Los Angeles Children's Chorus

Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) is a children's choral youth organisation based in Los Angeles. LACC has appeared in more than 300 performances with such organizations as the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Los Angeles Children's Chorus
AbbreviationLACC
Formation1986
TypeYouth organization
HeadquartersPasadena, California
Key people
Fernando Malvar-Ruiz Artistic director, Concert Choir director, and Chamber Singers director
Mandy Brigham Preparatory Choir director and Intermediate Choir director
Steven Kronauer Young Men's Ensemble director
Eric Lifland Interim Apprentice Choir director
Websitelachildrenschorus.org

Since its founding in 1986, LACC has educated more than 1,200 young singers. It includes 270 choristers in six ensembles with choristers from more than 60 communities across the greater Los Angeles area. Members rehearse once or twice weekly, with weekly musicianship classes and performances with the Chorus.

Repertoire covers a spectrum of musical genres including established classical works, art songs, American jazz pieces and spirituals, and arrangements of folk songs from around the world.

About

Los Angeles Children's Chorus was founded by Rebecca Thompson in 1986. It has office and rehearsal space in Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

LACC has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in such works as Mahler's Third Symphony, Orff's Carmina Burana, Adams’ El Niño, Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream, Stravinsky's Persephone, and Bernstein's Mass under conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen, André Previn, and Marin Alsop. The choir sings with the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Grant Gershon and with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under the direction of John Mauceri and Leonard Slatkin. In 2011, Concert Choir performed in the premiere of world-renowned conductor's, Esa-Pekka Salonen's, composition of Dona Nobis Pacem at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA. LACC also performs on occasion with the Pasadena Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Southwest Chamber Music Orchestra.

In addition to their contracted performances, LACC presents its own annual Winter and Spring Concerts. The Chorus performs compositions that range from established works by classical composers to contemporary arrangements of folk songs from around the world. The Chorus presents new compositions written specifically for children's voices. Works performed by LACC's Concert Choir include Britten's Missa Brevis and Ceremony of Carols, Faure's Messe Basse, and Dancing Day by John Rutter. In June 2000, LACC produced its first children's opera, Benjamin Britten’s Noye's Fludde (Noah's Flood). Eighty choristers joined with the Orchestra da Camera of the Colburn School and three adult singer/actors.

In July 2007, LACC produced a new choral opera written for LACC by composer Peter Ash and librettist Donald Sturrock, Keepers of the Night. Conductor Grant Gershon, director Corey Madden and soloists Suzanna Guzmán, Malcolm MacKenzie, Lynette Tapia and Lauren Libaw joined 65 LACC choristers for four performances of the world premiere production at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

LA Opera

LACC has appeared in productions and world premieres with LA Opera, including: La damnation de Faust, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Billy Budd, La Bohème, Pagliacci, Tosca, Midsummer Night's Dream, Otello, Carmen, Hansel and Gretel, Der Rosenkavalier, Queen of Spades, Werther, Turandot, and the world premieres of Grendel and the children's opera Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Choirs

The Los Angeles Children's Chorus is made up of seven choirs. The first level is the Preparatory Choir (Directed by Mandy Brigham), the second is the Apprentice Choir (Directed by Eric Lifland), the third is the Intermediate Choir (Directed by Mandy Brigham), the fourth is the Concert Choir (Directed by Fernando Malvar-Ruiz), and the fifth is the Chamber Singers (Directed by Fernando Malvar-Ruiz). The chorus also has a Young Men's Ensemble (Directed by Steven Kronauer) and a Mixed Voices ensemble (Officially called "Chorale" and directed by Fernando Malvar-Ruiz). They also have a series of beginner classes called First Experiences in Singing (FES), tailored to children ages 6–8.

Notable performances

Operas

Other Performances

Film and Television

Tours

LACC's Concert Choir and Young Men's Ensemble tour across the United States and worldwide, alternating between national and international tours each year. In previous seasons, Concert Choir toured Italy, Brazil, Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia. National tours have included Boston, New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, Alaska, Colorado, Chicago, and Indianapolis. In summer 2006, Concert Choir was the featured choir at the Tuscany International Children's Chorus Festival. In Summer 2008, Concert Choir toured to China for the first time prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In Summer 2010, they traveled for the first time to Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. In Summer 2012, the members of Concert Choir traveled to South Africa, the first season to do so. In Summer 2016, the Concert Choir Touring Ensemble traveled to Japan.

Chorus members have performed at events during visits to Los Angeles by the Emperor and Empress of Japan, Great Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and on nationally televised commercials, movie soundtracks, the Grammy Awards Show, and The Tonight Show. They performed at the opening of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles and sang at LA City Hall for the first anniversary of 9/11. LACC was named “2003 Artists of the Year” by the Los Angeles Opera League.

Intermediate Choir takes a weekend tour every spring, traveling to cities throughout the western United States to visit and perform with many other children's choirs. Apprentice Choir and Preparatory Choir enjoy a day trip in the spring to visit and perform with other children's choirs.

Hosting

Los Angeles Children's Chorus has hosted visits by and performed with many other children's choirs including the Leningrad Children's Choir, Toronto Children's Chorus, Tapiola Choir of Finland, Dawn Children's Choir of Moscow, Carmina Slovenica of Maribor, Slovenia, Australian Girls Choir, American Boychoir, The Phoenix Boys Choir, Phoenix Girls Chorus, Central California Children's Choir, Lawrence Children's Choir, Portland Symphonic Girlchoir, the Pensacola Children's Chorus, the Hamburg Girl's Choir, and more.

News Articles
  • Looseleaf, Victoria. "Classical Music Raising Kids' Voices." Los Angeles Times February 22, 2004, E44.

References
  1. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/dudamel-conducts-john-williams-celebration-la-phil/4038/
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