[2] The group was founded in 1948 by Madi Bacon and Gaetano Merola to provide singers for the San Francisco Opera.

Past directors also include Edwin Flath, William Ballard and Louis Magor with support from training group directors Juell Gainey (Juelle Hinman) Judy Breneman (Dodge), Sarah Keene, Donald Osborne... On January 20, 2009, forty-three boys from the SFBC performed at the presidential inauguration ceremony for United States President Barack Obama at the U.S. Capitol, along with members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus (a separate organization).

Among others, the group has performed for Colin Powell, Tipper Gore, Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

[1] In 1997 the group performed at the wedding of Andre Agassi and Brooke Shields in Monterey, California.

[3] Alumni of the group include author Daniel Handler, better known under his pen name Lemony Snicket, actor Joshua Jackson, singer Christopheren Nomura, violinist Donald Weilerstein, cellist Paul Tobias, the late conductor Calvin Simmons, conductors Peter Rubardt, Alan Yamamoto, Joe Illick and Phillip Kelsey, and a cappella director/singer Deke Sharon.