LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS
PRESENTS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DEBUT OF
ACCLAIMED GERMAN BOYS AND MENS CHOIR WINDSBACHER KNABENCHOR
IN FREE CONCERT ALSO FEATURING
LACC’S CONCERT CHOIR AND YOUNG MEN’S ENSEMBLE
Sunday, October 26, 2014, 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church
Windsbacher’s Appearance is Part of 13-Day U.S. Tour
Commemorating 25th Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall and Germany’s Reunification
Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), building upon its long history of presenting other children’s choirs from the U.S. and abroad, hosts the highly anticipated Southern California debut of the illustrious German boys and mens choir Windsbacher Knabenchor on Sunday, October 26, 2014, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The exchange is part of Windsbacher’s 13-day U.S. tour, its first in 23 years, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of fall of the Berlin Wall and Germany’s subsequent reunification. Noted for its distinctive soaring sound and invigorating performances, the choir, which hails from the town of Windsbacher, Germany, is under the direction of Martin Lehman. The concert also features LACC’s acclaimed Concert Choir and Young Men’s Ensemble. The three choirs perform separately, then combine forces for the finale to sing James Erb’s moving arrangement of Shenandoah. Last summer, LACC’s Concert Choir participated in a workshop and performance with Windsbacher Knabenchor while touring Germany.
Windsbacher Knabenchor’s broad repertoire spans the Baroque era to contemporary music, but for the performance, the choir performs mostly German a cappella sacred and secular music, selecting from such works as Pachelbel’s Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, Bach’s Ich Lasse Dich Nicht, and Bruckner’s Os justi, as well as German “hiking songs,” love songs and madrigals, among others.
LACC’s Concert Choir, conducted by Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, highlights the season’s theme Celebrating American Song with performances of Copland’s Ching-a-ring chaw; a haunting setting of the prayer Ave Maria sung in Spanish composed by Bay Area artist, Henry Mollicone; and Guide Me as I Walk Along, a work sung by the Cherokee Nation during their displacement on the Trail of Tears, which the chorus will sing in Cherokee.
LACC’s Young Men’s Ensemble, directed by Dr. Steven Kronauer, adds a Germanic touch performing such works as Bach’s Der Herr segne Euch, and Brahms’ Lass Dich nur nichts nicht dauren, as well as Jonah by renowned American composer Henry Leck.
“We are pleased to host this international choral exchange and welcome the esteemed Windsbacher Knabenchor to Southern California for the first time,” says LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson. “These amazingly talented boys have captivated audiences around the globe.”
Founded in 1946 by Hans Thamm, Windsbacher Knabenchor, a “cultural ambassador“ of Nürnberg’s Metropolitan Region and a “trademark” of Franconia, acheived national and international renown under his successor, Karl-Friedrich Beringer. In 2012, Martin Lehmann was named conductor of the choir. Hailed for its musicality, precision and purity of sound, it regularly performs with such leading orchestras as the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Bamberger Symphoniker and the Akademie füralte Musik Berlin, and has appeared at such music festivals as the Rheingau Musikfestiva and the Bachwoche Ansbach. It has also toured Europe, Japan, North and South America, Israel, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and the Peoples Republic of China. Its numerous CDs, radio broadcasts and television appearances have garnered raves from music critics and audiences alike.
In addition to its Southern California appearance, Windsbacher’s tour this fall includes performances in San Francisco and Berkeley, CA; Groton and Boston, MA; New Haven, CT; Philadelphia and Gettysburg, PA; and Washington, D.C. Windsbacher’s tour is supported by the Bavarian Ministry of Culture (“Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur”). The choir previously made its U.S. debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in 1986, returning there in 1991 for the Center’s German Festival.
The concert is free (suggested donation $10) and reservations are not required. Pasadena Presbyterian Church is located at 585 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101. For more information about the concert and LACC, please call (626) 793-4321 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.
LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS (LACC), led by highly regarded Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson and 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), “astonishingly polished” (Performances Magazine), “extraordinary in its abilities” (Culture Spot LA), and “one heck of a talented group of kids” (LA Weekly). 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 and Europe. It 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 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 just 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 nationally syndicated show “From the Top,” among other credits.
EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
WHAT/WHO:
Los Angeles Children’s Chorus Presents U.S. Debut of the Germany boys choir Windsbacher Knabenchor
Featuring Joint and Separate Performances with LACC’s Concert Choir and Young Men’s Ensemble
Windsbacher Knabenchor, Karl-Friedrich Beringer, Director
LACC’s Concert Choir, Anne Tomlinson, Artistic Director
LACC’s Young Men’s Ensemble, Dr. Steven Kronauer, Director
PROGRAM:
To be announced from the stage
Windsbacher Knabenchor’s selections of mostly German a cappella sacred and secular music may include:
PACHELBEL Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied
JS BACH Ich Lasse Dich Nicht
BRUCKNER Os justi, Britten’s A Hymn to the virgin
ERIC WHITACRE LUX AURUMQUE
+ German “hiking songs,” love songs and madrigals, among others
LACC Concert Choir selections
COPLAND Ching-a-ring chaw
HENRY MOLLICONE Ave Maria
Cherokee (Traditional) Guide Me as I Walk Along
LACC Young Men’s Ensemble selections
JS BACH Der Herr segne Euch
BRAHMS Lass Dich nur nichts nicht dauren
HENRY LECK Jonah
WHEN:
Sunday, October 26, 2014, 7 PM
WHERE:
Pasadena Presbyterian Church
585 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101
TICKETS/INFO:
Free (suggested donation $10)
(626) 793-4231
www.lachildrenschorus.org
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Program subject to change.
09/25/14(a)
