SEASON 16
Rumours Un-Covered
OCTOBER 25, 2024
Often called Fleetwood Mac’s “magnum opus” Rumours is one of the most iconic pop/rock albums of all time. This 1977 release won a Grammy for album of the year in 1978, has sold 40 million copies worldwide to date, and is still charting on the Billboard top 200. As each new generation discovers this album for themselves it takes on new significance speaking to the transcendence of its artistry. The artists of SACRA/PROFANA will bring their own spin to this album with their unique blend of vocal arrangements, multi-instrument adaptations, and faithful covers of this album in its entirety.
SUMMER CHORAL INTENSIVE CONCERT
JULY 13, 2024
Each year the middle and high school participants of the Summer Choral Intensive join together with the SACRA/PROFANA choir to show off their hard work.
SEASON 15
A SPACE TO BELONG
JUNE 1, 2024
Presenting the world premiere of “Queer Spaces” by composer and San Diego native
Dr. Cory Hibbs. Devised as a season-long collaborative project, "Queer Spaces" is a
multi-movement choral work drawing from the personal narratives of the composer,
choir members, and members of the queer community, exploring the significance of safe spaces to the survival of any marginalized community. Additional selections consider themes of identity, belonging, resilience, and recognizing commonality in the "other."
A CATHEDRAL OF TREES
APRIL 20, 2024
Celebrating the beauty of our natural world, this program explores choral artistry rooted in nature and reaching toward the heavens. Selections include some of today's most prominent composers, as well as emerging voices in our field. Together, we turn our gaze upward and imagine the possibilities of living in harmonious coexistence with nature.
THE HOPE OF LOVING
FEBRUARY 24, 2024
Inspired by the work of prominent civil rights and social justice luminaries such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mary McLeod Bethune, and James Baldwin, The Hope of Loving features pieces that remind us that the struggle toward equality, compassion, and change goes on. The choice of hope and love over despair and hate is a daily one, and the responsibility lies within each of us to uplift the collective cause.
A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
DECEMBER 15, 2023
As winter solstice approaches, we diverge from our traditional yuletide program with a
transcendent musical experience celebrating the power of light to pierce the darkest nights. Immerse yourself in an evening of enchanting voices and triumphant brass that invites you to reflect on the shifting balance and profound symbolism of the shortest day of the year.
THE END IS THE BEGINNING
SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
Opening its 15th season of choral excellence, SACRA/PROFANA explores the
profound human emotions of love, life, and resilience. Dale Trumboreʼs secular requiem
How to Go On uses texts by contemporary poets to ultimately find beauty in everyday
life. Herbert Howellʼs 20th-century masterpiece, Requiem, offers a deeply personal
interpretation of navigating life's farewells. This SACRA/PROFANA concert is dedicated
to our homeless neighbors who have died on the streets of San Diego in the past year.
SUMMER CHORAL INTENSIVE CONCERT
JULY 15, 2023
Each year the middle and high school participants of the Summer Choral Intensive join together with the SACRA/PROFANA choir to show off their hard work.
SEASON 14
TOGETHERNESS REIMAGINED
MAY 19, 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic made us rethink what community meant and find other ways of being together. Many new and creative projects launched as a result of us searching for meaning and direction during those times of isolation. One of those was a commissioning of Amy Gordon’s “In Times of Hibernation” from a forthcoming song cycle Songs of Hope in Strange Times. We are excited to be giving this piece, along with the complete song cycle the live world premiere. Other music in this program will celebrate the revolutionary power of friendship, the joy of finding wholeness, and healing in coming together.
BEAUTY REIMAGINED
FEBRUARY 17, 2023
So much of what we consider beautiful is contextual, and yet for generations it has been the aspiration of many, the subject of poets and artists, and even studied as a social construct. In an era in which such ideas are being challenged SACRA/PROFANA will be taking on Saunder Choi’s new multi-movement work for choir and string quartet entitled “Verum Corpus” which pulls inspiration from Greek mythology and the traditional Eucharistic text to reclaim and recontextualize a trans narrative. This West Coast premiere will be complimented by more traditional choral repertoire frame the subject of beauty in more familiar sounds and textures.
CHRISTMAS REIMAGINED
DECEMBER 17, 2022
For years now we have been reexamining the traditional Christmas concert, by featuring works from up and coming composers that put a twist on familiar tunes and texts. This year we will take it one step further, by revisiting several pieces from our latest recording “A Longing for Christmas” as well as David Lang’s Pulitzer prize winning cantata The Little Match Girl Passion. Based on the story by Hanz Christian Andersen and inspired by Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, this stunning work for chamber choir will pull at your heart strings and cause you to think about the meaning of the season.
AUTHENTICITY REIMAGINED
OCTOBER 8, 2022
The classical concert experience is full of pretense and tradition. Many of these expectations are born out of practices that are tried and true, but some of them are simply cultural constructs meant to appeal to only the cognoscenti. In this concert we are reconsidering what authenticity means to us. The music, selected in large part by the singers themselves, speaks to who we are as artists and what music is most authentic to us. It will range from historic polyphony to contemporary music from some of the biggest names in choral music, and beyond.
SUMMER CHORAL INTENSIVE CONCERT
JULY 16, 2022
Each year the middle and high school participants of the Summer Choral Intensive join together with the SACRA/PROFANA choir to show off their hard work.
SEASON 13
MAY 20, 2022
SECONDS
From Founding Director Krishan Oberoi: "I decided to build this program around an ecological theme, without losing the musical idea of "seconds". So all of the pieces on tonight’s program are works that SACRA/PROFANA has done only once- or pieces that I've personally conducted only once (or pieces that have only ever been performed once!) But they also all bring us back, in some way, to the themes of conservation, preservation, stewardship and renewal. "
FEBRUARY 25, 2022
VOYAGE THROUGH DEATH TO LIFE UPON THESE SHORES
“In an era in which Critical Race Theory is coming under attack, and racism is banned from being taught in schools, the presentation of this work can be seen as an act of defiance.” Anthony Davis recently said of Voyage Through Death to Life Upon These Shores. Originally commissioned by a consortium of America’s top professional choirs including Chanticleer, the Dale Warland Singers, and Musica Sacra in 1991, this challenging work has only been performed by a handful of choirs since.
View videos from SACRA/PROFANA's original performance in 2017
DECEMBER 17, 2021
HOLIDAY CONCERT - A LONGING FOR CHRISTMAS
SACRA/PROFANA's first self produced concert following the pandemic featured music from its just released CD by the same name.
JULY 20, 2021
SUMMER CHORAL INTENSIVE CONCERT
Each year the middle and high school participants of the Summer Choral Intensive join together with the SACRA/PROFANA choir to show off their hard work. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this concert was performed without an audience.
SEASON 12
DECEMBER 12, 2020
HOLIDAY CONCERT
SACRA/PROFANA presents a Holiday Concert for 2020 as a gift to the community, featuring highlights from our 2019 performance as well as the premier of Amy Gordon's setting of "In the Bleak Midwinter. This concert was live streamed only.
SEASON 11
FEBRUARY 7 & 8, 2020
MUSIC AS SOCIAL CHANGE
SACRA/PROFANA has come to attention as a genre-defying ensemble breaking down the barriers between pop, classical, and contemporary music. We proudly continue that tradition with this concert that will feature arrangements of socially aware pop music from the 1960s to the present day, as well as choral music that makes commentary on the issues of our times.
DECEMBER 13 & 15, 2019
HOLIDAY CONCERT
December can be filled with clichéd sentiments and melodies, but it can also be a time of sincere reflection, hope, joy and reverence. SACRA/PROFANA will once again bring its own take on seasonal music featuring both familiar carols in new settings, as well as new takes on ancient hymns and texts.
OCTOBER 18, 2019
LOOKING BACK: AMERICAN MAVERICKS
The 20th Century has been called the “American Century” and is really the time in which American Choral music distinguished itself from its European counterparts. From rugged individualists like Charles Ives to the distinct palette of Morten Lauridsen, the American landscape is filled with composers who developed their own distinct voice for the choral instrument.
JULY 13, 2019
SUMMER CHORAL INTENSIVE CONCERT
Each year the middle and high school participants of the Summer Choral Intensive join together with the SACRA/PROFANA choir to show off their hard work.
SEASON X
MAY 19, 2019
BORDER X-SINGS
The San Diego/Tijuana border crossing represents the largest land border crossing in the world. This program explored our common humanity, culture, and issues of immigration and refugees throughout the world.
March 22-23, 2019
GENDER: X
In this program we celebrated women composers and featured guest conductor Dr. Emilie Amrein and our own Assistant Conductor Lara Korneychuk. We also premiered the winning entry from Dr. Sarah Rimkus in our Gender: X Composition Competition.
Generously Sponsored by Sandra New and Tori & Aaron Haberman
FEBRUARY 16, 17, 2019
EXCHANGE
As we strive to nurture enthusiasm for the choral art, we collaborated on a series of concerts with the L.A. Choral Lab, one of the most innovative choral groups in Southern California. We performed in what are considered the finest choral venues in both L.A. and San Diego!
Generously Sponsored by Carol Manifold
DECEMBER 14, 16, 2018
XMAS: A HOLIDAY CONCERT
SACRA/PROFANA, put our own twist on Holiday programming and featured new arrangements of traditional Christmas carols, fun takes on Holiday classics, and contemporary pieces on themes of winter and solstice.
Generously sponsored by Betsy Manchester
NOVEMBER 2-3, 2018
RETROX: A RETROSPECTIVE EXPERIENCE
Kicking off our 10th anniversary celebration, this program featured a number of our “greatest hits” from past seasons. Founding Director Dr. Krishan Oberoi and Artistic Director Juan Carlos Acosta shared conducting duties.
Generously Sponsored by Eric & Rexanna Swanson, Greta & Stephen Treadgold, and Paul & Ruth Young, Sr.
Check out our YouTube channel for the RetroX Playlist. Click HERE
SEPTEMBER 30, 2018
SACRED MUSIC / SACRED SPACE
Returning to the FUMC Concert Series, SACRA/PROFANA presented a mix of familiar anthems and hidden gems of some of the finest in sacred choral music in one of the most beautiful sanctuaries in all of San Diego.