New album available on CD
Recorded live at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, CA
I love your CD of Masses! I’ve listened to it several times, enjoying your text setting and lovely fluid jazz (reminds me of the Ellington Sacred Pieces) and the neat use of percussion. Congratulations! You are clearly master of your materials, and have forged highly communicative and meaningful works.
- Alice Parker
Also available to download from your favorite music streaming platform (Spotify, Amazon, Apple, YouTube…)
View the COMPLETE ALBUM TEXT on the blog.
Listen Now
Videos
Rise and Shine - SAB and SATB with piano accompaniment, arranged by Allan Robert Petker, Pavane Publishing
Upcoming Events
Mini Concert & Dinner
Todd Jolly directs the San Francisco Boys Chorus in a short program of popular tunes from cities around the United States,
while you enjoy an Alpine dinner at The Matterhorn. All proceeds go to the chorus.
Doors open at 5:00 pm. Program begins at 6:00 pm.
2323 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Recent
Commission & Premiere
Christ Has No Body Now, commissioned and performed by Margaret Elam
St. John’s Presbyterian Church
Berkeley, CA
European Tour
Todd Jolly conducted the San Francisco Boys Chorus in four performances of his arrangement of Rockin’ Jerusalem
Imperial Capuchin Church, Neuer Markt, Vienna, Austria
Basilica of St. Prokop, Třebíč, Czechia
St. John the Baptist, Teplice, Czechia
Church of the Holy Saviour, Prague, Czechia
Premiere
Psalm 16, in memory of Gail Roth Malka Meister
for choir, piano, and solo violin
St. John’s Presbyterian Church
Berkeley, CA
Commission & Premiere
This Joyful Eastertide, arrangement of the 17th century Dutch melody, commissioned and performed by Lakeside Chancel Choir and Orchestra
Lakeside Presbyterian Church
San Francisco, CA
A Call to Remembrance: Celebrating the Lives of Those Who Died
During the Pandemic
Music and prayers in honor of those who died during the pandemic, including Henry Purcell’s Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary; Keep Watch, Dear Lord, by Eric Choate; and See, the Home of God, by Todd Jolly; followed by the premiere of Todd Jolly’s Funeral Sentences, a piece inspired by Purcell’s funeral music.
www.stjohnsberkeley.org
St. John’s Presbyterian Church
Berkeley, CA
San Francisco Boys Chorus Virtual Spring Concert 2021
The finale of this spring's concert was an arrangement of the Scottish folk song, Wild Mountain Thyme, written by Todd Jolly specially for the combined choruses of San Francisco Boys Chorus, under the direction of Artistic Director Eric Choate.
Deck the Hall
Broadcast of San Francisco Symphony,
with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and friends.
Todd Jolly directing the San Francisco Boys Chorus Handbells
in his own arrangement of O Tannenbaum.
Paddington Bear's First Concert, Whims & Other Surprises
St. Ignatius Church Virtual Virtuoso Concert Series
Todd Jolly conducted select members of San Francisco Boys Chorus in When I Grow Up from Matilda and Irving Berlin's Blue Skies
2020 San Francisco Fleet Week: The Virtual Experience
Honor Our Fallen Tribute Concert
San Francisco Boys Chorus performed Flanders Fields, arranged by Todd Jolly, under the direction of Artistic Director Eric Choate, in a recorded program with
the 1st United States Marine Division Band
Mazz: A Celebration of Twentieth-Century Prophets
by Todd Jolly, performed by St. John's Choir and jazz combo,
directed by the composer
St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, CA
A Ceremony of Carols
by Benjamin Britten, performed by St. John's Choir and Dan Levitan, harp, directed by Todd Jolly
St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, CA
Mass for World Communion
by Todd Jolly, performed by St. John's Choir and percussion ensemble, Frances Feldon, recorder, directed by the composer
St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, CA
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
In 2019, Todd Jolly returned to the directing staff of San Francisco Boys Chorus; he currently serves as the Assistant Chorus Director, Intermediate Chorus Director, Handbell Director, and the San Mateo rehearsal site Director. Since 2007, he has served as the Minister of Music at St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley.
Downloads
See, the Home of God
Setting Revelation 21:3b-4a to music, this piece was the first one I wrote in response to the pandemic.
The text is hopeful, looking toward a future when "mourning, crying, and pain will be no more."
However, that is the future, and this is now. While I was writing it, the music took me somewhere I didn't expect, ending on an eerie, unresolved note.
Scored for SATB and piano. Free to the public. If you use this, please list me as the composer, and let me know when you did it, where, and how well it was received.
I promise not to send a plague of emails in response.