> Organist Eric Choate will be performing Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 5:00pm.
Eric Choate, organist
> Sunday, April 2, 2023
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>> Program:
>> O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde gross, BWV 622 J.S. Bach
>> Psalm Prelude, Set 1, No. 1 Herbert Howells
>> Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. 122 Johannes Brahms
>> Prelude and Fugue In Memoriam Nadia Boulanger David Conte
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>> Bio
>> Award-winning composer Eric Choate “commands a highly inventive approach to the interleaving of polyphonic voices” (Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio), and his compositions have been lauded as “music to grab the listener’s attention through novelty and hold it through technical discipline” (Examiner.com). His works have been performed internationally by renowned artists including VOCES8, musicians of the San Francisco Symphony, American Bach Soloists, Frederica von Stade, Johann Vexo, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge, Brian Thorsett, Emil Miland, John Churchwell, Friction Quartet, Areon Flutes, One Found Sound, and others. His music is published by E.C. Schirmer and Augsburg Fortress.
>> Eric is in demand as a choral and orchestral conductor, having regularly prepared choruses for the San Francisco Symphony and the Berkeley Symphony. In 2019, Eric was appointed 10th Artistic Director of the GRAMMY Award-winning San Francisco Boys Chorus, who under his direction has performed with the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, and Apollo5. Highlights of his engagement as Assistant Conductor of the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra include conducting performances of Verdi’s Requiem in Ypres, Belgium with the
>> Oost-Vlaams Symfonisch Orkest, Bach’s Passion According to St. John, Britten’s War Requiem, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Cherubini’s Requiem.
>> Eric is professor of Choral and Organ music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As Director of the Conservatory
>> Chorus, he has helped prepare the ensemble to perform with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London (Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor), the California Symphony (Donato Cabrera, conductor), and performances with the Conservatory Orchestra.
>> An organ recitalist, Eric possesses an Associate Certificate from the American Guild of Organists. He is an active member of both the AGO and the Association of Anglican Musicians and currently serves as Director of Music at The Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin.
>> Graduating with Departmental Distinction, Eric earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theory and Composition from St. Olaf College, where he studied with Timothy Mahr and Justin Merritt. He was awarded a fellowship to study harmony and counterpoint at the European American Musical Alliance in Paris, France, from which he graduated with Honorable Mentions in Harmony and Solfege. He holds a Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied with David Conte.
