On the Road Again

A couple of SFGC alumnae attended the concert. I love it whenever we can reconnect with girls and women who have been part of SFGC over the years. However, in general I think we were all disappointed by the size of the local audience. That raises many questions, but probably first and foremost, why did we take this gig? There are many answers, and I will leave it to Susan to explain the important musical and personal benefits of performing. I’d like to say a few words about the organizational goals for traveling to new communities for concerts like this.

 

First of all, it’s what we do. Part of the mission of SFGC is “to produce concert performances of the highest international quality.” Note the word international.  Now I will admit that I am not a big fan of Southern California. To me, SoCal might as well be another country, and usually, I’d prefer Italy or France. But it is our mission to give concerts around the world, including places like Latvia, Nebraska, or even the other end of our own state.

 

Yes, we can organize tours, take trips, and rent theaters anywhere in the world and say we sang there. That’s great. I started my career at Carnegie Hall way back in 1988, and the easiest way to get there, if you have the means, is to rent it. However, there’s a huge difference between renting Carnegie Hall (or Davies Hall, or the Cerritos Center, etc) and being invited to perform there. We were invited to perform at Cerritos, and while we may not have known much about Cerritos prior to this trip, here are just a few of the artists and performing groups who were also invited to perform there this season: violinist Sarah Chang, soprano Christine Brewer, the Vienna Boys Choir, Bill Cosby, and Gladys Knight, to name a few. That’s pretty good company, in my opinion.

 

Secondly, our mission statement says that SFGC is to “be a leader in the field” of the choral art form. Here’s the deal -- we can’t lead if our voice remains unheard. The girls who travel and sing major, professional quality concerts (Chorissima) are the “voice” and image of SFGC to the whole world.   One of the pieces from the program the girls sang here in October, and in Cerritos last weekend, is called Two Hadiths of the Prophet Mohammed. The opening words in the first Hadith are “I was a hidden treasure.” I have heard that exact phrase -- hidden treasure -- used  many times by people first hearing SFGC perform. But what treasure should remain hidden? No one benefits from that. The treasure is not appreciated, nor does anyone have the chance to enjoy it. It’s kind of like the old philosophy question, “If a tree falls in the forest but no one is there to hear, etc.” If the girls sing, but no one comes to hear them, or even if the girls sing, but the exact same group of people always come to hear them, have the girls grown as performers? Have new supporters been introduced to the organization? Has SFGC fulfilled its mission?   

 

So, we need to keep on traveling, acquiring and accepting concert invitations, and doing our best to fill concert halls wherever we go, in order to share our musical treasure with the wider world.

 

“I was a Hidden Treasure, and I longed to be known, so I created the world.” From Two Hadiths of the Prophet Mohammed, by John Tavener