Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Carlos Acosta.
Hi Juan Carlos, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Juan Carlos Acosta – Artistic Director of SACRA/PROFANA, San Diego’s premiere professional choral ensemble.
I really consider myself very fortunate as a musician. Over the years, I’ve held a variety of “day jobs,” especially during high school and college—everything from working at a fine art framing store in La Jolla to a wholesale live fish company, REI, a bike shop, and even doing day labor. Those were all great experiences that helped me truly value a career in music, even when it really feels like a job.
In high school I had a few paid gigs, mostly as a drummer or percussionist for choirs but occasionally as a singer or guitarist. Right after high school I was hired as a Teacher’s Assistant for San Diego Unified and served as the assistant conductor at a Middle School. It was a truly amazing experience working with these enthusiastic and developing voices under the leadership of my friend and mentor Cindy Jorstad. It was also a great training ground for me as a musician, conductor, and teacher.
While still a Freshman in college I landed a section leader job at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Clairemont. A section leader is a singer who is paid to support the volunteer voices in the choir. It was a small church, and while I’m not sure I added much at the time, they believed in me, and I was proud of that position. They later made me the Youth Choir director and gave me many opportunities to grow.
During my undergrad, I took on any gig I could get—playing drums for choirs, singing for community theater, community choirs, and solo performances, often for little or no pay. I also got a job at a small Lutheran church in El Cajon (where I met my wife) and a contract to sing with the San Diego Opera Chorus. After finishing my undergrad I worked my way up paying my dues by taking various positions directing community choirs, going to bigger churches, and singing professionally.
After completing my Masters in Conducting from San Diego State University my career began to take off. I had opportunities to direct the Vancouver Chamber Choir, prepare choirs for world premieres with the San Diego Symphony, work with two Pulitzer prize-winning composers, conduct an award-winning production with the San Diego Opera, and make my debut with the New York City Opera.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest challenges is navigating the performing arts world, especially choral music, in a post-pandemic environment. People’s habits and interests have shifted, and now a major focus for us—and the industry—is encouraging people to return to live events. We’ve all gotten used to consuming culture at home, but there’s nothing quite like the experience of sharing live performances with people in your own community.
Another challenge has been working to build stronger connections with organizations in the San Diego area that serve the community. In recent years, SACRA/PROFANA has made it a priority to highlight nonprofit organizations that serve the people in our area. We want to use our platform to spotlight these groups and the vital work they do. However, that hasn’t always been easy. Often just starting a conversation or getting a foot in the door can be challenging. Everyone is busy focusing on their own work, and it’s sometimes difficult to find the emotional or professional space to explore potential collaborations. Finding groups that are open to partnering has been a key focus for us.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently, I hold three different positions. My full-time job is at the Village Community Presbyterian Church where we have a thriving and multi-level music program that includes choirs for singers 6 to 96, and everything in between. I also serve as the Artistic Director of SACRA/PROFANA (San Diego’s premiere professional choral ensemble) and am currently teaching conducting at San Diego State University. What I really enjoy about what I do now is that I get to work with singers at every stage and level.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
As far as the arts go, I am pretty conservative when it comes to risks. Perhaps the riskiest thing I do is in my programming, particularly with SACRA/PROFANA, but with every group I work with. I focus on championing music from traditionally marginalized communities in choral and classical music. Choral music has been dominated by men of Western European descent, which has marginalized the work of women and people of color. For example, we know from letters and historical accounts that composers like Anna Maria Mozart and Fanny Mendelssohn were highly talented, rivaling their more famous brothers yet culture at that time did not allow them to explore their talents. We can’t rewrite history but we can invest in the current and upcoming generation of composers. It is not a musical risk by any means, but audiences much prefer to come out to concerts of music by familiar names, so there is some risk in programming what people don’t already know.
Over the years, this has led to wonderful collaborations and opportunities, including world and regional premieres by composers such as San Diego resident and Pulitzer prize winner Anthony Davis, LA-based Saunder Choi who just won the Brock prize for professional choral composition from the American Choral Directors Association, Sarah Kirkland Snider who the Wall Street Journal called a “rising star in the American compositional scene,” Sarah Rimkus, Amy Gordon, and so many others. What has been more important than the world premieres has been giving these works the second and third performances. How else do these new pieces become part of the recognized choral repertoire unless groups like ours adopt them as our own?
Pricing:
- $15-$40
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sacraprofana.org/
- Instagram: @sacraprofana
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sacraprofana/
- Youtube: @SacraProfana
