LA Children's Chorus Ushers In Holidays At Disney Hall With Opera Star Susan Graham

Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC), one of the world's foremost children's choirs, rings in the holidays with special guest, Grammy Award-winning opera singer Susan Graham, and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert featuring the world premiere of Los Angeles-based composer Paul Gibson's Ring Out, Wild Bells - based on Tennyson's beloved poem and arranged for chorus, organ, strings and handbells - as well as a range of sublime classical works, joyful holiday carols and poignant readings on Sunday December 3, 2017, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, as part of the LA Philharmonic's prestigious "Sounds About Town" series.

LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson leads the program of musical selections interspersed with readings drawn from such universal themes as creation, hope and change by ee cummings, Kenneth Grahame, Theodore Roethke, Robert Louis Stevenson, St. Francis of Assisi and Fra Giovanni Giocondo.

"This evening of music and poetry was inspired by 'A Festival of Lessons and Carols,' a cherished annual Christmas Eve tradition introduced in 1918 by King's College Choir in Cambridge, England, that touches on universal human experiences through thoughtful verse and moving song and has been broadcast around the globe by the BBC every holiday since 1930," says Tomlinson.

In addition to Gibson's work, LACC performs Kim André Arneson's Even When He is Silent and This Christmastide by British Academy Award-winning composer Donald Fraser, and reprises Dale Trumbore's Breathe in Hope, which was commissioned for and premiered by the Chorus in May.

Graham joins the Chorus for the holiday carols O Holy Night, A Christmas Lullaby and Now Have Good Day by Derek Holman. The eclectic program also includes Thompson's Velvet Shoes and Choose Something Like a Star; "Bereite dich, Zion" from Bach's Christmas Oratorio; Praetorius's Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming; "Et exultavit" and "Esurientes" from Vivaldi's Magnificat; "Hymn to Dawn" from Holst's Rig Veda, a collection of hymns inspired by the composer's interest in Sanskrit and Hindu religion and poetry; and Debussy's Noël des enfants qui n'ont plus de maisons.

Five of LACC's highly regarded ensembles perform separately and combined. Tomlinson conducts the chorus's 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.

Tickets start at $20; children ages 6-17 are half price. (Suitable for children ages 6 and up.) For tickets and information, visit www.lachildrenschorus.org/sounds-about-town or call (626) 793-4231. Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in downtown Los Angeles.

Photo credit: Jamie Pham

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