Both General Director Irene Dalis, 88, and Music Director David Rohrbaugh are retiring at the end of the current season, the 30th since Dalis founded the company. Rohrbaugh too has been with Opera San José for three decades.
A century ago, Irish and German Jewish descendants of immigrants founded the San Francisco Symphony. Their Italian counterparts funded and participated in the creation of San Francisco Opera.
San Francisco Bach Choir, founded in 1937, is believed to be the oldest continually performing choir in the western United States. The current Artistic Director Corey Jamason hasn't been around that long, but he served a good stretch of time, and he is stepping down as of next March.
