LA Master Chorale to Perform Free Concert at Disney Hall, 4/22

The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) showcases the next generation of musical talent at its acclaimed High School Choir Festival featuring 1,000 choir students from 31 Southland high schools in a free concert on Friday, April 22, 2016, 1 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Sharing the podium are LAMC Artistic Director Grant Gershon and special guest Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, the highly regarded conductor of American Public Media's (APM) The Radio Choir and manager of APM's Choral Works Initiative. The massed 1,000-voice chorus performs Handel's Sing Unto God (Judas Maccabeus); Copland's Long Time Ago; Hold Fast To Dreams by Susan LaBarr with text by Langston Hughes; Ariel Quintana's "Sanctus" from Mass For Two Worlds; Pedro Gutiérrez's Alma Llanera arranged by Angel Sauce; Down by the Riverside arranged by John Rutter; and My Good Lord's Done Been Here arranged by André Thomas

In addition, the prestigious 100-voice Festival Honor Choir, comprised of outstanding young singers nominated by their teachers, presents three a cappella works - Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal arranged by Alice Parker; Paranjoti's Dravidian Dithyramb; and Una Forma Mas arranged by Ana María Raga. The festival also features a performance by the professional Los Angeles Master Chorale Chamber Singers under the direction of Associate Conductor Lesley Leighton.

"I am deeply inspired and uplifted by the High School Choir Festival," says Gershon. "The talent, drive and energy of these remarkable students are simply astounding. And to hear this chorus perform in Disney Hall, with its exceptional acoustics, is an incredible experience."

Participating schools and choir directors include Agoura High School (Agoura), Chad Bloom, director; Arleta High School (Arleta), Greg Broadous, director; Baldwin Park High School (Baldwin Park), Vicki Salmon, director; Bellflower High School (Bellflower), Carolyn Kelley, director; Birmingham Community Charter High School (Lake Balboa), Michael Suffolk, director; Calabasas High School (Calabasas), Joshua Barroll, director; California High School (Whittier), Dan Hawkins, director; Charter Oak High School (Covina), Rebecca Schmalzbach, director; Covina High School (Covina), Susan Silver, director; Culver City High School (Culver City), Dr. Tony Spano, director; East LA Performing Arts Magnet, (Los Angeles), Melissa Rios, director; El Monte High School (El Monte), Joel Whisler, director; Fullerton Union School (Fullerton), Scott Hedgecock, director; Glendale High School (Glendale), Grace Sheldon-Williams, director; and Glendora High School (Glendora), Dr. Brian Trevor, director.

Also participating are Hamilton High School (Los Angeles), Kelci Hahn, director; Lakewood High School (Lakewood), Ralph Siemsen, director; Louisville High School (Woodland Hills), Maura Crawley, director; Mira Costa High School (Manhattan Beach), Michael Hayden, director; Montebello High School (Montebello), Jessie Flasschoen, director; Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana), Sarah Gonzalez, director; Palos Verdes Penninsula High School (Rolling Hills Estates), Dan Doctor, director; Paramount High School (Paramount), Brian Hays, director; Ramón C. Cortines High School (Los Angeles), Christopher-Rey Yraola, director; Rosemead High School (Rosemead), Ruth Gray, director; Rubidoux High School (Jurupe Valley), Jeff Lin, director; San Gabriel Academy (San Gabriel), Lilybeth Evardome-Hunt, director; South El Monte High School (S. El Monte), Melanie Harvey, director; Taft High School (Woodland Hills), Kendra Hall, director; Valley Academy of Arts and Science (Granada Hills), Paul Sims, director; and Venice High School (Los Angeles), Wendy Samoff, director.

Now in its 27th year, the High School Choir Festival is one of the longest and most successful continuously operating music outreach programs in Southern California. The in-depth, yearlong, in-school program presented by the Los Angeles Master Chorale includes intensive teacher training; classroom rehearsals and master classes for students and choral directors led by members of the LA Master Chorale.

The High School Choir Festival is made possible, in part, by grants from the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts; Metropolitan Associates; and Edison International.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale's High School Choir Festival is FREE and seating is first come, first served. The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in Los Angeles. For information, please call (213) 972-7282 or visit www.lamc.org/HSCF.

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