LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS ANNOUNCES
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ANNE TOMLINSON
WILL BE NAMED ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS
AT CONCLUSION OF 2017-18 SEASON,
AFTER 22-YEAR TENURE
One of World’s Leading Children’s Choir Conductors, Tomlinson Has Had
Pivotal Role in Creating LACC’s Instantly Recognizable Bel Canto Sound,
Overseeing Its Strategic Expansion, and
Raising Choir’s Profile Nationally and Internationally
Highly regarded and much-loved Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson will be named Artistic Director Emeritus when she steps down from the choir’s artistic helm at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season following a 22-year tenure, announced LACC Chair Jennifer Terry. Tomlinson will be named LACC Artistic Director Emeritus in recognition of her immeasurable contributions to the chorus. LACC’s Board of Directors will conduct a national search for her replacement.
Under Tomlinson’s leadership, LACC received Chorus America’s 2014 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the nation’s highest choral honor. Tomlinson, considered one of the world’s leading children’s choir conductors, has had a pivotal role in developing LACC’s signature agile bel canto sound, creating its highly acclaimed training program for young singers, and overseeing its strategic expansion to currently serving more than 400 children ages 6 to 18 from 50 communities across Los Angeles in six choirs – Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, Young Men’s Ensemble, Intermediate Choir, Apprentice Choir and Preparatory Choir – and First Experiences in Singing and First Experiences in Choral Singing Ensemble for children aged 6-9. Tomlinson has also helped raise LACC’s profile significantly nationally and internationally through hundreds of appearances with the region’s leading music organizations, such as LA Opera and Los Angeles Philharmonic; annual summer tours in North America and abroad; and numerous high profile recording, television and documentary film projects.
“For everyone who has enjoyed Anne Tomlinson’s remarkable artistry over the years, it is momentous news that she will be stepping down at the end of the 2017-18 season,” says Terry. “She has changed the lives of tens of thousands of children during her tenure, and her visionary and committed leadership has helped transform Los Angeles Children’s Chorus into one of the best children’s choirs in the world. The entire Los Angeles Children’s Chorus community is deeply grateful to Anne for the selfless dedication, consummate artistry and spirit with which she has served the organization. Her contributions have positively impacted every facet of the chorus, from its artistic excellence to its fiscal health.”
“I have had the privilege and joy of leading the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus for more than two decades, and have been greatly inspired by the thousands of exceptional young singers with whom I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating during this time,” says Tomlinson. “I am deeply proud of LA Children’s Chorus’s incredible artistic reputation and the recognition it has garnered around the world. LACC is a very special place not just because of its artistry, but because its young singers offer hope for a bright and promising future. I have always been committed to teaching musical skills as well as life skills and have cherished this opportunity and experience.”
“I also want to acknowledge the many community partners with which LACC has forged strong relationships and with whom it has been deeply gratifying to work, including LA Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Pasadena Symphony and POPS, Calder Quartet and Jacaranda, among many others.
“I am deeply honored to be named LACC’s Artistic Director Emeritus after I conclude my tenure as Artistic Director.”
Tomlinson, who is in demand as a guest conductor and clinician, will continue conducting and teaching choral music around the country.
Among Tomlinson’s vast accomplishments during her LACC tenure, she prepared children for major operatic works with LA Opera, including the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s opera Fantastic Mr. Fox. She has worked with celebrated conductors Gustavo Dudamel, James Conlon, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Plácido Domingo, Julius Rudel, Susanna Mälkki, Andrew Litton, Carlo Rizzi, Marin Alsop and Lorin Maazel. In addition, LACC has collaborated in LA Phil performances of Britten’s War Requiem, Stravinsky’s Persephone, John Adams’ El Niño, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 and No. 8, and a fully staged production of Bernstein’s Mass at the Hollywood Bowl. She also prepared LACC for Los Angeles Master Chorale presentations of Orff’s Carmina Burana under both Grant Gershon and Paul Salamunovich, as well as the world premiere of Christopher Rouse’s Requiem. Tomlinson conducted the chorus’ U.S. premiere of Salonen’s Dona Nobis Pacem at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Tribute to Ernest Fleischmann” at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Under her artistic leadership, LACC has toured to North and South America, Africa, China, Cuba, Australia and Europe. Her film work includes the 2002 Academy Award-nominated documentary Sing!, which chronicles a year in the life of LACC and appears regularly on public television, and two sequels – 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. In addition, Tomlinson prepared choristers for the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s critically acclaimed Decca recording A Good Understanding, and Plácido Domingo’s Deutsche Grammophon recording Amore Infinito (“Infinite Love”). Her live broadcast work includes the Chamber Singers performance on NPR’s nationally syndicated program “From the Top,” LACC’s performance with John Mayer on NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” PBS’s “Great Performances” and BBC Radio. A frequent guest conductor and presenter at symposia, workshops and festivals nationally and internationally, Tomlinson 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 Pasadena Arts Council’s prestigious Gold Crown Award for Music Education; the 2001 Power of One Award, given by the Facing History and Ourselves Foundation; and the 2006 Educator of the Year Award given by the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Southern California.
