(Ch)oral Argument

Description

Volti - San Francisco's leading-edge new music vocal ensemble - premieres a major new work by Ted Hearne. The Los Angeles Times has said, “No single artist embodies the post-genre Brooklyn scene, but Hearne may be its most zealous auteur.”

“Can a corporation be human? If a corporation is a human, where does that leave you and me? Are we just machines?” These are the questions Ted Hearne is asking in “Sound from the Bench,” a major new work co-commissioned by Volti and The Crossing in Philadelphia. The San Francisco Symphony has just named Hearne its New Voices composer for 2014/15 -- hear him here first as Volti sings the World Premiere of “Sound from the Bench.”

Working with poet Jena Osman, Hearne muses on the nature of human speech, using poetry taken from the Citizens United oral argument before the Supreme Court. Guitarists Taylor Levine and James Moore and percussionist Ron Wiltrout join Volti in a rare departure from a cappella, carrying out the human/non-human theme -- the singers are using the most natural instrument there is, while the guitars are harnessing currents and circuits to make what is essentially electronic music.

Also on the program:
"The Oath of Allegiance" -- the pledge that is taken by all new citizens of the United States -- makes Australian-born Melissa Dunphy, the daughter of a Greek father and a Chinese mother, think about what it means to be a US citizen. World Premiere, Volti Commission.

"Winging Wildly" -- an extraordinarily beautiful and passionate three-song set from San Francisco’s own Kirke Mechem, "the dean of American choral composers," co-commissioned by Volti when we were The San Francisco Chamber Singers back in the 1990s. And we premiere Mechem's "We Can Sing That!" -- a lighthearted tribute to what a chorus can do.

Eclectic, fascinating, gorgeous -- Volti -- the best music you've never heard!

More Info

Link

http://voltisf.org/volti/

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415.771.3352 (Box Office)

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