MEDIA CONTACT:
Scott Horton
(510) 735-9200
Bluescott260@hotmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO GIRLS CHORUS APRIL 11 GALA SUPPORTS ACCLAIMED PERFORMANCE AND EDUCATION ORGANIZATION

“ENCHANTED APRIL” AT PALACE HOTEL FEATURES CONCERT, DINNER AND MORE

POLICE CHIEF AND FIRE CHIEF HONORARY CHAIRS FOR EVENT
Celebrating 29 years as an internationally celebrated performing arts and music training organization, the three-time Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus 2007-2008 Season gala will be held Friday, April 11, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Palace Hotel. The black-tie event will feature cocktails, dinner, silent and live auctions and a performance by Chorissima, the professional level performance ensemble of the Girls Chorus and guest soloist alumna Rabihah Davis in the Beaux Arts splendor of the Palace Hotel’s rotunda, conducted by Artistic Director Susan McMane. The evening’s honorary Chairs are San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong and San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. Elizabeth Avakian, Director of the San Francisco Girls Chorus School, will be honored for her 25 years with the organization. Proceeds will benefit the San Francisco Girls Chorus scholarship fund.
The 2008 Gala is co-chaired by Steven Currier and Kenneth Kalani, John and Tanya Howett. “I look forward to this affair every year because it is a chance to feature these wonderful young women in an elegant performance and an exquisite dinner along with our silent and live auctions,” says Co-chair Steve Currier.  It is important for us to do this so that we may give every girl, who wants to be a part of our chorus, a chance to excel in the art of music, camaraderie in a social setting, and responsibility.”

The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails followed by an Enchanted April-themed performances by Chorissima, the professional-level ensemble of the Girls Chorus including music by Kodály, Debussy, Gershwin, Gilbert & Sullivan and others with guest artist soprano Rabihah Davis, an illustrious alumna of the Girls Chorus who now enjoys an opera career. Dinner and a live auction will round out the evening.

About the San Francisco Girls Chorus

Founded in 1978, the San Francisco Girls Chorus is recognized internationally as a center for choral music performances and education for girls and young women ages 7-18 whose reputation for professional training and the highest performance standards are second to none.  More than 300 singers from 160 schools in 48 Bay Area cities participate in what the California Arts Council calls “a model in the country for training girls’ voices”.

The organization comprises six choruses: Chorissima and the concert, recording, and touring ensembles, conducted by Artistic Director Susan McMane; the new Alumnae Chorus; and the four-level Chorus School training program, supervised by Director Elizabeth Avakian.

Each year, dedicated young artists present season concerts, tour nationally or internationally, and appear with respected sponsoring organizations, including San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera. In the summer of 2007 the Girls Chorus performed as one of only six choruses worldwide invited to participate in the World Vision Children’s Choir Festival in Seoul, Korea, in July, and in China in Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall. In March 2006 they were featured at the American Choral Directors Association Western Division Convention in Salt Lake City. In August 2005, they were invited to perform at the 7th World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto and also at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan.

Known as a leader in its field, the San Francisco Girls Chorus was honored in 2001 as the first youth chorus to win the prestigious “Margaret Hills Award” given annually by Chorus America to a chorus that demonstrates artistic excellence, a strong organizational structure, and a commitment to education. Other awards include two ASCAP awards for Adventurous Programming in 2001 and 2004.

The San Francisco Girls Chorus has produced six solo CD recordings and can also be heard on several San Francisco Symphony recordings, including three that earned Grammy® Awards.

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CALENDAR EDITOR PLEASE LIST:

SAN FRANCISCO GIRLS CHORUS 29TH SEASON GALA
“ENCHANTED APRIL”

WHEN:  Friday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Palace Hotel, Two New Montgomery Street, San Francisco
PROGRAM: Cocktails, dinner, silent and live auctions and a concert of music by Kodály, Debussy, Gershwin, Gilbert & Sullivan
TICKETS:  Full Gala tickets are priced $300 or $400 person with tables and sponsorships available for $2,500-$10,000 and may be purchased by calling (415) 863-1752, x 306. Tickets for the concert only are $25 and may be purchased by calling City Box Office at (415) 392-4400, Online - www.cityboxoffice.com
In person – City Box Office, 180 Redwood St., Suite 100, San Francisco (Mon-Fri 9:30 am-5pm).