The Choir

CELEBRATING NEARLY FIVE DECADES OF CHORAL EXCELLENCE

For nearly 50 years, the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir has set the standard for ambitious, emotionally compelling choral performance in the Bay Area and beyond. Founded in 1978 by Dr. Harry Carter, then Director of Choral Activities at California State University Hayward (East Bay), SFBACC has built a reputation for tackling the most demanding and varied choral literature with sensitivity, power, and artistry.

Today, under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Buddy James, the choir continues to thrill audiences with performances that span the full sweep of the choral canon,  from the intricate polyphony of the Renaissance and Baroque to the lush Romanticism of Brahms and Bruckner, and from landmark 20th-century works by Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Penderecki, to vital new music by Bay Area composers Kirk Mechem, Donald Aird, David Conte, and Frank La Rocca. 

While best known for refined unaccompanied singing, the ensemble regularly collaborates with instrumentalists, including performances with both the Oakland and Redwood Symphony Orchestras.

A WORLD-CLASS ENSEMBLE, ROOTED IN COMMUNITY

“…the power and the quality of the singing were truly impressive. This is a choir of outstanding ability.” 

— San Mateo Daily Journey, February 22, 2025

SFBACC’s singers are among the Bay Area’s most dedicated and accomplished musicians. Roughly half are professional church, synagogue, or school musicians; the rest bring the choir’s music to life alongside careers in medicine, technology, education, and beyond. Several members of the Cal State East Bay Music Faculty have proudly called SFBACC home over the years.

The choir’s reach extends far beyond the Bay Area. SFBACC has embarked on 12 European concert tours, performing in 18 countries, participating in six EUROPA CANTAT festivals, and representing American choral music at the 1992 Zimriya International Choral Festival in Jerusalem. In 1994, the choir earned rave reviews performing at the prestigious Western Division Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Sacramento.