CMC in the News

Aired March 2 and March 3 on CNN Staying Well by Lauren Lee CNN coverage of the CMC Older Adult Choir Program and the Community of Voices Study in collaboration with UCSF and the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS). The story features interviews with CMC Older Adult Choir staff and singers […]

Friday, February 22, 2019 San Francisco Chronicle Datebook Joshua Kosman Does voice have a gender? For trans singers, old categories are breaking down

A culturally and artistically innovative vocal symposium seeks to encourage transgender voices that have been silenced to grow and be heard. Community Music Center is hosting “Trans and Singing: A Symposium for Voice Teachers and Singers” on Saturday, February 23. The symposium re-examines the thinking and approaches on transgender, intersex, and genderqueer singing, acknowledging that trans vocal stories often include barriers to musical participation. This day-long symposium for singers of all levels and vocal teachers will be offered as a service to the community, completely free of charge.

CMC Blog

In the smoky clubs and dance halls of 1930s Paris, innovative styles emerged from music in diaspora—flourishing in the lively atmosphere of post-war exuberance, where jazz music was on the rise. One of the most lasting styles today remains jazz manouche (often referred to as sinti jazz, gypsy jazz, or hot-club-style jazz because of its […]

In the small town of Auldearn, Scotland, in 1662, a peasant woman named Isobel Gowdie was caught in the gears of a brutal legal system. Unlike many of her peers, whose stories were lost to time, Gowdie’s trial left behind a chillingly detailed paper trail. This April, her words return to the stage at CMC […]

After years of research, reflection, and musical exploration, San Francisco composer, singer, and guitarist David James created Mission Rebel No. 1: Looking for Rev. Jesse James — a deeply personal work examining the life of his father, Rev. Jesse James, a preacher and activist in the Mission District. What led him to center an album […]