Soli Deo Gloria is a San Francisco Bay Area SATB choir for experienced singers with a family-like atmosphere dedicated to the joy of performing a variety of masterworks of the sacred repertoire, mostly with orchestra. The choir’s membership is drawn from six Bay Area counties and rehearses in Alameda. Founded in 1976, Soli Deo Gloria is dedicated to bringing the joy of music to our community and is open to people of all religious or non-religious beliefs. With a diverse repertoire and a passion for performance, we strive to create unforgettable musical experiences.
Whether you’re a seasoned singer or someone who loves to support the arts, there’s a place for you in Soli Deo Gloria. Join us, attend a concert, or support us with a donation. Your involvement makes all the difference.
A Vivaldi Christmas: Gloria and Carols
Featuring Rita Lilly, soprano and Courtney Miller, mezzo-soprano.
December 7 & 8, 2024
Experience the brilliance of Vivaldi’s Gloria (RV 589) performed by our choir and instrumental ensemble, capturing the majestic and uplifting spirit of the Baroque era. The program also features a beautiful selection of hymns to Mary by Rachmaninoff, Choate, and Bruckner, along with festive carols by McDowall and Gardner. We are thrilled to include beloved choral and instrumental arrangements by Eric Choate, encouraging audience participation with sing-along favorites like O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming. This concert promises to be a memorable celebration of sacred and seasonal music, perfect for the whole family.
Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass
May 25 & 26, 2024
Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass is considered to be his greatest work — a pillar of choral music — composed originally in troubled times, but harmoniously coinciding with the victory of Lord Nelson over Napoleon. A fitting send-off for Artistic Director, Allen Simon as he conducts his final concert with Soli Deo Gloria. Featuring soloists Victoria Fraser, Shauna Fallihee, Elias Berezin, Jim Monios.
A Time for Peace
March 9 & 10, 2024
In celebration of the Treaty of Utrecht and a call for peace in our time, this concert features the Utrecht Te Deum of George Frederic Handel and Bach’s uplifting Lobet den Herrn.
Featuring soloists Rita Lilly, Katherine Nägele-Lin, Alexander Frank, Sepp Hammer
Christmas Comes Again – Dec 2023
December 2 & 3, 2023
Experience the joy and anticipation of Christmas with Baroque favorites by Bach, Vivaldi and Buxtehude and the charming Gaudete (Joy!) by Anders Ohrwall
This choral concert is accompanied by Orchestra Gloria and features soloists Christa Pfeiffer, Janet Campbell, Elias Berzin & Chad Runyon.
Starting with the 2024-2025 season, we are excited to welcome our new Musical Director, Julia Morris.
Julia Morris’s experience as a conductor includes leadership of community, collegiate, church, high school, and children’s choirs of varying levels and sizes. From 2018-2021, she served as Assistant Conductor to Ming Luke and the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra (BCCO). Under Ming’s guidance she has learned that “correct” choral singing only becomes “great” choral singing when the conductor allows their ensemble to develop and understand the emotional intention of a piece. To this aim, they would discuss the composer and stylistic expectations of the era; the meaning behind the text; the personal or contemporary world events that may have sparked or influenced the composition; and how they might interpret the work within a modern context to resonate with singers today. After these discussions with the chorus, there was a discernible conviction in their performance which was not there before.
She completed her graduate program at the University of Michigan (M.M. choral conducting, received April 2023). While there, she directed several collegiate choruses, most notably Orpheus Singers, a ~24-voice SATB auditioned “lab chorus” for the Choral Conducting Studio. Orpheus Singers performed music from a variety of eras and styles. When OS prepared choral-orchestral masterworks, she worked in tandem with her conducting colleagues to hire and rehearse a chamber orchestra to join them in performance. Julia graduated cum laude from Kenyon College in Ohio where she received a B.A. with a double major in music (departmental distinction) and psychology.
Currently serving as the Artistic Director of the Vallejo Choral Society, her musical curiosity influences every choice she makes. She aims to curate thoughtful programs that include a wide variety of genres and styles, from choral-orchestral masterworks to Renaissance polyphony, from contemporary choral works to music outside the traditional canon, and almost everything in between. As a vocalist herself, she approaches rehearsals with a strong focus on vocal technique and a deep awareness of the text. Ultimately, her goal as a conductor is to inspire her musicians to reach their full potential, both as artists and as human beings, by delving deeply into the music beyond the notes and rhythms.
If you live in Alameda, Oakland, or Berkeley, or elsewhere in the East Bay this choir is particularly convenient.
Consider joining us for our next program with performances in March 2025!
I loved the range and diversity the particulars of the orchestra! The quiet softness of the chorus w/bursts of joy, the soloists- superb, sublime. 10+
So lovely 🙂 The expressions on everyone’s faces showed how much they enjoyed singing and playing. Joyful!
The concert was very impressive and inspirational
Emotionally Stirring.
Lovely music, beautifully performed
Lovely sound. Translations and historical context
Spectacular program & performance
A wonderful program, with works that complimented each other nicely. I loved hearing an orchestral selection as part of a choral program.
Love everything about the choir!
Amazing