Los Angeles Master Chorale Presents 28th Annual High School Choir Festival, 4/21

The combined vocal force of 1,000 high school students from 30 Southland schools can be heard in a free concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Friday, April 21 when the Los Angeles Master Chorale presents the 28th Annual High School Choir Festival. The 1,000-voice Festival choir will be led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon in a varied program that features works by this year's guest artist singer/composer Moira Smiley. Smiley will also teach the massive choir body percussion to accompany one of her songs.

The performance is open to the public and free to attend. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets can be reserved in advance now atlamasterchorale.org. A select number of tickets will also be available on the day of the concert.

In addition to the 1 PM Festival concert, the day will include a performance by the 16-member Los Angeles Master Chorale Chamber Ensemble in Walt Disney Concert Hall conducted by Assistant Conductor Jenny Wong at 11 AM. This performance is a professional showcase for the students and is also open to the public to attend. Tickets are required for this free event and can be reserved atlamasterchorale.org.

First held in 1989 and impacting thousands of young singers in the ensuing decades, the Los Angeles Master Chorale's High School Choir Festival is one of the longest-running continuous education outreach programs in Southern California. The Walt Disney Concert Hall performances are the culmination of an in-depth, year-long, in-school program that includes intensive teacher training, classroom rehearsals, and masterclasses for students and choral directors led by members of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Of the 1,000 students, 100 are selected by their teachers to be part of the prestigious Honor Choir.

Artistic Director Grant Gershon describes the High School Choir Festival concert as one of the most uplifting performances of the year: "There is a joyous feeling in Walt Disney Concert Hall every year when these young singers come together to perform. This concert is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication from the singers and their teachers and there is a great deal of camaraderie and fun as life-long musical memories are made."

Last year's High School Choir Festival concert reached a huge international audience when a tribute to Prince, who had died the day before the concert, was added to the program. The students' moving performance of Purple Rain led by guest conductor Tesfa Wondemagegnehu was filmed by multiple news outlets with a Los Angeles Times video of the performance receiving over 247,000 views on YouTube.

Each year the Los Angeles Master Chorale engages a guest artist to be part of the Festival, increasing the young singers' exposure to the choral industry's top conductors and composers. This year's guest artist Moira Smiley performs with the acclaimed vocal group moira smiley & VOCO that has recorded four albums and is in-demand at both fine arts and folk venues around the world. Two of Smiley's works Bring Me Little Water, Silvy and Stand in That River will be performed at the concert showcasing her blend of traditional folk songs with choral technique. In June the Los Angeles Master Chorale will perform the world premiere of a new work it commissioned from Smiley that includes a sound collage compiled from recordings created by Festival participants.

CALENDAR EDITORS:

WHAT: 28th Annual High School Choir Festival concert presented by the Los Angeles Master Chorale

WHEN: Friday, April 21 at 1 PM

Los Angeles Master Chorale Chamber Ensemble performance at 11 AM

WHERE: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave.

TICKETS: Open to the public; free entry. Advance ticket reservations available atlamasterchorale.org.

28TH ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR FESTIVAL CONCERT PROGRAM:

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL | Your Voices Tune and Raise Them High

VALERIE SHOWERS CRESCENZ | Far and Away

LANHAM DEAL | Érase una niña

ANDRÉ THOMAS | Ride the Chariot

ROLLO DILWORTH | The Gift To Be Free

MOIRA SMILEY | Bring Me Little Water, Silvy

SHAWN KIRCHNER | Wana Baraka

DAVID N. CHILDS | Where Your Bare Foot Walks

NILO ALCALA | Tiptipa Kemmakem

MOIRA SMILEY | Stand in That River

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS:

Agoura High School (Agoura Hills) | Chad Bloom, director

Arroyo High School (El Monte) | Jennifer Stanley, director

Azusa High School (Azusa) | Mary Kuo Turner, director

Baldwin Park High School (Baldwin Park) | Vicki Salmon, director

Bellflower High School (Bellflower) | Carolyn Kelley, director

Birmingham Community Charter High School (Van Nuys) | Michael Suffolk, 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 J. Rios, director

El Camino Real Charter High School (Woodland Hills) | Corinne Brennan, director

El Monte High School (El Monte) | Joel Whisler, director

Glendale High School (Glendale) | Grace Sheldon-Williams, director

Glendora High School (Glendora) | Dr. Brian Trevor, director

Granada Hills Charter High School (Granada Hills) | Sarah White, director

Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) | Wendy Walsh, director

Lakewood High School (Lakewood) | Ralph Siemsen, director

Mark Keppel High School (Alhambra) | Tony Azeltine, 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 Peninsula High School (Rolling Hills Estates) | Dan Doctor, director

Paramount High School (Paramount) | Brian Hays, director

Ramón C. Cortines High School of VAPA (Los Angeles) | Drew Lewis, director

Rosemead High School (Rosemead) | Ruth Gray, director

Rubidoux High School (Riverside) | Jeff Lin, director

San Gabriel Academy (San Gabriel) | Lilybeth Evardome-Hunt, director

Taft High School (Woodland Hills) | Kendra Hall, director

Valley Academy of Arts and Science (Granada Hills) | Paul Sims, director

Venice High School (Venice Beach) | Wendy Sarnoff, director

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE

The Los Angeles Master Chorale is widely recognized as one of the country's leading professional choruses and one of Southern California's most vibrant cultural treasures. Hailed for its powerful performances, technical precision, and artistic daring, the Master Chorale is led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon and President and CEO Jean Davidson. It is a founding resident company of The Music Center and the choir-in-residence at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Chorister positions are highly sought-after and the professional choir is a diverse and vocally dynamic group showcasing the many voices of L.A.

Presenting its own concert series each season, the Master Chorale performs choral music from the earliest writings to contemporary compositions striking a balance between innovation and tradition. It also regularly performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Praised for its definitive performances, the choir is committed to recording the choral repertoire and has also featured with Gershon on the soundtracks of many major motion pictures. It is further heard beyond the concert hall via broadcasts by Southern California's Classical KUSC.

Committed to community engagement and fostering music education in schools, the Los Angeles Master Chorale's education programs include Voices Within that encourages young people to write and perform their own songs and an Oratorio Project for high school students, and the annual High School Choir Festival, which brings around 1,000 teenagers from around the Southland to perform en masse in Walt Disney Concert Hall. www.lamasterchorale.org

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