Rita Lilly
Music Director
Rita is a sought-after singer, conductor, and voice teacher in the Bay Area. A classical soprano, she is familiar to audiences in oratorio and recital, most notably for her performances of baroque and early music. Rita is a frequent soloist with some of the finest Bay Area groups, including the American Bach Soloists, Bay Choral Guild, California Bach Society, Marin Baroque, Marin Oratorio, Sacramento Baroque, San Francisco Bach, Sonoma Bach, and Vallejo Choral Society.
Previously, Rita served as the Music Director at St. Jerome Catholic Church in El Cerrito and, more recently, as Music Director of Lafayette Christian Church in Lafayette. As faculty, she has served as the Director of Mills College Choir in Oakland and as the voice teacher at the Pacific Boychoir Academy, where she formed the Sorella Girls Chorus. She also maintains an active vocal studio in her home.
Rita has been married for nearly 35 years to Dr. Nitash Balsara, a Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering professor at UC Berkeley, with a love for guitar. They have two children. Their daughter, Sonya, lives in NY, and is starring as Jasmine in Aladdin on Broadway, while their son Matthew is a drummer and kinesiology major at SF State.