For 18-year-old Mukil Narayanan, stepping onto the stage for the first time with a renowned orchestra and chorus wasn't just a debut, but a dream come true. 

"I have always wanted to be part of a group that would perform alongside a major orchestra," Narayanan said. "I am brand-new to the Chorus as this is my first semester at the Conservatory. This experience was definitely a highlight in my musical career so far!" 

Narayanan, a composition freshman working with David Garner, was one of about 100 SFCM Conservatory Chorus members who traveled the 24 miles east by an SFCM charted bus to Walnut Creek to perform with the California Symphony for its season-opening concerts on September 21 and 22 at the Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts. 

SFCM students sing with the California Symphony.

"I am especially proud of the students for rising to this challenge," Chorus Director Eric Choate said. "Beethoven's 9th Symphony has very demanding and awkward vocal passages. It was a tremendous accomplishment for our students, many of whom have never sung in a chorus, to learn this difficult music in the span of two weeks, and perform it with technical precision and musicality. I'm very proud of them and I know how hard they worked," he added.

This was the first time the SFCM Chorus collaborated with the California Symphony since 2018. California Symphony and Artistic and Music Director Donato Cabrera hailed it as another rousing success: "We began this collaboration between SFCM Chorus and California Symphony as a way to provide an opportunity for the students to sing the great symphonic choral repertoire in a professional setting," Donato said. "It was a transformative experience to watch the students more than meet the expectations we set for them and I greatly look forward to our next collaboration," he added.

Performers and audience members inside the Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts.

During the performance, the choir was led by four internationally acclaimed singers with Bay Area connections: Laquita Mitchell, Kelley O’Connor, Nicholas Phan, and Sidney Outlaw. The concert also featured works by Louise Farrenc.

"These sorts of opportunities enrich our students' education and help us to build the choral culture at SFCM," Choate said. "It's also simply thrilling to perform a piece of this magnitude with an orchestra, and I think all of our students grew from the experience."

The Conservatory Chorus is one of several ensembles at SFCM and is open to all students regardless of major. All performance programs give students room to challenge themselves and experience playing different styles of music in a variety of settings and groups. "Singing in a chorus subconsciously teaches students something very deep about how to be musically expressive," Choate said. "The instincts they sharpen through choral singing absolutely translate to their instrument or area of study." 

Narayanan's takeaway from the experience further emphasized Choate's point. "My favorite part was singing the fugue section, where every voice type comes in with their own version of the melody,” he said, adding that while moments like this measurably impact his composition studies, they help in other meaningful ways. 

“I love being part of the Conservatory Chorus,” Narayanan said. “It offers us the opportunity to get to know new choral repertoire, and at the same time make new friends.”

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