Los Angeles Children’s Chorus to Host Annual Benefit Concert, EVERY CHILD SINGS

Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Children’s Chorus will host its annual benefit concert, Every Child Sings, on Saturday, March 29, 2025, 7 pm, at Zipper Hall at the Colburn School in downtown Los Angeles. This year, LACC honors its own Young Men’s Ensemble, a trailblazing choir that provides an opportunity for boys with changing voices to continue to sing through the vocal transition. The ensemble was founded 15 years ago under the inspired leadership of then Executive Director Rachel Fine and Artistic Director Emerita Anne Tomlinson; Dr. Steven Kronauer was the ensemble's founding conductor and still holds the position today.

Artistic Director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz and Kronauer lead four of LACC’s choral ensembles in this evening of celebration and community. The program also spotlights Young Men's Ensemble through the years. Proceeds from the event benefit LACC’s award winning music education programs and need-based scholarship fund.

“We are delighted to honor our own Young Men’s Ensemble, which has served hundreds of choristers since it was established 15 years ago,” says Executive Director Susan Miller Kotses. “It provides a vital opportunity for boys to nurture their vocal talent and pursue choral studies at LACC, which is considered one of the nation’s finest institutions for young singers. Prior to the ensemble’s creation, boys who ‘graduated’ from LACC’s treble choir when their voices changed had no option for continuing their music studies here.”

Malvar-Ruiz states, “There are enormous benefits to singing in a choir that can have a profound impact on a child’s life. Beyond honing their music skills, members of LACC’s Young Men’s Ensemble also develop deep community connections and gain important social skills that can benefit them throughout their lives.”

Young Men’s Ensemble (YME) was one of the first of its kind in the youth choir landscape. Offering an opportunity for choristers to continue to sing through the vocal transition, YME provides a forum where singers can learn more about the healthy development of their maturing voices at their own pace in an understanding and encouraging environment. Choristers discover and develop their voices through the study of a wide variety of choral repertoire, continue their music literacy study, and enhance their vocal instrument through individual coaching sessions with their conductor. One of the fundamental considerations for working with the choir, Kronauer notes, is being flexible with the repertoire, which is based on fluctuations in the singer’s voice to ensure the voices are never “pushed” or strained. The group also performs several times a year. YME membership is comprised of continuing LACC choristers and those who successfully test into the ensemble through an open audition.

Concert tickets ($75) include admission to the concert and a festive post-performance dessert reception at the Colburn School. Sponsor tickets ($500) also include a pre-concert dinner at Vespaio, a restaurant located in downtown LA. Livestream tickets ($25) include a link to live stream the concert from home. A range of other event sponsorship packages are also available.

The benefit committee for Every Child Sings, chaired by Tanvir Gopal, includes Elizabeth Besch, Aimee Cunningham, Steve Deschenes, Patrick Garcia, Jena Liddy, Jessica McGlothlin, Meghan Umber, and Elizabeth Voxman.

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