LA Children's Chorus Announces 2016-17 Season
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 26, 2016
Los AngeLes Children's Chorus (LACC), led by Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson and hailed for its agile Bel Canto sound that has transformed it into one of the world's foremost children's choirs, announces its 2016-17 season, entitled "Aspire," which spotlights works by composers who developed transformative approaches to musical education, Bartók, Kodály and Britten, among them.
Also noted for its broad reach and long-standing community partnerships, the chorus is featured this season in high profile projects with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Pasadena Symphony and POPS, and Lineage Dance Company. It also presents an array of notable concerts, recitals and special events with leading artists from the choral world. LACC, which serves children ages 6 to 18 from 50 Southland communities, is 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).
"It is an honor and a privilege to work with the talented young singers of Los AngeLes Children's Chorus," says Tomlinson, currently in her 21st and penultimate season with the organization. "LACC's wide-ranging appearances and musical collaborations showcase the singers' remarkable artistry while enhancing LACC's comprehensive music education program by expanding the scope of the repertoire they learn and encouraging a deeper appreciation of the choral art. We are proud to be part of such meaningful and compelling partnerships with these internationally acclaimed cultural institutions."
Among numerous highlights, LACC performs John Adams' El Niño with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Grant Gershon, at Walt Disney Concert Hall (December 16 and 18, 2016); and makes two Pasadena-area appearances with the Pasadena Symphony and POPS as a featured guest artist for both its "Holiday Candlelight Concert," led by Grant Cooper, at All Saints Episcopal Church (December 17, 2016), and Beethoven's monumental Symphony No. 9 conducted by David Lockington at Ambassador Auditorium (April 29, 2017). LACC joins LA Opera for six performances of its production of Puccini's Tosca, conducted by James Conlon at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (April 22, 27 and 30, and May 2, 7 and 13, 2017).
LACC hosts the Los Angeles debut of Berlin's esteemed Children's Choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, which is led by Music Director Vinzenz Weissenburger and regularly performs with the Berlin Opera and Berlin Philharmonic, in a free performance at Pasadena Presbyterian Church (November 15, 2016); and has been selected to perform at the prestigious Chorus America Convention in Los Angeles (June 2017).
Additionally, LACC presents at Pasadena Presbyterian Church its signature Winter Concert, featuring works by Bach and Holst as well as an eclectic array of art songs and folksongs (December 4 and 11, 2016), and Spring Concert, including a world premiere by LA-based composer Dale Trumbore commissioned by the chorus (May 7 and 14, 2017). This spring, the chorus also holds its annual Gala Bel Canto fundraiser. Enriching the community in myriad ways, LACC collaborates with Lineage Dance Company to present a free performance at Lineage Performing Arts Center in conjunction with Pasadena ArtNight (October 21, 2016) and sings in the benefit performance "Bach to Broadway," conducted by former Los Angeles Master Chorale Associate Conductor Lesley Leighton, to raise funds for the restoration of Pasadena's historic St. Andrew Church, founded in 1886 and among the oldest churches in Los Angeles (September 30, 2016). LACC wraps the 31st season with a North American tour.
Los AngeLes Children's Chorus is recognized throughout the country for its exceptional artistic quality and technical ability. Founded in 1986 and led by Tomlinson since 1995, LACC serves more than 400 children ages 6 to 18 through six choirs - Preparatory, Apprentice, Intermediate, Concert, Chamber Singers and Young Men's Ensemble for boys with changing voices - and also offers a First Experiences in Singing program and First Experiences in Choral Singing Ensemble for 6-8-year-olds. LACC, recipient of Chorus America's 2014 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the nation's highest choral honor, has toured North and South America, Africa, China, Japan, 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 PBS's "Great Performances," BBC Radio, and Public Radio International's nationally syndicated show "From the Top," among other credits.
Los AngeLes Children's Chorus (LACC) launches its 31st season by giving back to the community when it sings in the benefit performance "Bach to Broadway" with proceeds earmarked for the restoration of Pasadena's landmark St. Andrew Church, founded in 1886 and among the oldest churches in Los Angeles, on September 30, 2016, 7:30 pm, at the church. The program also features a triple quartet of noted professional singers: sopranos Karen Hogel Brown, Anna Schubert and Suzanne Waters; altos Michele Hemmings, Leslie Inman and Sarah Lynch; tenors Daniel Chaney, Charles Lane and Michael Lichtenauer; and basses Dylan Gentile, Luc Kleiner and E. Scott Levin.
LACC collaborates with Lineage Dance Company to present a free performance in conjunction with Pasadena ArtNight on October 21, 2016, at Lineage Performing Arts Center. The contemporary Dance Company, founded in 1999 and dedicated to reaching across barriers of age, ethnicity and ability, has partnered with nearly 200 nonprofit organizations to produce more than 500 performances. This collaboration is made possible in part by the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division. Pasadena ArtNight is free evening of art, music and entertainment in which 18 of Pasadena's most prominent arts and cultural institutions open their doors to the public to offer demonstrations, performances and exhibitions with free shuttles connecting the venues. Last year, some 28,000 people attended the event. A second Pasadena ArtNight, in which LACC is also participating, is slated for March 10, 2017.
Continuing to build upon its legacy of presenting other children's choirs from the U.S. and abroad, LACC hosts a choral exchange and free concert featuring the Los Angeles debut of Germany's esteemed Children's Choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, which is led by Music Director Vinzenz Weissenburger and regularly performs with the Berlin Opera Company and Berlin Philharmonic, on November 15, 2016, 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. LACC's Concert Choir, under the direction of Tomlinson, shares the stage with the German choir as they perform a range of classical works and folk songs separately and combined. The Los Angeles appearance of Children's Choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden is part of its first U.S. West Coast tour, which also includes stops in San Diego and San Francisco.
LACC presents its popular annual Winter Concert on two consecutive Sundays, December 4 and 11, 2016, 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, which has been the chorus's home venue since its inception. The eclectic program features Bach's Schaffe koennen (Sheep May Safely Graze); Ko Matsuso's Dona Nobis Pacem for three choirs, which LACC sung on its tour to Japan last summer; Hymn to the Waters from Holst's Rig Veda, a collection of more than 1,000 hymns inspired by the composer's interest in Sanskrit and Indian religion and poetry; the American classic Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Irving Berlin; and a selection of holiday favorites.
LACC appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Grant Gershon, for two performances of John Adams' deeply felt Nativity oratorio El Niño, which culminates with an inspiring lullaby sung by children's choir, December 16, 8 pm, and December 18, 2016, 2 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. LACC has twice previously performed the work with Los Angeles Philharmonic, including its Los Angeles premiere in 2003, a performance the Los Angeles Times declared "superb."
In other seasonal offerings, LACC makes its ninth consecutive guest appearance in matinee and evening performances of the Pasadena Symphony and POPS' popular Holiday Candlelight Concert led by conductor Grant Cooper on Saturday, December 17, 2016, 4 pm and 7 pm, at Pasadena's All Saints Church. Ushering in the holidays by candlelight in the church's visually striking and richly sonorous setting, the program also features singer/actress Valerie Pettiford, who earned a Tony Award nomination for her role in the hit Broadway production of Fosse, the Donald Brinegar Singers and the L.A. Bronze Handbell Ensemble.
LACC joins LA Opera for six performances of Puccini's Tosca conduct by James Conlon with Sondra Radvanovsky reprising the title role in the revival of this John Caird-staged production April 22, 27 and 30, and May 2, 7 and 13, 2017 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
On April 29, 2017, LACC makes its second appearance of the season with the Pasadena Symphony and POPS performing Beethoven's monumental Symphony No. 9, considered among the greatest musical works ever written, conducted by David Lockington with the Donald Brinegar Singers, at Ambassador Auditorium. The program also includes Holst's Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda.
Committed to championing rising and established composers who write for treble choir, Los AngeLes Children's Chorus presents a world premiere by Los Angeles-based composer Dale Trumbore, commissioned by the chorus, at its Spring Concert on May 7 and 14, 2017, 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Trumbore, praised by The New York Times for creating "soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies deployed with finesse," is among a new generation of composers helping to expand and reinvigorate the choral repertoire. The program also features works by Bartók and Kodály as well as a vibrant mix of music both contemporary and traditional.
LACC is one of a handful of choirs selected to perform at the prestigious 2017 Chorus America Conference, the nation's preeminent choral industry convention that draws choral leaders from across the country, June 21-24, 2017, in downtown Los Angeles.
This spring, LACC presents its annual Gala Bel Canto fundraiser, which spotlights distinguished honorees from the worlds of the arts, philanthropy and the chorus's alumni community, draws supporters from across the Southland and spotlights the remarkable talents of LACC's choristers. Proceeds benefit the chorus's artistic, educational and scholarship programs.
LACC, continuing its proud tradition of touring nationally and internationally to reach a global audience with its unique artistry, caps its 31st season with the Concert Choir touring North America and the Young Men's Ensemble touring internationally (destination TBA) in June 2017.
For children interested in joining LACC's ranks, open auditions for the renowned chorus take place June 1-4, 2017, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. No previous training in music or singing or audition preparations are required. Auditions for the Young Men's Ensemble take place in mid-August.
LACC also offers its popular program First Experiences in Singing, eight- to ten-week, non-auditioned, non-performing classes that introduce six- and seven-year-old children to the wonders and excitement of singing and music. The 45-minute weekly classes are designed to assist budding singers with vocal and musical skill development, expose them to general music and rhythmic concepts, and introduce them to Bel Canto singing, the vocal style for which LACC is noted. Classes are held at Pasadena Presbyterian Church each fall, spring and summer.
Graduates of Level I of First Experiences in Singing are eligible to continue to Level II and Level III classes, which are ten weeks in length. Children completing Level III may then join LACC's newest ensemble, First Experiences in Choral Singing, now in its fifth season. The ensemble is designed to assist children in developing their vocal, aural, musical and choral skills with the goal of auditioning for LACC's Preparatory Choir. The curriculum and repertoire focuses on developing the upper range of the treble voice, introducing acute listening skills, creating an awareness of musical phrasing, reading from an octavo and learning extended rehearsal decorum. The ensemble performs for parents twice a year.
This fall, Level I classes run eight consecutive Wednesdays, from September 28 to November 15, 2016, at 4:15 pm. Level II classes run ten consecutive Wednesdays, from September 14 to November 16, 2016, at 5:15 pm.
LACC's concert season and core educational program are made possible, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Colburn Foundation, Metropolitan Associates, and Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, among other generous grant makers. LACC is also deeply grateful to lead patrons Helen and Peter Bing and Mary Blodgett and Carlton Calvin as well as the hundreds of individual, foundation and corporate donors whose dedicated support sustains the chorus's annual choral music program for children.
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