April 24-25, 7:30-9:30pm both days
The San Francisco Choral Society opens its 2026 season with the world premiere of Signs of Grace, a newly-commissioned work by Ukrainian composer Oleksandr Shchetynsky and All-Night Vigil, Op. 37 (Vespers) by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Artistic Director Robert Geary leads the ensemble in a program that also features Silvie Jensen, mezzo soprano, and David Kurtenbach Rivera, tenor, as guest soloists.
Written more than a century apart, these works by Rachmaninoff and Shchetynsky reflect two distinct musical styles while drawing on a shared spiritual and cultural heritage. Signs of Grace is written for a cappella mixed choir and draws on texts from Psalms and the Gospel of Matthew. Commissioned by SF Choral in honor of the people of Ukraine, this work marks an ongoing collaboration with the composer following the August 2023 U.S. premiere of his Requiem as part of the ensemble's Summer Festival Chorus program at Davies Symphony Hall.
Shchetynsky's music has been performed across Europe and North America by such ensembles as the Moscow Helikon-Opera, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Warsaw Philharmonic. Two albums featuring his music have been released including the 2011 NAXOS recording New Sacred Music from Ukraine and the 2016 Labor recording Ukraine: Journey to Freedom. In 2000, his chamber opera Annunciation was awarded the prestigious Russian National Theatre Prize, Gold Mask, in the category of innovation and follows awards at the International Witold Lutoslawski Competition in Poland, Henri Dutilleux Competition in France and the Gustav Mahler Competition in Austria.
$40 to $65.
Presented by San Francisco Choral Society.