LA Children's Chorus Headed to Japan

Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) furthers its national and international reach when two of its leading choirs embark on major tours this summer to Japan and the East Coast, capping LACC's 30th Anniversary season. LACC's Concert Choir, led by LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, travels to Japan for the first time in its 30-year history for an 11-day tour of the island nation, including performances in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima, from June 30 - July 10, 2016. In addition, LACC's Young Men's Ensemble (YME), under the director of Dr. Steven Kronauer, embarks on a 9-day East Coast tour with stops in Boston, New Haven, New York City and Washington, D.C., from June 19-27, 2016. To launch the tours, both choirs are presenting free send-off concerts at Pasadena Presbyterian Church with YME performing on Thursday, June 16, 7 pm, and the Concert Choir appearing on Tuesday, June 28, 7 pm.

"Los Angeles Children's Chorus has enjoyed a long and significant history of touring North America and abroad," says Tomlinson. "Through these invaluable cultural exchanges, LACC has reached vast new audiences around the globe. Touring also provides an important opportunity for LACC choristers to engage with people from diverse cultures in meaningful ways and to build bridges through singing."

The Concert Choir's tour to Japan features two performances in the Tokyo area - with the Odawara Children's Choir at the Odawara Civic Hall, on July 3, and with the Sumida Children's Choir at Toyosu Concert Hall, on July 4. Other highlights include a concert with Takatsuki Boys and Girls Choir at the Takatsuki Genda Gejijou Assembly Room in Osaka, on July 6; a performance at the Kyoto Concert Hall, on July 8, sponsored by the Kyoto City Music Arts Foundation/Kyoto Chorus Foundation; and a joint appearance with Voice of Young at Elisabeth University's Cecilia Concert Hall in Hiroshima, on July 9. The Concert Choir is also slated to take in such sights as Tokyo's renowned Ginza shopping district, the famed Kirifuri Waterfall in Nikko, Kyoto's colorful shrines and sublime gardens, and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, recently visited by President Barack Obama. The Concert Choir regularly appears in Southern California with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera and Los Angeles Master Chorale and has made numerous recordings and television and radio appearances.

Highlights of YME's East Coast tour include a workshop with Dr. Andrew Clark, Director of Choral Activities at Harvard University, and a performance at First Church in Cambridge, MA, on June 20; a workshop with Yale University vocal professor James Taylor in New Haven, CT, on June 21; a workshop with Patrick Gardner, director of Rutgers University Glee Club, and a mini-concert at Christ Church in New York City, on June 23; a joint performance with the U.S. Army Chorus on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on June 24; a workshop with Thea Kano, Artistic Director of the New York City Master Chorale and Director of the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus in Washington, D.C., on June 25; and an appearance at the Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, on June 26. The choir's itinerary also includes tours of Harvard University, Fenway Park, Yale University, the Metropolitan Opera House, Arlington National Cemetery, the Naval Academy, the Smithsonian Museums and Mount Vernon. Young Men's Ensemble is one of only a few choirs in the country to serve young male vocalists with changing voices and is designed to bridge the gap between treble and young men's choral singing while fostering healthy vocal techniques.

LACC, recipient of Chorus America's 2014 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the nation's highest choral honor, has previously toured North and South America, Africa, China, Cuba, Australia and Europe.

Admission to the free "send off" concerts on June 16 and 28 are on a first come first served basis. Pasadena Presbyterian Church, located at 585 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California 91101. For information on Los Angeles Children's Chorus, please call (626) 793-4231 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.

Photo by Jamie Pham

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