Choral

Chanticleer’s upcoming concert program, “The Siren’s Call” is a reminder of the power of the human voice.

Carmina Burana was conceived as a stage work, a “scenic cantata,” but most of the time it is presented purely as a concert. The opera director Brian Staufenbiel adds to the fun of this performance with a little bit of dancing, some costumes and a few other “surprises”.

Take one day for choral music and look in on this appropriately ambitious concert.

San Francisco Choral Society is run by wizard chorus master Robert Geary, who always manages to inject drama, and even subtlety into the group’s productions.

The reliable, well-balanced California Bach Society’s next concert presents a selection of Handel's vibrant, public pieces.

Voices of Music is one of the fastest-rising of the Bay Area’s huge number of early music groups.

Benjamin Simon and the S.F. Chamber Orchestra delight in collaborating with youth ensembles such as the gifted Piedmont Choir.

Pretty much the pick of this week's concerts is the San Francisco Choral Society's full-scale production of Mendelssohn's oratorio, Elijah.

Most summer concerts are the equivalent of beach reading – the musical versions of vampire romances and spy thrillers. But for those who prefer to heft Gravity's Rainbow to the seaside, there is also a musical equivalent. Christopher Kula, the chief of Pacific Collegium is definitely one of the heavy lifting crowd and his programs never lack for ambition.

The little chorus with the highly unusual programming is back this weekend. If you're interested in great music that doesn't get performed that often, you should really be following Chora Nova.