performance
October 1, 2012
Journey of a Lifetime
Performed with Keith Terry and Crosspulse — Berkeley and San Francisco
March 1, 2013
Sang on the San Francisco Opera stage
June 1, 2013
With Jake Heggie and Frederica von Stade
Toured to Italy
June 1, 2013
Started Allegro Chorus
September 1, 2013
Performed with Wesla Whitfield and Mike Greensill at our Second Annual Gala in San Francisco
October 1, 2013
Premiered “Another Secret eQuation” by Terry Riley with the Kronos Quartet at CalPerformances (Berkeley)
December 1, 2013
West Coast Premiere
Premiered “Ave Maris Stella” by Frank La Rocca
December 13, 2013
World Premiere
Performed under the direction of Vance George
March 1, 2014
SF Symphony Chorus Conductor Emeritus
Performed on Composers’ Inc. !BAMM! Festival Concert
April 1, 2014
Performed with Clerestory
May 1, 2014
A professional men’s chorus
Toured to the East Coast — Boston, Rhode Island and New York City
June 1, 2014
Began the YWCP Choral Fellow Program
August 1, 2014
Started Prelude Chorus
September 1, 2014
Performed with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade
October 26, 2014
At the 3rd Annual YWCP Gala
Won The American Prize in Choral Performance
November 1, 2014
High school and youth division
Performed with performance artist Moira Smiley in San Francisco
March 1, 2015
And her ensemble, VOCO
Performed in Benjamin Britten’s Noyes Fludde
March 1, 2015
With Fremont Opera
Won the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award From Chorus America and the American Composers Forum
April 1, 2015
Dale Warland, founder of Dale Warland Singers; conductor Susan McMane; composer Karen P. Thomas; and American Composer’s Forum CEO, John Nuechterlein
Toured to Germany
June 1, 2015
Started Arietta Singers
September 1, 2015
A non-auditioned class for Kindergarten and 1st-grade girls.
Performed with soprano Christine Brewer
October 1, 2015
at the 4th Annual YWCP Gala
Premiered “Qui creavit coelum” by Frank La Rocca
December 1, 2015
World Premiere (YWCP’s first commission)
Sang a solo performance at the California All-State Music Educator’s Conference
February 1, 2016
At the California All-State Music Educator’s Conference.
YWCP’s First Annual Treble Choir Festival
April 1, 2016
Premiered Dale Warland Singers Commission, “A Singer’s Path,” by Karen P. Thomas
May 1, 2016
World Premiere
Toured to the Pacific Northwest
June 1, 2016
Seattle and the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Victoria
Sang Igor Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms”
October 1, 2016
At Cal Performances (Berkeley) with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting
Released our first album
November 1, 2016
Rejoice! at Skywalker Sound Studio
Joined San Francisco Symphony for the annual Deck the Hall concerts
December 20, 2016
Performed Berlioz’s Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, Maestro Charles Dutoit, conducting
May 20, 2017
Toured to Slovenia, Austria, and Hungary
June 26, 2017
Won Adventurous Programming Award from ASCAP/Chorus America
July 20, 2017
In recognition of YWCP’s commitment to programming works of living composers, in the youth/children’s chorus category
Workshopped new opera “Abraham in Flames” by Niloufar Talebi and Aleksandra Vrebalov
October 3, 2017
Performed at Western Division ACDA Conference
March 15, 2018
The Young Women’s Chorus was chosen as a featured performer in a Concert Session.
Performed at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco
March 19, 2018
The Young Women’s Chorus was an invited artist to open this Manhattan Concerts Production performance in San Francisco’s stunning Grace Cathedral.
Performed at Carnegie Hall
June 24, 2018
The Young Women’s Chorus sang a “Spotlight Performance” of their own solo repertoire onstage at Carnegie Hall, as well as performed with other youth choirs at a Manhattan Concert Productions Children’s Choir festival.
Performed Under the Direction of Ragnar Bohlin
October 20, 2018
The Young Women’s Chorus perform Arvo Pärt’s “Te Deum” with the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus and 21 string players with Ragnar Bohlin conducting.
YWCP Performs “Home Alone” with the San Francisco Symphony
December 19, 2018
Singers from Allegro Chorus, Vivo Chorus, and the Young Women’s Chorus sing 3 performances of Home Alone with the SF Symphony, SF Symphony Chorus, and Ragazzi Boys Chorus at Davies Symphony Hall.
YWC Premieres the full length opera “Abraham in Flames”
May 9, 2019
YWC premieres a full-length opera by composer Aleksandra Vrebalov and creator-librettist Niloufar Talebi in which the Young Women’s Chorus is the protagonist-performed at Z Space in San Francisco.
YWC singers perform “L’enfant et les sortilèges” with the San Francisco Symphony
June 27, 2019
Fifteen of our singers from the Young Women’s Chorus perform Ravel’s “L’enfant et les sortilèges” with the San Francisco Symphony.
Tour to South Africa
July 3, 2019
YWC spent 12 days touring South Africa, traveling to Johannesburg, Pilanesberg, George, Hermanus, and Cape Town.
Won Margaret Hillis Award from Chorus America for Choral Excellence
April 1, 2020
YWCP was named the recipient of the 2020 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America for their artistic excellence, strong organizational structure, financial stability for a significant period of time, and a commitment to outreach, education, and/or culturally diverse activities.
Performed with the San Francisco Ballet Trainees at Grace Cathedral
February 19, 2022
Tour to France
June 24, 2022
YWC spend 12 days touring France, traveling to Aix-en-Provence, Saint André-d’Apchon, Chartres, and Paris.
Martín Benvenuto appointed as interim Artistic Director
August 1, 2022
YWC performs “Souls of Resilience”
October 30, 2022
First performance under the new interim Artistic Director, Martín Benvenuto
Premiered new piece by Ukrainian composer Iryna Aleksiychuk
May 11, 2023
Joined commission consortium to create a new piece by Ukrainian composer Iryna Aleksiychuk, to be premiered in SF on May 21
YWC premieres “The Bird her punctual music brings,” a commissioned piece in honor of Susan McMane by Chicago-based composer Stacy Garrop.
May 21, 2023
