Jul
08
2018
The last entry from a personal project while on tour last month in New York. Who would you be today if not for chorus?
Young Women’s Chorus charter member and graduating senior, Tamlyn. Photo taken before the performance in Carnegie Hall.
“I would not be the person I am today without the Young Women’s Chorus of San Francisco. I remember walking into the audition room at only twelve years old, a middle schooler, terrified of messing up, and doubting that I would be accepted. Now, I have walked out of the rehearsal room forever, eighteen years old, a high school graduate, still terrified of messing up, but knowing that chorus has changed me forever.
Chorus has given me a voice. It has increased my confidence in my abilities in a world that seeks to tear teenage girls apart. It has helped me realize my power. Through chorus I know that I have the ability to transform others. Because of this chorus I have learned that music is unlike anything else on earth. It has powers beyond explanation. Music can move people to tears, bring people together, and can undoubtedly change the world.”
Jul
03
2018
Part of a personal project while on tour last week in New York. Has singing in a chorus ever connected you to someone that doesn’t speak your language?
Young Women’s Chorus charter member and graduating senior Katrina. Photo taken on Ellis Island.
“When I first joined the Young Women’s Chorus, my nickname was Eeyore, the expressionless to the point of depression character from the Winnie the Pooh series. I was quite serious about singing, but I only really focused on singing the correct notes and rhythms. After my first voice masterclass, another chorister immediately said, “You’re just like Eeyore! This song is about happiness and love but you look so sad!” Before hearing this critique, I didn’t really understand the purpose of having expression. I saw music in a very straightforward and technical way, analyzing chord progressions and dynamics by the book. However, over time, YWC truly opened the door and showed me how universally powerful music is.
I first experienced this on our first tour to Italy. We were rehearsing in this gorgeous church in Venice, when we noticed people peeping through the gate at the entrance of the church. We only started with some simple warm-ups and yet people were flocking, trying to get a better look. Some even waited until we were done rehearsing to meet us outside. Despite the language barrier, both tourists and locals expressed their gratitude for our singing. It dawned on me that people didn’t need to know the music we were singing to enjoy our chorus. People didn’t need to speak the same language in order to feel connected through this celestial experience. Whether it was in San Francisco, Venice, Berlin, Vancouver, or Budapest, our singing connected people from all around the world, and that to me is an incredible and inimitable feeling.”
Jun
28
2018
Part of a personal project while on tour in New York. Has singing in a choir affected you in a similar way?
Young Women’s Chorus charter member and graduating senior Sarah. Photo taken in Greenwich Village.
“Singing with the Young Women’s Chorus these past six years has been an invaluable experience that I know will continue to shape my life long after I leave the chorus. No words can express how thankful I am to have learned and performed such renowned and challenging repertoire at a professional level in venues all around the world.
I have learned that choral performance goes far beyond mastering a piece of music; the most rewarding part of choir is our ability to connect with entire communities, across language barriers, using nothing more than a piano and our own voices. During one particular concert in an old church in a remote German hamlet, I noticed several men with tears running down their cheeks. Our free concert that evening, it seemed, was a gift graciously received. It touched me to no end to see how deeply our music had affected them. The concert we gave in that packed German church was by no means the splashiest production we’d ever put on, but it was the most moving and meaningful.”
Jun
22
2018
Part of a personal project while on tour in New York. Taken at St. Francis Xavier church.
Young Women’s Chorus charter member and graduating senior Alyssa.
“The chorus has been more than an after-school activity to me. It’s been my home, my family, and so much more to me than I could have ever imagined over the past 6 years.
My first rehearsal, I was just a small kid among a sea of girls with mature and powerful voices. Yet, I wasn’t intimidated because everyone was so encouraging to each other. Even though I didn’t have a voice like all of the older girls, I felt like I was a valued member of the group, and played a vital role in making music. Over time, my voice grew to be louder, but my responsibilities within the chorus stayed the same: to make breathtakingly sensational music with my friends.
I remember, in the summer of 2015, YWC sang Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” in a small village in Germany. Our sound resonated in the large church packed full of people listening to us. After we finished and the sounds of the music dissipated, the room was silent. It was not until a few seconds after everything had stopped when the first sounds of applause began. It’s moments like these where I remember why I stayed in this chorus in the first place.”
– Alyssa
Apr
02
2015Katie Innes – Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Branch Library
The next portrait from an ongoing personal project.
Native Sons and Daughters is a photo series that tells a story of the people that live in the city in which they grew up. Each subject chooses a portrait location that is meaningful to them in some way and represents their own connection to the city.
Katie chose to take her portrait at the Noe Valley Branch Library. According to the SF Public Library website, this branch building opened in 1916 with a Spanish-style facade of brick and terra cotta. It was most recently renovated in 2008.
I grew up in Noe Valley, back when there were barely any kids in the neighborhood. From there I traveled to the Mission to attend Children’s Day School, then Katherine Delmar Burke School in Sea Cliff, and finally the Urban School in the Haight. After four years away in Walla Walla, WA for college, I returned to SF to live in the Richmond, then the Castro, and now the Marina.
I chose the Noe Valley Library because I spent so much time there as a toddler at lapsit, as a kid eagerly participating in the summer reading program, as a teenager doing research for school papers, and as a recent college graduate trying to figure out what to do with my life. The building is nearly 100 years old and it’s so beautiful from the outside and inside. I always felt so lucky that it just happened to be a block from my house and that I could read and learn in such a historical space.
Nov
07
2014Josh Workman – On Broadway sign, Broadway and Montgomery Sts.
The next portrait from an ongoing personal project.
Native Sons and Daughters is a photo series that tells a story of the people that live in the city in which they grew up. Each subject chooses a portrait location that is meaningful to them in some way and represents their own connection to the city.
Josh chose to take his portrait with the On Broadway sign located at Broadway and Montgomery Sts. According to its website, the building was constructed in 1919 as “Garibaldi Hall” an Italian Men’s Club. Since that time, it has been used as an events venue and among others has been the home of Mabuhay Gardens, On Broadway Theater, and Broadway Studios. To see an early photo of this building and read about the impressive list of acts to play here, go to the website at http://broadwayvenue.com/?page_id=39
With the help of the ownership, we were able to get the lights turned on for his portrait. (some of the lights at least) Since we weren’t able to get inside, we took some more shots in the alley adjacent to the club.
I moved around the city quite a bit when I was a kid. We began out in the Excelsior, hit Glen Park for a few years, migrated to Noe Valley, out to the Sunset then back to a couple of spots in Noe Valley again. My father, Bill Workman, wrote for the SF Chronicle. My mother, Sanna Craig, wrote for Mother Jones and other publications.
Since I moved around a bit while growing up, I jumped from school to school, as well. My grammar schools were Longfellow, Glen Park, and Lakeshore. I attended Aptos Middle School, went to Lowell High for two years then graduated from McAteer/School of the Arts (SOTA).
My stepfather’s family home since the 1950s, located on Pacheco near 30th Avenue in the Sunset district, has been “command-central” for quite a few years now. I work in music production as a composer, arranger, and sound editor on the Peninsula several days a week, teach in Marin, and perform on guitar in San Francisco and other cities around the Bay Area. I love being able to walk down to Ocean Beach and feel the mist on my face or simply stand out in front of the house and watch the Sun disappear behind the mighty Pacific. Equally enjoyable is being able to walk or run around the reservoir, just up the hill from the house and catty-corner from Lincoln High School, which is where my stepfather graduated from.
I picked the On Broadway sign located at 435 Broadway street which is now the home of Broadway Studios. It is so iconic and it bookends Broadway st. with The Condor sign on the other end. My first band spent countless nights on Broadway, playing in little dives, such as The Chi-Chi Club and Mabuhay Gardens, also known as The Fab Mab. We sometimes had to hide in the back room of the Chi-Chi when the cops would come around, since we were way underage. The owner, Miss Keiko, used to come down and hear us play and I remember a faded picture of Eddie Money that they had proudly displayed on their front window. I guess he had played there in the early days. I also remember showing up to play a matinee show at the On Broadway once when I was about fifteen but it had caught fire the night before and so it was boarded up.
After living for seven years in Boston and New York, I moved back to San Francisco and spent many more nights playing on Broadway during the Swing Revival of the 1990s with Indigo Swing. I ended up marrying Nicole Vigil, the second singer in that band! I also used to play at the Hi Ball Lounge, which had been home to the legendary Jazz Workshop from the late ’50s to late ’60s. I still play at various spots in North Beach but the music scene just isn’t the same as it once was on the actual Broadway strip. Funny enough, back in the 1960s, my stepdad Larry Vuckovich spent six nights a week playing at the Hungry I, which is still located on Broadway.
Oct
23
2014Edith Salvatore – 17th Hole, Lincoln Golf Course
The next portrait from an ongoing personal project.
Native Sons and Daughters is a photo series that tells a story of the people that live in the city in which they grew up. Each subject chooses a portrait location that is meaningful to them in some way and represents their own connection to the city.
Edith chose to have her portrait at the Lincoln Park Golf Course at the 17th Hole. Lincoln Park Golf Course, named after President Lincoln, is known by locals for its reasonable fees but also for its majestic views of the Pacific Ocean and Golden Gate Bridge. Golf has been played at this San Francisco location since 1902 and expanded into a full 18-hole course in 1917.
I grew up in the Outer Richmond, right on the Geary bus line. This is why I think I hardly ever feel earthquakes – my bedroom shook every fifteen-to-twenty minutes from the bus passing by my whole childhood. I’m used to it! With the exception of the three years I lived on campus at UC Santa Cruz, I have never left my zip code – my childhood was spent on Geary and 35th and I attended all neighborhood schools – Lafayette Elementary on Anza, Presidio Middle School on 30th, and Washington High School. My first grown-up apartment was on 34th and Clement, followed by a flat on Fulton and now a house out by the beach on 45th. I am a fan of the fog, Chinese food, and ample parking – who could ask for anything more?
I loved growing up in the Richmond District – it had all the advantages of the City (diversity, great food, Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, easy access to City attractions via Muni) while retaining some suburban appeal of decent parking and parks and playgrounds. When I found out I was pregnant with triplets, I hoped to be able to raise them in that same environment and, so far, I have. I love that they squeal for the bridge whenever they catch a glimpse of it out a car window or see it depicted on a sign and that they think their house is called “San Francisco”. A second generation of “natives” who love where they’re growing up!
I chose the tee and green at the 17th hole of the Lincoln Park Golf Course because I have always considered this my secret spot to impress tourists. Whenever anyone came to visit and we took them for a drive around town, we’d make sure to stop by and show them this “secret” perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge. In school, we would walk our dog down to Lincoln Park, down the hidden walkway along the side of the golf course, and across El Camino del Mar to run around at the vista point (which has changed so much over the past four decades!)
It’s also a great spot to see fireworks without the crowds of the waterfront. Of course, that is subject to San Francisco weather. I remember being told the story growing up that in the summer of 1976, when my younger brother was just two weeks old, my father took me out to this spot to watch the big bi-centennial fireworks in typical July fog. While my mother and the baby stayed home and watched spectacular fireworks on TV, my father held me on his shoulders as I oohed and ahhed at the “pink fog” and “green fog” and “blue fog”. Growing up in the Outer Richmond, that’s what fireworks are supposed to look like, right?
Aug
03
2014Just a fun little gif of how we put together our final group photo this year.
Jul
09
2014Sabrina Adler – The War Memorial Opera House
The next portrait from an ongoing personal project.
Native Sons and Daughters is a photo series that tells a story of the people that live in the city that they grew up in. Each subject chooses a portrait location that is meaningful to them in some way and represents their own connection to the city.
Sabrina, a 2nd generation San Franciscan (and 4th generation Bay Area native), chose the Opera House for a portrait. The War Memorial Opera House was completed in 1932. It was the first publicly funded opera house in the United States. Since it’s opening it has been the home of the San Francisco Opera. Along with Louise M. Davis Symphony Hall and Herbst Theatre it is a part of the San Francisco War Memorial And Performing Arts Center. Sabrina’s father, Kurt Herbert Adler, served as General Director for the San Francisco Opera from 1953 until 1981.
Special thanks to Jon Finck, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at SF Opera, for helping us gain access inside.
Neighborhood she grew up in: “Cow Hollow, then Marin (Ross), then back to Cow Hollow.”
Neighborhood she lives in now: “Duboce Triangle (but I’ve also lived in Noe Valley, the Mission, and the Castro).”
Schools attended: “Ross School (in Marin), Burke’s (for part of middle school), and University High School.”
Sabrina in front of her father’s bust.
I chose the opera house because it was such an important part of my childhood. I spent a lot of time there growing up. Even though my dad retired as General Director of SF Opera when I was a toddler, he continued to conduct and work on other projects there, so we would attend a lot of rehearsals and performances. I used to pretend that the lobby was my own personal palace when I was really young. When I got a bit older and joined the San Francisco Girls Chorus, I was fortunate enough to perform on stage in several operas (Wozzeck, Boris Godunov, La Boheme, and Macbeth). I always loved being backstage and spending time at rehearsals and in our dressing rooms. During high school, I worked for the Merola Program one summer, which brought me to the Opera House for various projects. Then, when I was in college, I spent a summer interning in the Artistic Administration department. Most of the time I was in the offices upstairs, but I also got the chance to sit through some tech rehearsals and watch other things happen behind the scenes. Now I’m usually at the Opera house during performances, as an audience member, or for dress rehearsals. But I still have so many fond memories of all my time spent there, in so many different capacities, that it seemed like a fitting place to take photos. It’s particularly meaningful to me given the connection with my dad and the role he played in civic life in San Francisco, mostly before I was born!
Jun
16
2014Kevin and Garvin
The next portrait from an ongoing personal project.
Native Sons and Daughters is a photo series that tells a story of the people that live in the city that they grew up in. Each subject chooses a portrait location that is meaningful to them in some way and represents their own connection to the city.
I met Kevin about a year ago. Our daughters were entering the same Kindergarten class at our local elementary school. It was my first time as a Kinder parent but it was his third time around so it was great to chat and learn the ins and outs of what was going on. Of course, once we learned that we were both native San Franciscans the next immediate question was, “Where’d you go to school?” It turns out we both went to the same elementary and high school (St. Brigid, Lowell HS) and actually grew up less than a block away from each other in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. He has a few years on me and so our paths never crossed, but we immediately bonded over our past experiences attending Catholic school and then public high school. Kevin chose to take his portrait with his dad, another native San Franciscan, at the Marina Green.
- Neighborhood his dad, Garvin, grew up in: Chinatown
- Neighborhood his dad lives in now: Russian Hill
- Schools attended: Commodore Stockton, Francisco Jr High, Polytechnic High School, Golden Gate University
- Worked with the city for 36 years as accountant with the Water Department and Muni
- Neighborhood Kevin grew up in and lives in now: Russian Hill
- Schools attended: St. Brigid, Lowell High School, UCLA
San Francisco is the best place on earth. After living overseas post college I came back and felt like this was Oz.
I’ve lived overseas and traveled to over thirty countries in the world. There are many great cities out there… Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney, Vancouver, London, Singapore, but nothing comes close to San Francisco.
I love the fact that you can be anything here and, for the most part, people accept you. I want my kids to work hard to be successful yet be compassionate toward those around us. One day I went with my kids to the local hardware store to get popcorn. They have it there for 25 cents. This particular day, the employee working there gave the kids the popcorn and let them keep the 25 cents. My oldest son asked me if he could do what he wanted with the quarter. When I said yes he walked over to a homeless guy and gave him the quarter. That made me feel happy, lucky, and proud all at the same time.
I chose the Marina Green for my portrait partly because of the beauty of the environment but really it is a place my father and I go for walks. After our walks we always say to each other, “Best part of the day.” I plan to walk there with my kids and hopefully, someday, my grandkids and great grandkids. hahaha!
