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About Us:

Our background and our leadership.

Founded in 1994 by Maestro Urs Leonhardt Steiner, GGSOC is a nonprofit dedicated to enriching communities through music. Now in its third decade, the organization brings together singers and instrumentalists to perform everything from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Handel’s Messiah to world premieres like Carlos Pazos’ Indigenous Symphony.

GGSOC is committed to making music accessible. We distribute more than 300 free tickets per concert, perform in venues ranging from San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre to breweries and community centers, and collaborate with radio partners like KDFC and La Voz del Golden Gate. Projects such as Songs of Truth (a Holocaust Awareness concert series) and Beyond the Border Walls highlight underrepresented voices and invite new audiences into the classical music experience.

In 2019, we launched the Benicia Chorus Chapter with local artists Bodil and Larnie Fox. This group performs regularly under Maestro Steiner’s direction at historic venues like the Benicia Clock Tower, strengthening local ties and expanding GGSOC’s mission of cultural connection.

Education is also central to our work. Through culturally responsive programs that integrate instruction and performance, we help build local music capacity. GGSOC’s reach now spans the Bay Area and beyond, including international performances such as our 2024 tour in Graubünden, Switzerland, celebrating the region’s 500th anniversary.

urs leonhardt steiner - music director / conductor

Internationally renowned as a conductor, guitarist, educator, and composer, in 1994 Maestro Steiner founded the orchestra that would become the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & Chorus.

Originally from Chur, Switzerland, he studied at the University of Tubingen and graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He took advanced conducting studies with James Wimer and Gustav Meier, as well as participating in Master classes with Andre Previn, Erich Leinsdorf, Leonhard Bernstein, and Herbert von Karajan, Maestro Steiner’s compositions include the operas “Il Secondo Settenio” and “Return of the Phantoms” which have been performed to critical acclaim in Switzerland and the United States. In addition to leading the Golden Gate Symphony in local and international endeavors, he is a frequent guest conductor with orchestras and ensembles

loretta taylor - concertmaster

Ms. Taylor has been the concertmaster of the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & Chorus since its founding. She has worked extensively with many orchestras throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and has performed in orchestras in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Perth, Australia. In addition to being the concertmaster of the Golden Gate Symphony, Ms. Taylor teaches at the San Francisco Community Music Center and is principal second violin of the Santa Cruz County Symphony. She has coached chamber music for the Chamber Musicians of Northern California and the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop; and she has been a soloist with the Old First Orchestra, the Community Music Center Orchestra, and the New Millenium Strings. Ms. Taylor is a graduate of San Francisco State University, magna cum laude.

Brandon Tran - Orchestra Manager

Brandon Tran has been a freelance violinist and violist in the San Francisco Bay Area since the early 200’s. He is originally from Pittsburg, CA in Contra Costa County. He has played with the Golden Gate Symphony since 2022 and his role as Orchestra Manager uses both his great people skills and his knowledge of orchestral logistics. He is currently a graduate student pursuing a masters degree in music at San Francisco State University.

Bruce Rockwell - Chorus Director — Benicia CHORUS

Bruce Rockwell received his BA in Music from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and his MM in Composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Conrad Susa and David Conte. He taught and directed music ensembles for the San Francisco Waldorf schools and the Town School for Boys. Bruce has been the choir director at College Park High School in Pleasant Hill since 2010. Under his direction the College Park choirs have gone on to great acclaim – earning a special recognition for community engagement from the Pleasant Hill city council, performing at Carnegie Hall twice, and most recently with the rock group Foreigner. He has taught choir, piano and guitar at College Park since 2010. He has written and presented a number of journal articles and conference sessions on various topics of interest to music educators, and has lived in Benicia since 2004.

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

The GGSOC collaborates with local radio stations to invite diverse communities into the classical music experience. KDFC, the leading Bay Area classical music radio station, promotes GGSOC concerts and outreach events via on-air ads, promotions, and partnerships. Maestro Steiner also regularly appears on air on La Voz del Golden Gate (KIQI Radio, AM 1010) and Sing Tao Chinese Radio (FM 96.1) to discuss classical music.

UNEXPECTED LOCATIONS

The GGSOC regularly performs in the Herbst Theatre, a beautiful turn of the century Beaux Arts building in downtown San Francisco, as well as the City Clock Tower in Benicia, CA.

We also present programs in non-traditional venues such as Vesuvio’s Cafe and The Homestead in San Francisco’s Mission District. These “gateway” experiences invite a new generation of classical music artists and audiences into the GGSOC community.