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The American choral conductor, music pedagoue and former soprano singer, Magen Solomon, graduaterd from Oberlin College, and obtained her Master’s and Doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied conducting with Robert Fountain. She also studied conducting with Richard Pittman, David Becker, and Helmuth Rilling. In the early 1990's she was a member of American Bach Soloists (Director: Jeffrey Thomas).
Magen Solomon brings a wealth of experience with university, professional and community choirs and many years experience as an innovative teacher and conductor. She has been Artistic Director of the San Francisco Choral Artists (SFCA), a semi-professional chamber choir specializing in contemporary a cappella choral music, since 1995. She avidly cultivates engagements with living composers to bridge the gulf between audience, composer, and performer. Under her leadership SFCA has established the Composer-in- and Not-in-Residence programs in 1999, the Bi-annual Composer's Invitational in 2001, the New Voices Competition to help launch the artistic careers of young composers in 2005, SFCA+1 to expand the repertoire for chamber choir and a single instrument, and the Wild Card Program to expand SFCA composer support. During her tenure, SFCA has premiered over 230 choral works, performed at conferences of Chorus America and for the 2008 and 1998 Western Division conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), been awarded the ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award, and has released three CD's: "With Strings Attached" (2011; in collaboration with The Alexander String Quartet and featuring 3 major works commissioned for the occasion by SFCA), "Music Among Friends" (2005; showcasing works of local composers, including 5 SFCA world premieres), and "So Gracious Is the Time" (1999; showcasing works of contemporary American composers). The ensemble has collaborated with nationally known instrumental ensembles including The Whole Noyse, The Alexander String Quartet, Veretski Pass, Sonos Handbell Ensemble and others.
From 1992 to 2014 Magen Solomon was Music Director of the Oakland Symphony Chorus. She served as interim Artistic Director of the San Francisco Girls Chorus for the 2000-2001 season. From 2004 to 2010 she taught in the graduate and undergraduate programs of Choral and Sacred Music at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. From 2010 to 2014 she served as Artistic Director of the Stockton Chorale and Master Chorale. In the fall of 2014 she was appointed Artistic Director of the San Francisco Bach Choir (SFBC), a 65-voice community choir specializing in works of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods. She has also taught and conducted at Santa Clara University, Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Active across the USA and abroad as a clinician, teacher, and guest conductor, Magen Solomon has directed the California Bach Society, Pro Coro Canada, UC Santa Cruz Chamber Singers and other ensembles. She has collaborated on performances of major choral works with Michael Tilson Thomas (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra), Nicholas McGegan (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra), Helmuth Rilling (Oregon Bach Festival), Kent Nagano (Berkeley Symphony), Christoph von Dohnányi (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), and Michael Morgan, among others.
Magen Solomon is editor of the “New Voices In Research” column in the Choral Journal, Chair of the ACDA Herford Dissertation Prize Committee, and has published an edition of Johannes Eccard's Newe deutzsche Lieder (1578) with A-R Editions (Madison, Wisconsin) in their “Recent Researches in Music of the Renaissance” series. |
