LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE SHOWCASES TWO COMPELLING
WORLD PREMIERES BASED ON THE THEME OF ASCENSION –
SUCCESSION BY NACKKUM PAIK,
CHORALE’S SIXTH “LA IS THE WORLD” COMMISSION, AND
SONGS OF ASCENT BY COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE SHAWN KIRCHNER
Sunday, March 8, 2015, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Concert, Conducted by Artistic Director Grant Gershon,
also Includes Works by Brahms and Eric Whitacre
The 110-member Los Angeles Master Chorale continues its vital role of expanding the choral music repertoire when Artistic Director Grant Gershon conducts two highly anticipated world premieres based on the theme of ascension by Swan Family Composer in Residence Shawn Kirchner and distinguished Korean-American composer Nackkum Paik on Sunday, March 8, 2015, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. They include Kirchner’s most ambitious piece to date, Songs of Ascent, a lyrical seven-moment work for voices and strings set to the Psalms pilgrims sang on their journey to Jerusalem. Paik’s work, Succession, written for triple choir, features the Chorale with special guest the Los Angeles Chamber Choir. Paik employs the story of Elijah as a parable for the relationship between first- and second-generation Korean-American immigrants and the tensions, conflicts and hopes for prosperity they share. The program also features Eric Whitacre’s Her Sacred Spirit Soars, set to a poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri, and Brahms’ three-movement a cappella piece Fest und Gedenksprüche.
“The Chorale is tremendously excited to present a major new work from our dear friend and colleague Shawn Kirchner,” says Gershon. “Everything he touches turns to musical gold. And we are also so eager to collaborate on a new piece with Nackkum Paik, who is an extremely talented composer.”
Succession is the Chorale’s sixth “LA is the World” commission, an ongoing initiative conceived by Gershon as a collaboration among American composers, master musicians and the choir to expand the choral repertoire with works that mirror LA’s vibrant multi-cultural fabric. It is funded in part by the James Irvine Foundation. The concert is sponsored by Wilshire Bank and the Korea Times.
Tickets range from $29 – $129. Group rates are available. For tickets and information, please call (213) 972-7282, or visit www.lamc.org. (Tickets cannot be purchased at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office except on concert days starting 2 hours prior to the performance.) The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in downtown Los Angeles.
GRANT GERSHON is currently in his 14th season as the Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and also serves as Resident Conductor of LA Opera. The Los Angeles Times declares that the Chorale “has become the most exciting chorus in the country under Grant Gershon” and Opera News proclaims him “a first-rate conductor.” During his tenure with the Chorale, he has led more than 100 performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, including virtually all of the major works in the choral repertoire. A champion of new music as well, Mr. Gershon has led world premiere performances of major works by John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Lang, Louis Andriessen, Christopher Rouse, Steve Reich, Morten Lauridsen, Ricky Ian Gordon, Gabriela Lena Frank and Chinary Ung, among many others. His discography includes two Grammy Award-nominated recordings: Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic Special Editions) and Ligeti’s Grand Macabre (Sony Classical); five commercial CDs with the Chorale: Glass-Salonen (RCM), You Are (Variations) (Nonesuch), Daniel Variations (Nonesuch), A Good Understanding (Decca), and Miserere (Decca); and a digital recording featuring some of the Chorale’s signature a cappella works available online-only at LAMC.org, iTunes and Amazon.com.
Giving a voice to Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Grammy-nominated LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE is led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon. Proclaimed “the nation’s most pioneering major chorus” (Los Angeles Times), it has also been hailed as “inspired” (The New York Times), “magnificent” (Chicago Tribune) and “a superb vocal ensemble” (The New York Observer). The Chorale is currently in its 51st season as a resident company of The Music Center of Los Angeles County and its 12th as the resident chorus at Disney Hall. Presenting its own concert series each season, it performs choral music from the earliest writings to the most recent contemporary compositions. To date, the choir has commissioned 45 and premiered 92 new works, of which 62 were world premieres, and has been awarded three ASCAP/Chorus America Awards for Adventurous Programming as well as Chorus America’s prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence. The Chorale has performed in more than 300 concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at both Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, and has toured with the orchestra to Europe and New York City. It has also appeared at the Ojai Music Festival, the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center, the Ravinia Festival and the Overture Center in Madison, Wisconsin, as well as in leading venues throughout the Southland. Its discography includes five commercial CDs under Gershon’s baton. The latest, released in 2012 on Decca, features three works by Polish composer Henryk Górecki. In addition, in 2013, as part of its 50th anniversary season celebration, the Chorale released a digital recording featuring signature a cappella works available online-only at LAMC.org, iTunes and Amazon.com. LAMC previously released three CDs under former Music Director Paul Salamunovich on RCM, including the Grammy-nominated Lauridsen-Lux Aeterna. The Chorale is also featured with Gershon on the soundtracks of such major motion pictures as Lady in the Water and License to Wed. Serving more than 30,000 audience members of all ages annually, the Los Angeles Master Chorale also provides education outreach to some 6,000 students each year.
EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
CALENDAR LISTING
WHAT:
“Songs of Ascent”
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, conductor
Los Angeles Chamber Choir, Chung Uk Lee, music director
WHEN:
Sunday, March 8, 2015, 7 pm
6 pm – ListenUp! pre-concert talk
WHERE:
Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
PROGRAM:
SHAWN KIRCHNER Songs of Ascent (World Premiere)
NACKKUM PAIK Succession (World Premiere)
ERIC WHITACRE Her Sacred Spirit Soars
BRAHMS Fest und Gedenksprüche
TICKETS/INFORMATION:
$29 – $129
Student Rush seats available at box office two hours before the performance;
TICKETS/INFORMATION:
213-972-7282
www.lamc.org
(Tickets cannot be purchased at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office except on concert days starting 2 hours prior to the performance.)
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Artists, program and ticket prices subject to change.
02/15/15
