Volti

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. [1] Volti also appears with the Kronos Quartet on their Grammy Award winning recording of Sun Rings by American minimalist composer Terry Riley. Founded by Robert Geary in 1979 as the San Francisco Chamber Singers, the group quickly developed a mission: "to foster and showcase contemporary American music and composers, and to introduce contemporary vocal music from around the world to local audiences." When the group turned 25 in 2003-2004, it changed its name to Volti, a reference to the Italian musical instruction "volti subito" meaning "turn quickly." 2019 marks the ensemble's 40th anniversary. Volti performs two to three concert series each season in venues throughout the Bay Area. Volti has appeared at the Switchboard and SoundWave festivals of new music, has collaborated with many Bay Area new music groups including the Kronos Quartet, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and ODC/Dance, and has supported major orchestras in the performance of new music, including the Seattle Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen. Volti also sponsors the Choral Arts Laboratory, a commissioning and residency program for American composers under age 35, and the Choral Institute for high school students.