Artistic Director & Conductor, August 2000–December 2010

Dr. Kathleen McGuire became SFGMC’s first woman artistic director and conductor in August 2000. Over the next decade, she broadened the chorus’s community outreach, expanded its touring and recording work, and led performances at major venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Davies Symphony Hall.

McGuire connected national visibility with local service. Under her leadership, SFGMC sang at San Francisco City Hall during the 2004 “Winter of Love” marriages and developed programs that brought music into schools and communities. She later founded Singers of the Street, an ensemble serving people affected by homelessness. SFGMC named her Conductor Laureate in January 2011.

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