San Francisco Bay Area Chamber
Choir
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About the Choir
Now under the direction of Dr. David Stein, the choir specializes in a cappella works of masters of the past and significant modern composers. The group has also performed large-scale works with orchestra and a variety of lighter works including American folk songs and spirituals. The choir's repertoire has varied from Renaissance and Baroque choral works to the lush Romanticism of Brahms and Bruckner, to the 20th century works of Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Penderecki, as well as local composers such as Kirk Mechem, Donald Aird, David Conte, and Frank La Rocca. Although its concerts are almost always a cappella, the choir has performed with piano and organ and with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra. The choir usually maintains a roster of 40-45 singers. About half of the choir members are church or synagogue musicians or music educators; the rest work in fields such as medicine, accounting, teaching, and computer programming, but are also very highly skilled and dedicated musicians. Several members of the Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) Music Faculty have been choir members over the years.
In addition to regular performances in the San Francisco Bay Area, the choir has made 11 European concert tours with performances in 17 countries including participation in 6 EUROPA CANTAT festivals and the 1992 Zimriya International Choral Festival in Jerusalem. In 1994, the choir was invited to perform at the Western Division Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Sacramento, California, and received rave reviews. More recently, the choir performed works by composers Frank La Rocca and Leo Nestor in Composers Inc concerts of new American music in 2004 and 2006. For the past several years, we've also participated in the City of Hayward's annual festive "Light Up the Season" event in early December to kick off the holiday season. The choir rehearses at Faith Lutheran Church in Castro Valley, CA on Sunday evenings from 6-9 PM. We begin rehearsing in September for our annual Fall concerts in November, and begin rehearsing in January for our annual Spring concerts in April. About Steven Brunsvold, SFBACC's Fall 2010 Guest Director We are pleased to have Steven Brunsvold back as our guest director for our Fall 2010 concerts. Steven was also our guest director this Spring, leading us in April performances of our program entitled "Love and the Unknown" in Alameda and Fremont. Steven began singing at an early age, and was bitten by the performing bug at the age of 13 when, with two of his friends, he won first place in a talent show. The three friends continued performing together for eight years. His love of music, and specifically of choral singing, led Steven to California State University at Hayward (CSUH), where he earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in music, and a California Teaching Credential. At CSUH he studied music history and choral performance practices with Dr. David Stein and conducting with Denis de Coteau and Dr. Harry Carter. Steven directed high school choruses for several years and was subsequently invited to lead the Oakland Youth Chorus (OYC). He advanced the OYC's musicianship, obtained corporate sponsorships for the organization, helped the OYC become a non-profit corporation, led annual tours, and established the organization's national reputation. The crowning achievement with this ensemble was their performance that opened the 1981 national convention of the American Choral Directors Association in New Orleans. Following his tenure with the OYC, Steven left the music profession for a career in business and technology. He later worked as a consultant, and retired in 2007. He is pleased to once again be involved in choral music. About David Stein, SFBACC Music Director Dr. Stein is a life member of the American Choral Directors Association, and has served that organization as national chairman of the Committee on Choral Repertoire and Standards - College and University. Other professional affiliations include Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honorary Society, American Musicological Society, Music Educators National Conference, California Music Educators Association, College Music Society, and Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. He makes frequent appearances as adjudicator, guest conductor, lecturer and clinician at national, regional, and local conventions and festivals. Dr. Stein has published numerous editions of choral works by the Austrian composers Michael Haydn and Anton Adlgasser, and the German composers J. E. Bach and Johan Ernst Eberlin, as well as articles and numerous reviews of choral works and CDs in professional journals. He was honoroed by CSUH as a recipient of the Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Award. To futher his interest in learning more choral repertoire from around the world, he has participated in Europa Cantat choral festivals held in France, Hungary, Spain, and Denmark, and attended World Symposium of Choral Music conferences held in Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Canada, Australia and The Netherlands, and the Zimriya in Israel. During the summer of 1998, Dr. Stein conducted the CSUH Chamber Singers on a tour to Europe, singing concerts in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland. About Harry Carter, SFBACC Founder
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Reach us at sfbacc@sfbaychoir.org .
The San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir was founded in 1978 by
Dr. Harry Carter, then Director of Choral Activities at California State
University Hayward, now 
David Stein is Professor
Emeritus of Music and former Director of Choral Activities at California
State University, Hayward. Since retiring in 2002, after being on
the faculty since 1971, he continues to teach half-time music history and
literature classes and seminars, and is Coordinator of Graduate Studies
for the Music Department. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from
St. Olaf College and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts
degrees from the University of Illinois. Prior to coming to CSUH, he
taught high school choral music in Wisconsin and Minnesota and served as a
graduate teaching assistant at the University of Illinois.
Dr. Harry Carter, who
founded the choir in 1978, retired as director of the choir in 2003 after 25
years of dedication and service. Dr. Carter received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Illinois
and joined the music faculty at California State University, Hayward, shortly thereafter.
He retired several years ago as Professor of Music and Chairman of Vocal/Choral Activities after twenty-seven years of service. Dr. Carter has always had an enduring
interest in international choral activities and has organized choral directors' exchanges
with Argentina, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, and Venezuela.