Los Angeles Children's Chorus Winter Concert to Showcase American Composers in December

Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) - acclaimed for its pure, agile, bel canto sound that has made it one of the most in-demand children's choirs in the county - presents its popular annual Winter Concert, celebrating American song, on two consecutive Sundays, December 7 and 14, 2014, 7:30 pm and 7:00 pm, respectively, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The program features works by a number of eminent American composers, including Let every breath, a round in the shape note tradition by William Billings, considered the country's first choral composer; Aaron Copland's popular Ching-a-ring Chaw; A Christmas Carol by Charles Ives, one of the nation's first composers to gain international acclaim; and Knee Play 5 from legendary minimalist composer Philip Glass's groundbreaking 1967 opera "Einstein on the Beach," universally hailed as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century. LACC also spotlights works by several Los Angeles-based composers, Nick Strimple's A Christmas Lullaby, Wayne Bisbee's A Cuckoo Flew Out of the Wood, David Montoya's I Heard a Bird Sing, and L'Dor vador by former cantor Meir Finkelstein, among them. Additional highlights include Florida-based David Brunner's Chauntecleere, based on a poem by William Austin; Be Like the Bird, a haunting round by Abbie Betinis, a Minnesota-based 2009 McKnight Fellow whose music has been hailed by The New York Times as "inventive" and "richly melodic"; Carol of the Field Mice by the Bay Area's Brian Holmes, set to the poem "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame; and Spanish Ave Maria by Henry Mollicone, who also hails from the Bay Area.

LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson conducts the chorus' Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. Associate Artistic Director Mandy Brigham leads the Intermediate Choir, Diana Landis leads the Apprentice Choir, and Dr. Steven Kronauer conducts the Young Men's Ensemble. The choirs will perform separately and combined.

Tickets are $26, $38 and $44; children 17 and under are half price. For tickets and information, please call (626) 793-4231 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org. Pasadena Presbyterian Church is located at 585 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101.

LOS ANGELES CHILDREN'S CHORUS (LACC), led by highly regarded Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson and acclaimed for its agile bel canto sound, serves more than 400 children, ages 6 to 18, from 50 Southland communities through six choirs and a First Experiences in Singing program. It has been lauded as "one of the world's foremost children's choirs" (Pasadena Star News), and described as "hauntingly beautiful" (Los Angeles Times), "astonishingly polished" (Performances Magazine), "extraordinary in its abilities" (Culture Spot LA), and "one heck of a talented group of kids" (LA Weekly). The recipient of Chorus America's 2014 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the nation's highest choral honor, LACC has toured North and South America, Africa, China, Australia and Europe. It appears on the Los Angeles Master Chorale's critically acclaimed Decca recording A Good Understanding and Plácido Domingo's Deutsche Grammophon recording Amore Infinito ("Infinite Love"). The subject of a trilogy of documentaries by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock, LACC is featured in the Academy Award-nominated Sing!, about a year in the life of the choir; Sing Opera!, documenting the production of the LACC-commissioned family opera Keepers of the Night; and Sing China!, chronicling its groundbreaking tour to China just prior to the Beijing Olympics. LACC has performed with John Mayer on NBC's "The Tonight Show" and has also been featured on BBC Radio and Public Radio International's nationally syndicated show "From the Top," among other credits.