San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a city in the U.S. state of California. With a population of 808,437 residents in 2020, San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in the state; it is also the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city covers a land area of 46.9 square miles at the end of the San Francisco Peninsula, making it the second-most densely populated large U.S. city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, only behind four of the five New York City boroughs. Among the 92 U.S. cities proper with over 250,000 residents, San Francisco was ranked first by per capita income and sixth by aggregate income as of 2022. Colloquial nicknames for San Francisco include Frisco, San Fran, The City, and SF.
San Francisco State University is a public research university in San Francisco. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is part of the California State University system.
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra.
The Mission District, commonly known as the Mission, is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is derived from Mission San Francisco de Asís, built in 1776 by the Spanish. The Mission is historically one of the most notable centers of the city's Chicano/Mexican-American community.
The San Francisco Girls Chorus, established in 1978 by Elizabeth Appling, is a regional center for music education and performance for girls and young women, ages 4–18, based in San Francisco. Each year, more than 300 singers from 45 Bay Area cities participate in SFGC's programs. The organization consists of a professional-level performance, recording, and touring ensemble and a six-level Chorus School training program.
The Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, is a public alternative high school in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1982 and is part of the San Francisco Unified School District. It is currently located at 555 Portola Drive, San Francisco CA 94131.
Precita Eyes Muralists Association is a community-based non-profit muralist and arts education group located in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1977 by Susan and Luis Cervantes.
Lucine Amara is an American soprano who was chiefly based at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of the world's largest male choruses and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement.
The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards or Izzies honor San Francisco Bay Area dance artists for outstanding achievements in a range of categories including: choreography, sustained achievement, individual performance, company performance, costume design, and set design. The awards are presented annually and named in honor of Isadora Duncan. The awards began in 1986 and were revitalized in 2004 via a partnership with Bay Area National Dance Week after a slump due, in part, to a perceived lack of credibility.
Masterworks Chorale is a choral ensemble based in San Mateo, California.
Volti is a 16- to 24-person professional vocal ensemble based in San Francisco, focused on the commissioning and performance of new music. In 2018, Volti became the first vocal group ever to have been awarded the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming seven times. Volti has released four CDs on the innova label: "Turn the Page," "House of Voices," "This is what happened," and "the color of there seen from here," released April 26, 2019. Volti also appears with the Kronos Quartet on their Grammy Award winning recording of Sun Rings by American minimalist composer Terry Riley.
The Valley Concert Chorale is a choir composed of about 40 auditioned singers from Livermore, California, USA, and the surrounding Tri-Valley area, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It usually performs three concerts each year, starting with a holiday concert in November, followed by a concert of serious music in March and a lighter concert in May. These concerts are often given in collaboration with other choruses in the area, including the San Francisco Concert Chorale, the Las Positas College Chamber Choir and the Cantabella Children's Chorus. Recently, the chorus has also organized an annual "sing-it-yourself" Messiah, which is held at Livermore's First Presbyterian Church.
The Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus is a boys' choir based in Tucson, Arizona, which performs locally, nationally, and internationally. Founded in 1939 and incorporated as a non-profit educational organization in 1945, its mission is to facilitate music education and social development among Tucson youth ages 6 to 21. The chorus, presently numbering 150 members, sends out touring companies of 30 boys each who sing folk songs, Western ballads, Mexican songs, Christmas carols, spirituals, pop music, classical music, Broadway show tunes, and American patriotic songs. The boys also perform rope tricks. The chorus has performed in major venues around the world as well as on television and radio, and in collaboration with symphony orchestras and arts organizations. It has released albums both under its own label, TABC Records, and with Capitol Records, United Artists, and C.P. MacGregor.
Reuben Zellman is an American teacher, author, rabbi, and musician. He became the first openly transgender person accepted to the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2003.
Dr. Kathleen Alison McGuire is a choral and orchestral conductor, arranger, composer, music educator, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Known also for her work with social justice and human rights organizations, from 2000 to 2010 she served as the first female artistic director and conductor of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus – the world's first openly gay choral organization – and in 2010 she established Singers of the Street: a choir of people affected by homelessness in San Francisco. She became a US citizen in 2011 and, in 2013, returned to Australia to serve as director of music at Queen's College and co-artistic director of the School of Hard Knocks. In 2006, she was a grand marshal in the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade. Her contributions have officially been recognized by the California Senate and State Assembly, and "Kathleen McGuire Day" was designated twice in her honor by San Francisco mayors Gavin Newsom and Edwin Lee.
Aviya Kopelman is an Israeli composer and pianist.
The GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance, sometimes GAPA, is a 501(c)(4) non-profit social welfare organization that was incorporated in February 1988 in San Francisco, California, as a social support group for gay and bisexual Asian Pacific Islander (API) men. It engages in direct social, cultural and political advocacy, with a vision of "a powerful queer and transger Asian and Pacific-Islander (QTAPI) community that is seen, heard, and celebrated," and a mission "to unite our families and allies to build a community through advocacy, inclusion, and love."
Ming Luke is an American conductor who is the Principal Guest Conductor of the San Francisco Ballet, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Nashville Ballet, founder and Program Director of Festival Napa Valley's Blackburn Music Academy, Music Director of the Merced Symphony, Music Director of the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, and Education Director and Conductor of the Berkeley Symphony.
Connie Chan is an American politician serving as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for District 1 since January 8, 2021, after defeating Marjan Philhour, who ran for the seat in 2016, in a narrow race. Chan is generally considered a progressive. District 1 includes the Richmond, Lone Mountain, Seacliff and Presidio Terrce neighborhoods, and parts of Golden Gate Park.
