LA Master Chorale Showcases 1,000 Southland Teens at High School Choir Festival, 5/4

For 23 years, the Los Angeles Master Chorale has helped fuel a passion for choral music among Southland teenagers with its annual High School Choir Festival, a yearlong music education and mentoring program that reaches nearly 1,000 students and their choir teachers in 25 local high schools, culminating with a free concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall where the public can hear the next generation of singers. This year's event, the 23rd Annual Los Angeles Master Chorale High School Choir Festival, features participating students in a massed 1,000-voice choir on Friday, May 4, 2012, at 1 pm, at Disney Hall. There will also be a special performance by the 80-voice Festival honor Choir, comprised of students from the 25 participating schools. Grant Gershon, music director of the LA Master Chorale, conducts both choirs, which have been rehearsing for the concert since last fall.

The massed choir performs Va, Pensiero by Giuseppi Verdi; I Will Be Earth by Gwyneth Walker; Ride the Chariot, a spiritual arranged by André Thomas; Choose Something Like A Star by Randall Thompson; Yo le Canto Todo el Dia by David L. Brunner; and The Heavens Are Telling by Joseph Haydn.

The 80-voice Festival Honor Choir joins forces with the LAMC's professional Chamber Singers to sing Come away, sweet love by Thomas Greaves; Tu Voz by Chorale member Shawn Kirchner; and Ching-a-ring-Chaw arranged by Aaron Copeland. Students participating in the Honor Choir were nominated for the prestigious group by their choir directors. To prepare for the performance, they attended separate rehearsals with Mr. Gershon.

Participating choirs include Agoura High School Mixed Choir (Agoura), John Mosley, director; Arroyo High School Chamber Singers (El Monte), Jennifer Stanley, director; Bellflower High School Vocal Ensemble (Bellflower), Carolyn Kelley, director; Birmingham Community Charter High School Chamber Singers (Van Nuys), Michael Suffolk, director; California High School Chamber Singers (Whittier), Dan Hawkins, director; Covina High School Chamber Singers, Dan Hawkins, director (Whittier); Covina High School Voices (Covina), Susan Silver, director; Culver City High School Chamber Singers (Culver City), Dr. Tony Spano, director; El Monte High School A Cappella Choir (El Monte), Joel Whisler, director. Glendale High School Chamber Choir (Glendale) Grace Sheldon-Williams, director; Grant High School Vocal Ensemble (Valley Glen), Marsha Lynne Taylor, director; Maranatha High School Mixed Ensemble ( Pasadena), Aaron Kolberg, director; Mark Keppel High School Aztec Singers (Alhambra) Tony Azeltine, director; Mountain View High School (El Monte), Nancy Ludwig, director.

Also featured are Norwalk High School Singers (Norwalk), Nancy Lanpher, director; Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Varsity Singers (Rolling Hills Estates), Dan Doctor, director; Ramon C. Cortines High School for the Arts Music Academy Choir (Los Angeles), Christopher Rodriguez and Desiree Fowler, directors; Rancho Cucamonga High School Chamber Singers (Rancho Cucamonga), Kelley Squires, director.Renaissance High School for the Arts Chamber Singers (Long Beach), Drew Holt, director; Rosemead High School A Cappella Choir (Rosemead), Ruth Gray, director; San Gabriel High School Matador Choir (San Gabriel), Cecilia Revilla, director; Sierra Vista High School Harmony Choir (Baldwin Park), Suzanne Brookey, director; South High School Southland Singers (Torrance), Elizabeth Turner, director; West Torrance High School Aristocracy (Torrance), Kathleen Jensen, director; William Howard Taft High School Vocal Ensemble (Woodland Hills), Tom Pease, director; Wilson Classical High School Chamber Singers (Long Beach), Curtis Heard, director.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale High School Choir Festival is one of the largest high school choir gatherings in the nation. The yearlong in-school program presented by the Chorale has five components. Several months prior to the festival, all participating Choral Directors meet with Mr. Gershon to review the repertoire he has selected. Directors then work in the classroom with their choirs on the music. During the spring, members from the LA Master Chorale Chamber Singers, the Chorale's outreach ensemble, visit participating choirs and conduct masterclasses for the students and directors. A month before the festival, each school attends one of two area rehearsals conducted by Mr. Gershon, who works with the singers on their musicianship, musical interpretation and tone balance. The joint rehearsals also provide an opportunity for the students to sing as part of a much larger choir in preparation for the festival, which is the final component of the outreach program. On the day of the festival, all of the schools join together for the first time and Mr. Gershon conducts a final dress rehearsal and concert.

Event sponsors include The City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, the California Arts Council, Edison International, Metropolitan Associates, the Ann Peppers Foundation, the Los Angeles Philanthropic Committee for the Arts, The Charitable Foundation - Agent Community Outreach of Prudential California Realty, the Lon V. Smith Foundation, and the John and Beverly Stauffer Foundation. The Los Angeles Master Chorale High School Choir Festival was founded in 1989 by the Los Angeles Master Chorale Associates, under the leadership of Phyllis Rothrock.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale's High School Choir Festival is FREE and seating is first come, first served. The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in Los Angeles. For information, please call (213) 972-7282 or visit www.lamc.org/HSCF.

PROGRAM:

Festival Chorus (combined high school choirs)
GIUSEPPI VERDI Va, Pensiero
GWYNETH WALKER I Will Be Earth
arr. ANDRÉ THOMAS Ride the Chariot
Randall Thompson Choose Something Like A Star
DAVID L. BRUNNER Yo le Canto Todo el Dia

Festival Honor Choir
THOMAS GREAVES Come away, sweet love
SHAWN KIRCHNER Tu Voz
arr. Aaron Copeland Ching-a-ring-Chaw
Festival Chorus – Finale
Joseph Haydn The Heavens Are Telling

Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 S. Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012. The concert is free. For more information, call (213) 972-7282 or go online.

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS:

Agoura High School Mixed Choir (Agoura)
Arroyo High School Chamber Singers (El Monte) Bellflower High School Vocal Ensemble (Bellflower)
Birmingham Community Charter High School Chamber Singers (Van Nuys)
California High School Chamber Singers (Whittier)
Covina High School Chamber Singers
Covina High School Voices (Covina)
Culver City High School Chamber Singers (Culver City)
El Monte High School A Cappella Choir (El Monte)
Glendale High School Chamber Choir (Glendale)
Grant High School Vocal Ensemble (Valley Glen)
Maranatha High School Mixed Ensemble ( Pasadena)
Mark Keppel High School Aztec Singers (Alhambra)
Mountain View High School (El Monte)
Norwalk High School Singers (Norwalk)
Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Varsity Singers (Rolling Hills Estates)
Ramon C. Cortines High School for the Arts Music Academy Choir (Los Angeles)
Rancho Cucamonga High School Chamber Singers (Rancho Cucamonga)
Renaissance High School for the Arts Chamber Singers (Long Beach)
Rosemead High School A Cappella Choir (Rosemead)
San Gabriel High School Matador Choir (San Gabriel)
Sierra Vista High School Harmony Choir (Baldwin Park)
South High School Southland Singers (Torrance)
West Torrance High School Aristocracy (Torrance)
William Howard Taft High School Vocal Ensemble (Woodland Hills)
Wilson Classical High School Chamber Singers (Long Beach)