DR. REBECCA PETRA NAOMI SEEMAN

Sacred and Profane Artistic and Executive Director Rebecca Petra Naomi Seeman is a conductor, music educator, and nonprofit leader. She is a faculty member in the Performing Arts and Social Justice Department at the University of San Francisco, where she conducts the Classical Choral Ensembles and teaches private voice and music theory. Past positions include conducting and academic positions at University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Santa Cruz; and the University of Iowa.

A Bay Area native, Rebecca specializes in the music of Sweden music, particularly the music of the composer Karin Rehnqvist. She is committed to the intersection between the performing arts and social justice and to socially relevant and artistically compelling performance. Presentations include a discussion of their University-Prison Music and Poetry collaboration with Dr. André de Quadros (ACDA, 2017), an ADEI Toolkit for Choral Ensembles (WDACDA, 2022), and a panel on actionizing ADEI work in choral ensembles (Chorus America, 2023). Collaborations include programs with the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco, the Venezuelan V-Note Ensemble, Haitian percussionist Jeff Pierre, the Oakland Youth Chorus, and the William Winant Percussion Group. Commissions have included works by composers Trevor Weston, Karin Rehnqvist, Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, Loretta Notareschi, and Karen Siegel, and she has conducted multiple U.S. and world premieres.

Rebecca holds a BA in Vocal Performance and an MA in Performance Practice and Conducting from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a DMA in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa. Her conducting teachers include Nicole Paiement, Eric Ericson, William Hatcher, and Timothy Stalter. She holds an MNA from the University of San Francisco’s Masters of Nonprofit Administration program, with a focus in ADEI in the Performing Arts. Additional credentials include certificates in Estill Voice Training.