SOUNDS OF SCANDINAVIA AND THE BALTIC COME TO THE SOUTHLAND WHEN
ESTONIAN TV GIRLS’ CHOIR AND FINLAND’S VOX AUREA,
PERFORM WITH LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS
AS PART OF INTERNATIONAL CHORAL EXCHANGE
CULMINATING WITH FREE CONCERT
Wednesday, July 22, 7 PM, 2015, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church
All Three Choirs to Perform Separately and Jointly
The sounds of Scandinavia and the Baltic come to Southland when Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), led by Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, hosts a highly anticipated international choral exchange with the renowned Estonian TV Girls’ Choir and Finland’s Vox Aurea (“The Golden Voice”) culminating with a free concert featuring all three choirs on Wednesday, July 22, 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Vox Aurea, led by Sanna Salminen, makes its first Southland appearance since 2009, thrilling audiences with a range of traditional Finnish folk songs and classical selections that evoke the peaceful and expansive landscape of Scandinavia. The Estonian TV Girls’ Choir, under the direction of Aarne Saluveer, has collaborated with such acclaimed Estonian composers as Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Urmas Sisask and Tõnis Mägi and also performs regional folk music as well as contemporary jazz and pop music. LACC previously performed with both choirs during its 2010 tour to the Baltic region and Scandinavia.
“We are delighted to welcome to L.A. and showcase the incredible artistry of Vox Aurea and the Estonian TV Girls’ Choir,” says Tomlinson. “We enjoyed our previous collaborations with these remarkable choirs and look forward to another meaningful exchange. LACC has a long history of hosting international choirs, which enables our choristers to have impactful cultural experiences while providing us the opportunity to present in Los Angeles some of the best children’s choirs in the world.”
Vox Aurea, founded in 1968 and based in Jyväskylä, Finland, has performed around the globe for audiences in the USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, Greece, South Korea, Latvia, Belgium and Spain, and has recorded numerous CDs, which include both classical works and extremely demanding modern choral repertoire. The singers, who range in age from 11 to 18, participate in training choirs then undergo rigorous auditions before joining Vox Aurea. The choir was founded by music educator Torsten Lindfors and was previous led by Kari Ala-Pöllänen and Pekka Kostiainen. Sanna Salminen was named conductor in 2009. It is considered among Finland’s leading choirs.
The Estonian TV Girls’ Choir is among the top choirs in Estonia, a tiny European nation long known for it strong choral traditions. Led by Aarne Saluveer since its inception in 1990, the choir grew out of the Children’s Television Music Studio. The choir, with singers ages 15-25, has appeared at numerous international festivals, including La Fabbrica del Canto in Italy, Polyfollia in France and Sympaatti in Finland, and has worked with British composer Roxanna Panufnik and renowned composer and conductor Eric Whitacre, among others. In 2001, the chorus was named best female choir and the best choir at the International Competition of Choral Music in Gorizia, Italy. In 2005, the choir won First Prize in the youth category of EBU International Choir Competition “Let The People Sing.”
The July 22 concert is free and seating is on a first come first served basis. Pasadena Presbyterian Church, located at 585 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California 91101. For information on Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, please call (626) 793-4231 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.
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Vox Aurea Conductor SANNA SALMINEN is an assistant Professor in Music Pedagogy in the Department of Education at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, where she earned a master’s degree in Music Education in 2000. A specialist in conducting and arranging multicultural music, she has performed and led various instrumental and vocal groups in such wide ranging styles as Medieval and Renaissance music, Thai music, Arabic music, Klezmer music, Finnish folk music, classical music and pop music. Ms. Salminen served as the vocal coach and assistant conductor of Musica Chamber Choir and Vox Aurea Children’s Choir from 1998 to 2006. She also served as conductor from 2000-2009 of Ruamjai youth choir, which was nominated Youth Choir of the Year 2008-09 by the Finnish state radio company. She previously worked as a researcher and a teacher in a cooperation project with the Department of Music in South Africa. Ms. Salminen’s main instruments are the viola, the violin and the medieval fiddle. The author of several school music books, she is also a composer and arranger.
AARNE SALUVEER is an Estonian conductor, producer and educator. Actively engaged in the field of choral art, he is a member of the Board of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM), Europa Cantat, Estonian Choral Association and Music Council, Council of the World Choir Games. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Estonian Television Girls’ Choir and Children’s Choir, principal of Georg Ots Music College in Tallinn. He has been a jury member and guest conductor of choral and orchestral projects, has led master classes, ateliers, presentations around the globe. Saluveer has been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, among them: Order of the White Star of the Republic of Estonia, Prize of the UNICEF Estonian National Committee (2002 and 2007), Annual Prize of Estonian Cultural Endowment (1999, 2006 and 2007), Musician of the Year by Estonian Public National Broadcast and Conductor of the Year by Estonian Choral Association.
LACC Artistic Director ANNE TOMLINSON oversees the educational and artistic development of the Chorus and conducts LACC’s renowned Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. She is also Children’s Chorus Mistress for LA Opera. She has worked with celebrated conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Plácido Domingo, Andrew Litton, James Conlon, Julius Rudel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Carlo Rizzi, Marin Alsop, Lorin Maazel in numerous LA Opera productions and Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale performances. Tomlinson also conducted the chorus’ U.S. premiere of Salonen’s Dona Nobis Pacem at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Tribute to Earnest Fleischman” at Walt Disney Concert Hall. She is a frequent guest conductor and presenter at symposia, workshops and festivals nationally and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Master’s degree in conducting from Northwestern University where she studied with Margaret Hillis. She received in 2000 the Gold Crown Award for Music Education from the Pasadena Arts Council, the 2001 Power of One Award from the Facing History and Ourselves Foundation, and the 2006 Educator of the Year Award given by the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Southern California.
LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS, acclaimed for its agile bel canto sound, serves more than 400 children, ages 6 to 18, from 50 Southland communities through six choirs and a First Experiences in Singing program. It has been lauded as “one of the world’s foremost children’s choirs” (Pasadena Star News), and described as “hauntingly beautiful” (Los Angeles Times) and “astonishingly polished” (Performances Magazine). The 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, Australia, Europe and Cuba and has appeared on recordings with the Los Angeles Master Choral and Plácido Domingo. 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 prior to the Beijing Olympics. LACC has performed with John Mayer on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” and has also been featured on BBC Radio and Public Radio International’s “From the Top,” among other credits.
CALENDAR LISTING
WHAT:
Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Vox Aurea and the Estonian TV Girls’ Choir
Anne Tomlinson, Artistic Director, LACC
Sanna Salminen, Conductor, Vox Aurea
Aarne Saluveer, Conductor, Estonian TV Girls’ Choir
DATE/TIME:
Tuesday, July 22, 2015, 7:00 PM
PROGRAM:
Folk music of Scandinavia and the Baltic and classical, jazz and pop selections to be announced from stage
VENUE:
Pasadena Presbyterian Church
585 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101
TICKETS:
Free
INFORMATION:
(626) 793-4231
www.lachildrenschorus.org
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program and artists subject to change
07/02/15
