....Oh, hello! We were just warming up our voice over here. After we posted about local choral group Volti's world premiere of No More To Hide, a choral work in tribute to same-sex marriage, and after its rave review by left-wing choral blogger Civic Center, we thought we'd go check out their full performance last night at St. Francis Lutheran (the church between the Blockbuster and the Burgermeister on Church Street).

The show was organized around the theme of love and commitment, and featured not only the world premiere of No More To Hide but also a setting to song of three sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The chorus's voices were in full throttle and they easily ran through a Rita Dove poem and some e.e. cummings as well. Volti specializes in contemporary choral music written by living composers -- which made for a very nice touch when three or four of the composers came up before each piece and explained the effect he or she intended with the work. We particularly enjoyed not only Stacey Garrop's entertaining explanation of her rollicking Millay numbers, but also her mother's beaming expression in the audience. Sweet!

A sick soprano and a cantata to celebrate Gavin Newsom after the jump.

Picture of Volti from their website

Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi.....