Ancora ~ United States of America

Ancora is the Choir’s select young women’s ensemble of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir program.  Comprising just 19 members, Ancora performs challenging repertoire of a cappella works, often singing in 8 or more parts.  Most of the group’s members have been part of PEBCC for 6-10 years or more. They have commissioned and premiered new works by Kui Dong, Eric Tuan, Chris Hecht, Mark Winges, and others.  

For 27 years, the internationally-acclaimed Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir (PEBCC) has been offering youth from San Francisco’s East Bay an outstanding program of choral training and performance. With concert tours to more than twenty-five nations, and sponsorship of the Golden Gate International Children’s Choral Festival (the oldest and only international children’s choral competition in the United States), the Choir is vigorously engaged in the global community of choral ensembles. The Choir has commissioned and premiered 26 new works by 16 living composers, has won numerous first prize awards for new music in international competitions, and engages in a never-ceasing exploration of innovative repertoire from around the world.

Robert Geary, co-founder of Piedmont East Bay Children's Choirs, is a champion of contemporary music. Geary and his choirs have won numerous international and national awards.  He has received the ASCAP award for Adventurous Programming multiple times.  Among his personal achievements Geary received an award for Outstanding Conductorial Achievement in Giessen, Germany (1997); a special award for interpretation in Miedzyzdroje, Poland (1998); the International Peace Child Medal for his role as co-founder of the Golden Gate International Children's Choral Festival (1993); the KDFC Music Educator of the Year in 2002; and the Lois B. Rawlings Educational Inspiration award in 2003.

Geary's choirs have performed for radio, television, opera, symphony and music festivals nationally and internationally. Geary also has prepared his choirs for some of the world's leading conductors, including Helmuth Rilling, Robert Shaw, Kurt Herbert Adler, Edo de Waart, Krzysztof Penderecki, Herbert Blomstedt, Dale Warland and Kent Nagano.