Volti’s professional singers, under the direction of founder and Artistic Director Robert Geary, are dedicated to the discovery, creation, and performance of new vocal music. The ensemble’s mission is to foster and showcase contemporary American music and composers, and to introduce contemporary vocal music from around the world to local audiences. The group has commissioned more than 120 new works, by emerging as well as established composers.

Hailed by San Francisco Classical Voice as “undoubtedly the finest collection of new music singers we have,” Volti boasts a 45-year track record of some of the most sophisticated vocal performances in the nation. Composers seek opportunities to partner with these stellar musicians, who are known for their sheer technical brilliance as well as their vibrant, passionate sound. Nationally recognized as a pioneer in new vocal music, Volti has won the prestigious ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music seven times – the only vocal ensemble to ever be honored with this award so many times – a testament to the fresh perspective and new voices the group brings to life — and is the 2023 recipient of Chorus America’s highest award, the Margaret Hillis Award for Excellence. 

Art is redefined in every generation by the best and the brightest, artists who are paying attention to the world around them.  Volti seeks composers who explore timely issues of the modern human experience.  At a Volti concert you might hear music addressing such topics as social justice, political and class strife, and different conceptions of God/spirit.  Volti explores the nexus between poetry and sound, the translation of inspiration to creation, the evocative power of an artist compelled to express this thing, at this time, in this way. At its best, it’s the aural equivalent of a sunspot — an explosion of energy, a flash of brilliance, a glimpse of some eternal truth seen in a new and breathtaking way.

Attending a Volti concert is like visiting a modern art gallery, stimulating the mind, the imagination and the heart.