San Francisco Girls Chorus

This week’s postcard features composer and cellist Theresa Wong and pianist Sarah Cahill, collaborators for an audio podcast composition centered around Premier Ensemble choristers' experiences during the pandemic. An excerpt from Theresa Wong’s SFGC-commissioned composition, set to words written by Premier Ensemble members and recorded live with Sarah Cahill using JackTrip Virtual Studio, will be featured on KALW radio's "Revolutions Per Minute" on Sunday, June 13 at 8:00 p.m. PST. This podcast, hosted by Sarah Cahill, will also include live interviews with several Premier Ensemble choristers.

How did you first learn about SFGC?

THERESA: I first became aware of SFGC many years ago when I met Lisa Bielawa, the former artistic director, through our mutual friend composer and performer Carla Kihlstedt.

SARAH: I’ve known about SFGC since the mid-80s, when I was writing concert and album reviews, and have happily attended many SFGC concerts in the years since then. The chorus just keeps getting better and better!

Theresa Wong performing The Unlearning (photo by Lenny Gonzales) — Theresa Wong performing *The Unlearning* (photo by Lenny Gonzales)

How did you become a musician and a composer?

THERESA: Music was my first love as a child. I studied classical piano and cello, played in youth orchestras and also sang in my school chorus. When I got to college however, there were so many other subjects I wanted to explore! I ended up studying design at Stanford University, and loved the practice of combining invention with hands-on building. I spent a couple years in Austria studying visual art and graphic design and then got a fellowship at an Italian design center called Fabrica. While working there and living in Venice, Italy, I had my first exposure to experimental and improvised music. A lightbulb went off for me when I realized I could return to my passion for music in a creative way. I returned to the US and did a Masters at Mills College studying with people who have remained friends and inspirations like Fred Frith and Joan Jeanrenaud. Since graduating in 2006, I have dedicated myself to my artistic practice which involves performing as a cellist and vocalist, composing self-steered projects as well as commissioned works for adventurous ensembles like SFGC. My work spans a lot of interests including improvisation, composition, song forms, just intonation and multimedia.

SARAH: I was classically trained, and wanted to be a pianist from an early age. As a teenager I gravitated more towards poetry and writing, and then became a music critic and journalist. As soon as I started playing new music, I found my purpose as a pianist, and have commissioned more than sixty works, and recorded about twenty albums. So my musical career has had a few detours. I’m also the mother of a wonderful 23-year-old named Miranda, and have a weekly radio show at KALW, and am on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

How do you find your inspiration for bringing creativity and imagination into your work with young performers?

THERESA: It's easy to be inspired when you are working with such talented and open-minded young people! SFGC is a very rare and special ensemble because it has a long history of championing new music, and this courageous spirit is an enormous gift to any composer who seeks to go off the beaten path. Working with young performers is such a joy because there is such a pure sense of curiosity and discovery.

SARAH: Mainly by listening to them, and letting them guide the process. I also consult a lot with my daughter Miranda, to get insights into her generation. I have a firm belief in never underestimating young people.

Can you describe the work you are doing with the San Francisco Girls Chorus?

THERESA: I've created an audio podcast piece centered around the choristers' experiences during the pandemic. The piece is scored for the Premier Ensemble along with the brilliant pianist Sarah Cahill. For about five weeks from December 2020 to the end of January 2021, I sent the singers weekly prompts to answer about their lock-down experiences. The responses took form as audio, video, writing and visual art. With the increase in stress from so many factors this last year, I wanted the singers to have a place and time to digest, reflect and process what has been going on. I drew upon this material to create a sonic collage which contains composed songs, spoken reflections, vocal textures that they've composed and recordings they made of sounds from home. We'll also be sharing some of these sounds on Sarah's KALW radio show "Revolutions per Minute" and discussing the process with guest choristers. I've been so moved by all the wisdom and insights that all the singers have contributed and continually inspired by their determination to keep on singing in these difficult times!

SARAH: I’m very fortunate to be working with composer Theresa Wong on a new piece for the chorus and piano. Theresa gave a series of prompts to the singers, about their experience during the pandemic, and they responded with amazing written and spoken texts, as well as drawings, music, and more. Theresa gathered this material from the singers and created her new composition with it. We will debut an excerpt from this new work on my radio show, Revolutions Per Minute, on KALW, on June 13, and I will interview a few of the singers as well as Theresa. Valerie originally envisioned this as a work for radio, but it will also be for concert performance.

A lot of our choristers have parents who are not musicians - what would you like to tell them about what it means for a young person to be doing music?

THERESA: First of all, many thanks to all the parents who support their children's musical endeavors. Music teaches us so many things and helps us function on so many levels. They include discipline, coordination, emotional expression, math and social skills, teamwork and building self-confidence. But aside from all of those 'benefits', making music simply improves our sense of well-being and allows us to give something to others that is an essential part of being human.

SARAH: Music is vital for comfort, for inspiration, and for stretching our horizons. It acts as a counterbalance to the rough edges of everyday life. It nurtures the soul, and it disciplines the mind. Scientific studies show that kids who study music do better in math and have better cognitive skills. Being in a chorus teaches you to shine as an individual while also contributing to a greater community, in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Music can be a beacon through our entire lives.

For those girls who do wish to become professional musicians, is there anything you would like to share with them?

THERESA: Being an artist comes with many challenges - but the gift of living a life in music is so rich and full of indescribable joy! Connect your heart and your mind and let that guide you. You have to be tough and flexible to roll with the punches of financial instability, failure and doubt, but those things are part and parcel of a creative life. Many of the things you already learn in SFGC are valuable tools; hard work, discipline, passion, and creating a community of like-minded people who support and nourish you as an artist. Also connect with the work and lives of artists who are far away or no longer living as well...their examples can also be like friends beside you. There are so many ways to be a musician or composer - you can define for yourself what that means and there is not just one path to follow. When you commit to music, it is a lifelong friend that gives back infinitely!

SARAH: Find collaborative partners! I love how SFGC connects with the community by working with collaborative partners, and that is a great model for all of us. As Pauline Oliveros said to me once, “It’s not about the career, it’s about the community.” Also, learn skills like excellent writing, fundraising, home studio production, grant-writing—it’s all very useful in being a musician. Believe in yourself and be persistent and determined!

Why is it important to continue practicing music and have online performances in this time of pandemic?

THERESA: During this time, the importance of music has become even more focused and urgent, as a balm for the human spirit in times of suffering. Music is a source of comfort and healing for those who receive it. For us who make it, music provides an essential glue that connects and nourishes us and it is a special gift that we can give to others.

SARAH: We have to be prepared for when we can go back to performing concerts in person! We have to keep music in our lives, keep motivating each other, keep learning. The writer Isabel Allende describes her method: “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too. If she doesn’t show up invited, eventually she just shows up.” In other words, we can’t wait until the circumstances are ideal - we have to make the best use of the time we have now.

Anything you would like to add? Especially about the work with our choristers?

THERESA: I'm so grateful to have this opportunity to be working with the incredible creative team of SFGC and Sarah Cahill!

SARAH: Just that I’m very excited and honored to be working with the San Francisco Girls Chorus, and with Theresa Wong!

Postcard from Theresa Wong and Sarah Cahill