Celebrate Día de los Muertos with Los Angeles Master Chorale, 10/29

Choral music that explores the dual themes of "death" and "celebration" comprise a spirited program for the Los Angeles Master Chorale's first-ever Día de los Muertos concert on Sunday, October 29 at 7 PM in Walt Disney Concert Hall. Tickets start at $29 and are available online from lamasterchorale.org, by calling the Box Office at 213-972-7282, or in person from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office, Monday - Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM.

The concert adds a new musical celebration to Los Angeles' calendar of events centered around the Mexican Day of the Dead festivities that will take place October 31 through November 2. It also coincides with the Getty-led city-wide Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative. The esteemed guest conductor for the concert will be María Guinand, who conducts two of Venezuela's most prestigious choirs, the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela and the Cantoría Alberto Grau. Finding the title of Mexican composer Diana Syrse's La Muerte Sonriente (The Smiling Death) particularly compelling, Guinand has created a two-part program with the first half of the concert featuring works commemorating the dead, and the second half featuring works that celebrate life, echoing the ethos of Día de los Muertos that focuses on remembering and celebrating the lives of loved ones who have died.

In addition to Syrse, featured composers include Alberto Ginastera (Argentina, 1916-1983), Rodolfo Halffter (Spain/Mexico, 1900-1987), Calixto Álvarez (Cuba), Miguel Astor (Venezuela), Leo Brouwer (Cuba), Alberto Grau (Spain), Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca (Brazil, 1933-2006), and Guido López Gavilán (Cuba). The program also features a work by Norwegian-born, US-based composer Ola Gjeilo. The a cappella program will be performed by 62 Los Angeles Master Chorale singers with many of the works being Master Chorale premieres. (Full program follows.)

Guinand conducts two of Venezuela's most prestigious choirs, the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela and the Cantoría Alberto Grau, with both of whom she has toured extensively and won many awards. Always interested in new choral music, she has been involved in projects such as the premieres, performances, and recordings of Osvaldo Golijov's La Pasión según San Marcos and John Adams' A Flowering Tree. For over three decades, Guinand has been the Associate Conductor and Advisor of Choral Symphonic Performances and Activities for El Sistema, the world-renowned music program in Venezuela. She teaches in the Master Degree Program for Choral Conductors at the University Simón Bolívar, where she has been a professor and conductor for 28 years. Revered in her homeland of Venezuela and renowned worldwide, Guinand made her debut with the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2010 as a guest conductor at the High School Choir Festival and returned in 2015 to lead a Community Sing event at First Methodist Church in Glendale.

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS PROGRAM

PART I: DEATH

Alberto Ginastera

Lamentaciones De Profeta Jeremías (Lamentations of Jeremiah)

Rodolfo Halffter

Tres Epitafios (Three Epitaphs)

Calixto Álvarez

Réquiem De Osún (Osun Requiem)

Miguel Astor

Concierto Para Coro (Concert for Choir)

PART II: CELEBRATION

Ola Gjeilo

Unicornis Captivatur (The Unicorn is Captured)

Leo Brouwer

Cántico De Celebración (Song of Celebration)

Alberto Grau

Salve Al Celeste Sol Sonoro (Songs of Life and Hope)

Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca

Jubiabá

Guido López Gavilán

El Guayaboso (The Guava Tree)

Diana Syrse

La Muerte Sonriente (The Smiling Death)

CALENDAR EDITORS:

WHAT:

Los Angeles Master Chorale: Día de los Muertos

WHEN:

Sunday, October 29 at 7 PM

ListenUp! pre-concert talk with María Guinand & Classical KUSC's Alan Chapman at 6 PM.

WHERE:

Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave.

TICKETS & BOX OFFICE INFORMATION:

Tickets are available now, starting from $29:

Online: lamasterchorale.org

Phone: 213-972-7282

Tickets can be purchased in-person at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Box Office Monday - Saturday, 10 AM - 6 PM.

On concert days, box office staff can be reached at 213-972-7282 beginning at 10 AM and the Disney Hall Box Office will be open for will call and sales beginning 2 hours prior to curtain time. Group rates are available. Los Angeles Master Chorale offers $10 Student Rush Tickets at the box office 2 hours prior to the performance, subject to availability. Student ID required; 1 ticket per ID. Please call for additional details.

Please note: children under the age of six are not admitted to Los Angeles Master Chorale concerts.

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