San Diego's professional choral ensemble SACRA/PROFANA will open its 18th season with a holiday concert titled Mysterious and Magnificent, set for December 6 at 4 PM at First United Methodist Church of San Diego in Mission Valley. The program centers on a world premiere: founding director Krishan Oberoi's new orchestration of Imant Raminsh's Magnificat for strings and piano, with Oberoi joining current Artistic Director Juan Carlos Acosta on the podium for the performance.
The concert description, as reported by KPBS, calls the show a radiant holiday concert exploring mystery, wonder and celebration through choral sound. Tickets range from $15 to $40 depending on seating category and attendee type, with advanced reserved seats priced at $40 for adults, $35 for seniors and military, and $25 for students, while general admission runs $30 for adults, $25 for seniors and military, and $15 for students. The event is open to all ages, and organizers note that dates and times are subject to change without notice. Tickets and information are available through SACRA/PROFANA at (619) 432-2920 or by emailing [email protected].
Oberoi's return to the podium alongside Acosta carries some weight within the ensemble's own history. He founded SACRA/PROFANA in 2009 and built its regional reputation through high-profile theatrical work, including serving as the onstage chorus for 50 performances of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame at La Jolla Playhouse in 2014 and performing Michael Giacchino's score for Star Trek Beyond with the San Diego Symphony at Comic-Con in 2016, according to SACRA/PROFANA. Oberoi holds a doctorate in musical arts and a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music and continues to serve as the group's Principal Guest Conductor while working nationally, per the San Diego Reader.
A Shared Podium With Deep Roots
Acosta, who now leads the group as Artistic Director, joined SACRA/PROFANA as Associate Artistic Director in 2015 before succeeding Oberoi in the top role in 2018, according to an interview with SD Voyager. Beyond the choir, Acosta serves as Director of Worship Ministry at The Village Church in Rancho Santa Fe and has previously taught on the music faculty at the University of San Diego, per The Village Church. The two conductors sharing the podium for the December performance reflects a creative partnership that stretches back more than a decade within the organization.
The piece at the center of the premiere, Raminsh's Magnificat, has its own pedigree. The Latvian-Canadian composer completed the work in 1987, and it went on to win the Canadian National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Work in 1990 following performances by major Canadian choruses at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall, according to VocalEssence. Oberoi's orchestration for strings and piano marks a new arrangement of that award-winning score, though the specific string ensemble accompanying the piano for the premiere has not been detailed publicly.
A Venue Built Around Sound
First United Methodist Church of San Diego, located at 2111 Camino del Rio South, has served generations of individuals and families in San Diego since 1869 and belongs to a denomination with more than 11.4 million members worldwide, per KPBS. Its 1,100-seat sanctuary was built in 1964 and houses a 108-rank, 6,092-pipe Blackinton organ, which stands as the largest pipe organ in San Diego County, according to the church's own music ministry page. The church regularly hosts a Cultural Events Music Series featuring free and ticketed concerts, choral evensongs, and organ recitals that draw classical music enthusiasts to its Mission Valley campus, making it a familiar home for large-scale choral programming. The venue can be reached directly at (619) 297-4366.
SACRA/PROFANA describes itself as San Diego's premier professional choral ensemble, and its catalog backs up that billing. The group released its debut album, Elegies & Ecstasies, in 2012, recorded the world premiere of David Lang's When We Were Children in 2014, and, more recently, released the seasonal album A Longing for Christmas with Grammy Award-winning producer Peter Rutenberg, according to the ensemble's own history. That seasonal recording experience feeds directly into a holiday program built around a world-premiere orchestration.
Season Themes and Community Reach
The choir has also leaned into thematic programming in recent seasons. For its 16th season in 2024, SACRA/PROFANA selected the overarching theme Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors, inspired by educator Dr. Rudine Simms Bishop's essay on diversity and inclusion in literature and arts education, as reported by the Times of San Diego. That approach to curating concert seasons around larger ideas continues into the group's 18th season with December's holiday program.
The organization's reach extends beyond the concert stage as well. Supported in part by the California Arts Council, SACRA/PROFANA runs an annual Summer Choral Intensive that provides immersive training to up to 90 high school students and 50 middle school students alongside the ensemble's core professional singers, according to the California Arts Council. That educational program runs alongside the mainstage season that Mysterious and Magnificent will open this December.
