LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS,
ANNOUNCES 2017-18 SEASON,
CELEBRATED ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ANNE TOMLINSON’S
22ND AND FINAL SEASON WITH CHORUS
Chorus’ 32nd Season,
Entitled “And This Shall be for Beauty,”
Showcases Choir’s Signature Bel Canto Sound on
Exquisite Repertoire Spanning the Ages, and
Features Numerous High-Profile Collaborations with
World-Renowned Arts Organizations
Highlights Include:
• First-Ever Collaboration with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center Featuring World Premiere of New Version of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker with Miami City Ballet at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion;
• Stand-Alone Performance on Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Sounds About Town Series and Two Appearances with Orchestra, including US Premiere of Andrew Norman’s Opera A Trip to the Moon and Bernstein’s Mass, at Walt Disney Concert Hall;
• Roles in Two LA Opera Productions – West Coast Premiere of Hubble Cantata, Unprecedented Live Experience Pushing Boundaries of Art and Science, at Ford Theatre, and Six Performances of Bizet’s Carmen at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion;
• Performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana with Los Angeles Master Chorale at Walt Disney Concert Hall; and Guest Appearances with Pasadena Symphony and POPS for Holiday Candlelight Concert at Pasadena’s All Saints Episcopal Church;
• Masterclass with Maria Guinand, Artistic Director of Venezuela’s Schola Contorum; Spring Concert, Featuring Cornerstones of Choral Literature and Some of Tomlinson’s Favorite Works; Gala Bel Canto Fundraiser; “Bach to Broadway” Performance Benefiting Restoration of Pasadena’s Historic St. Andrew Church; and International Tour in Summer 2018 Wrapping Tomlinson’s Remarkable Tenure.
Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), one of the world’s foremost children’s choirs, announces its 2017-18 season, entitled “And This Shall be for Beauty,” featuring exquisite repertoire that illuminates LACC’s signature bel canto sound honed by highly regarded and much-loved Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, who is stepping down at the conclusion of the season, her 22nd at the Chorus’ artistic helm. In tribute to Tomlinson and her remarkable legacy, LACC presents a number of her favorite works as well as cornerstones of the choral literature. In addition, LACC performs a selection of world, US and West Coast premieres and great masterworks with longtime artistic partners Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale and Pasadena Symphony and POPS, organizations with which Tomlinson has worked extensively over the years, preparing LACC choristers for numerous guest appearances. Further expanding the Chorus’ reach, LACC makes its performance debut with the Miami City Ballet in the Chorus’ first-ever production with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. Tomlinson, in recognition of her immeasurable contributions to the Chorus over the past two decades, will assume the title of LACC Artistic Director Emeritus after her tenure concludes.
“Los Angeles Children’s Chorus is deeply indebted to Anne Tomlinson, whose consummate musical skills and dedicated leadership have impacted the lives of thousands of young LACC choristers as well as audiences around the globe for more than two decades,” says LACC Chair Cheryl Scheidemantle. “She has been the driving force behind LACC’s excellence, working selflessly to elevate the organization’s artistry and educational practices and ensure the success of the Chorus’ many key arts partnerships. Most significantly, Anne been a positive influence on each and every LACC chorister she has worked with during her long and distinguished tenure. We recognize Anne for making such a meaningful difference in the lives of children and look forward to celebrating and enjoying the music and special tributes planned to honor her.”
“It has been a tremendous privilege and delight to serve as Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus for more than two decades,” says Tomlinson. “My greatest joy has been working with the children, who are so inspiring and dedicated. I also treasure the incredible opportunities LACC’s artistic partners have provided the organization and reflect warmly upon the transformative aspect of touring, experiences that have enriched LACC and its choristers in innumerable ways. It is an honor to recognize my incredible LACC colleagues, the extraordinary teachers who are the foundation of the Chorus. I am profoundly grateful to them for their tremendous support of LACC and all that they bring to the Chorus day in and day out, including their incredible passion for music, superior talents and abiding commitment to excellence. This season, my final with LACC, I am proud to continue helping to shape children’s lives and share the Chorus’ incredible artistry with audiences locally and abroad. I know that the organization has a vital and rich future and will continue its stellar trajectory.”
Among the varied repertoire LACC is presenting this season, Tomlinson conducts the Gregorian chant Veni Creator Spiritus; 36-year-old Norwegian composer Kim Arnesen’s choral motet Even When He Is Silent, set to text found in a concentration camp after World War II; Bach’s cantata Berite dich Zion; and Randall Thompson’s Velvet Shoes, a stunning setting of the famous winter poem by Elinor Wylie, and Choose Something Like a Star, set to Robert Frost’s poem “Frostiana.” (The season title, “And This Shall be for Beauty,” was extrapolated from Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, “I Will Make You Brooches.”)
With its artistic partners, LACC participates in its first-ever collaboration with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center as the featured choir in the world-premiere production of Miami City Ballet’s new version of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (December 7-10, 2017). The Los Angeles Philharmonic honors Tomlinson by spotlighting her and LACC in a stand-alone performance on its highly regarded Sounds About Town Series at Walt Disney Concert Hall (December 3, 2017). LACC makes two Walt Disney Concert Hall appearances with the orchestra, including the US Premiere of Andrew Norman’s opera A Trip to the Moon, conducted by Teddy Abrams (March 2 and 3, 2018), and Bernstein’s Mass, led by Gustavo Dudamel and directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer (February 1-4, 2018).
In other collaborations, LACC joins LA Opera for the West Coast premiere of Hubble Cantata, an unprecedented live experience pushing the boundaries of art and science, at Ford Theatre (October 11, 2017), and six performances of Bizet’s Carmen, directed by Ron Daniels and conducted by James Conlon, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (September 9, 14, 17, 20 and 23 and October 1, 2017). LACC also performs Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon, at Walt Disney Concert Hall (September 23 and 24, 2017), and makes a guest appearance with the Pasadena Symphony and POPS for matinee and evening performances of its annual Holiday Candlelight Concert, conducted by Grant Cooper, at Pasadena’s All Saints Episcopal Church (December 16, 2016).
Additionally, LACC hosts a two-day masterclass with Maria Guinand, Artistic Director of Venezuela’s Schola Contorum and preeminent interpreter and champion of Latin American choral music of the 20th and 21st centuries, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church (October 25 and 26, 2017), and a masterclass for the American Choral Directors Association with Dr. Sharon Paul, Director of Choral Studies at Oregon State University, in Pasadena (March 17, 2018). This spring, the Chorus also hosts its annual Gala Bel Canto fundraiser and presents its signature Spring Concert (May 12 and 13, 2018). Enriching the community in myriad ways, LACC sings in the benefit performance “Bach to Broadway” 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 29, 2017). LACC wraps the 32nd season with an international tour, concluding Tomlinson’s notable tenure.
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 offers First Experiences in Singing classes and a First Experiences in Choral Singing Ensemble for 6-8-year-olds. LACC has been 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). Recipient of Chorus America’s 2014 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the nation’s highest choral honor, LACC has toured North and South America, Africa, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Western and Eastern Europe. LACC choristers can be heard on John Williams’ latest recording, John Williams & Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection, released in March 2017. LACC also 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 Chorus; 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.
Reaching New Singers
For children interested in joining LACC’s ranks, open auditions for the renowned Chorus take place May 31 – June 3, 2018, 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 (FES), 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 sequential, three-level program of 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. This fall, Level I classes run eight consecutive Wednesdays, from September 27 to November 15, 2017, at 4:15 pm. Level II classes run ten consecutive Wednesdays, from September 13 to November 15, 2017, at 5:15 pm. Classes are held at Pasadena Presbyterian Church each fall, spring and summer.
Children completing FES Level III may be invited to 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.
LACC Supporters
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, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Ann Peppers Foundation, Colburn Foundation, The Green Foundation, Metropolitan Associates, MonteCedro, Pasadena Arts League, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, Pasadena Tournament of Roses® Foundation, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and Wells Fargo, 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’ annual choral music program for children.
For additional information on LACC, its auditions or programs, please call (626) 793-4231 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.
