Graduate Chorale Director and Voice Coach
A born and raised San Franciscan, Harlan Hays’ career has touched many corners of the city’s realm of classical music. He is an alum of the San Francisco Boys Chorus, starting as a younger chorister in 1999. Nearly 25 years later, Harlan is now a voice coach at SFBC and the Director of the Graduate Chorale. He likewise teaches voice and Art Song as an Artist in Residence at the Ruth Asawa SF School of the Arts.
He was educated at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying Voice with Cesar Ulloa and Sheri Greenwald. Mr. Hays has had a lifelong career with the San Francisco Opera. He is currently a member of the company’s Extra Chorus, though his time there began as early as 9 years old with the children’s chorus in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel.
Some recent performances with SFO include Verdi’s La Traviata, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Beethoven’s Fidelio, and Britten’s Billy Budd. Harlan has also sung with the chorus at Opera San Jose and Berkeley Opera and was a featured soloist in Verdi’s La Traviata and Moniuszko’s Halka with the SF’s Pocket Opera. He has performed with the Marin Symphony Chorus since 2022 and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus since 2016.
When not singing in productions across the Bay Area, Harlan is likely swimming in the ocean at Baker Beach or exploring the Marin Headlands with his wife and dog.
