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Press Releases
Los Angeles Master Chorale Announces 2015-16 Season at Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) – heralded around the globe for its unparalleled artistry and wide-ranging repertoire – announces its 2015|16 Season, its 52nd, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Acclaimed Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director Grant Gershon, “a first-rate conductor” (Opera News) who marks his 15th season at the choir’s helm, conducts 10 programs shaped by his keen creative vision, 5 of which are repeated, for a total of 15 performances at Disney Hall.
Significant highlights of the Chorale’s innovative season include “Made in L.A.,” spotlighting four Chorale-commissioned world premieres by LA-based composers Jeff Beal, Nilo Alcala, Paul Chihara and Moira Smiley as well as works by Angelenos Dale Trumbore, Matthew Brown, Morten Lauridsen and Shawn Kirchner (November 15, 2015). The chorus also launches “Hidden Handel,” a major new five-year initiative featuring semi-staged and multimedia productions of five of the composer’s great but underrepresented oratorios designed in collaboration with some of the arts world’s leading directors and artists, starting with the highly anticipated partially staged production of Handel’s Alexander’s Feast created for the Chorale by eminent stage director Trevore Ross (April 16 and 17, 2016). In subsequent seasons, Gershon is slated to lead productions of Handel’s Saul, Israel in Egypt, Theodora and Samson.
The Chorale’s season opens with “The Russian Evolution,” an all-Russian program anchored by the US premiere of eminent Russian-born composer Sofia Gubaidulina’s intimate Canticle of the Sun, written for famed cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and featuring renowned LA Philharmonic Principal Cellist Robert deMaine. It also includes selections from Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, as well as Gretchaninov’s Cherubic Hymn and other Russian choral masterworks (September 26 and 27, 2015).
Bang On A Can All-Stars joins the Chorale for the West Coast Premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields, described by the LA Times as “a major, profound work.” Performed with a stunning multimedia backdrop by celebrated visual artist and scenic designer Jeff Sugg, the text weaves together the oral histories, interviews, union speeches and even accident reports from the Pennsylvania mining region at the turn of the 19th century. Additionally, the program, entitled “Music of the Coal Miner,” includes songs and spirituals of Appalachian coal miners (March 6, 2016).
The Chorale also gives two performances of the thrilling and virtuosic Verdi Requiem with full orchestra and acclaimed soloists Amber Wagner, soprano, Michelle DeYoung, mezzo soprano, Joshua Guerrero, tenor, and Morris Robinson, bass (January 30 and 31, 2016).
The season concludes with “Sonic Masterworks,” a spectacularly eclectic array of a cappella gems spanning six centuries, each of which Gershon describes as “sonically overwhelming,” among them the Chorale’s first-ever performance of Gregorio Allegri’s revered Miserere; Antonio Lotti’s Crucifixus; Pulitzer prize-winning composer Steven Stucky’s Three New Motets; György Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna, made famous by Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey; Abbie Betinis’ Envoi, simulating the sounds of a mass migration of butterflies; and Anders Hillborg’s Muoayiyoum, evoking the surreal beauty of the Aurora Borealis in the Scandinavian winter sky (June 5, 2016).
The Chorale also offers four distinctive holiday concerts in December, among them “Festival of Carols,” a joyous celebration of favorite yuletide carols and songs sung to perfection by the chorus’ 110 singers (December 5 and 12, 2015), two concert performances of Handel’s glorious Messiah (December 6 and 20, 2015), and the ever-popular “Messiah Sing-Along,” in which the audience itself is the choir (December 16, 2015). Additionally, organ virtuoso Szymon Grab and blazing brass ensemble add sonorous sparkle to “Rejoice! Brass Tidings,” which heralds the season with such classics as Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata for chorus and double brass, Giovanni Gabrieli’s Christmas Motets for double and triple choirs, John Rutter’s Gloria and Shawn Kirchner’s Behold New Joy: Ancient Carols of Christmas, composed as a companion piece to Rutter’s jubilant opus (December 13, 2015).
The Los Angeles Master Chorale opens the doors of Disney Hall to the public free-of-charge for its 27th Annual High School Choir Festival (April 22, 2016). Serving as a vital force in training the next generation of singers and music lovers, the comprehensive yearlong program culminates with a performance conducted by Gershon of 900 high school students from more than two-dozen Southland high schools.
The Chorale, which is a founding resident company of the Music Center of Los Angeles County, continues to present “ListenUp!,” a series of lively pre-concert conversations providing insight into the evening’s program, with Gershon and KUSC Radio’s Alan Chapman.
Ticket Information For further information about the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2015?16 season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, please call (213) 972-7282, or visit www.lamc.org.
Los Angeles Master Chorale 2015-16 Concerts Listed Chronologically
The Russian Evolution Saturday, September 26, 2015 – 2 pm Sunday, September 27, 2015 – 7 pm 110 singers a cappella | 48 singers with percussion & cello Tchaikovsky | Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Selections) Gretchaninov | Cherubic Hymn Rachmaninoff | All-Night Vigil (Selections) Sofia Gubaidulina | Canticle of the Sun US PREMIERE with Robert deMaine, cello And other Russian masterworks
Made in L.A. Sunday, November 15, 2015 – 7 pm 62 singers | piano | kulintang ensemble Morten Lauridsen | Ave Maria Jeff Beal | The Salvage Men WORLD PREMIERE Nilo Alcala | WORLD PREMIERE with Subla Ensemble, featuring Guru Danny Kalanduyan Paul Chihara | Ave Maria/Scarborough Fair WORLD PREMIERE Dale Trumbore | The Whole Sea in Motion Matthew Brown | Another Lullaby for Insomniacs Moira Smiley | WORLD PREMIERE Shawn Kirchner | Memorare
Festival of Carols Saturday, December 5, 2015 – 2 pm Saturday, December 12, 2015 – 2 pm 110 singers | pipe organ | piano Favorite Christmas Carols
Handel: Messiah Sunday, December 6, 2015 – 7 pm Sunday, December 20, 2015 – 7 pm
48 Singers | chamber orchestra | soloists Handel | Messiah
Rejoice! Brass Tidings Sunday, December 13, 2015 – 7 pm 62 singers | brass ensemble | pipe organ John Rutter | Gloria Shawn Kirchner | Behold New Joy: Ancient Carols of Christmas Daniel Pinkham | Christmas Cantata Giovanni Gabrieli | Christmas Motets And carols of the season
Messiah Sing-Along Wednesday, December 16, 2015 – 8 pm chamber orchestra | soloists | Audience is the Chorus! Handel | Messiah
Verdi Requiem Saturday, January 30, 2016 – 2 pm Sunday, January 31, 2016 – 7 pm 110 singers | orchestra | guest artists Verdi | Requiem Amber Wagner, soprano Michelle DeYoung, mezzo soprano Joshua Guerrero, tenor Morris Robinson, bass
Music of the Coal Miner Sunday, March 6, 2016 – 7 pm 32 singers | Bang On A Can All-Stars | video projection Julia Wolfe | Anthracite Fields WEST COAST PREMIERE With Bang on a Can All-Stars And songs and spirituals of Appalachian coal miners
Alexander’s Feast Saturday, April 16, 2016 – 2 pm Sunday, April 17, 2016 – 7 pm 48 singers | chamber orchestra | soloists Handel | Alexander’s Feast (The Power of Music) Trevore Ross, Stage Director
Sonic Masterworks Sunday, June 5, 2016 – 7 pm 110 singers a cappella Antonio Lotti | Crucifixus Gregorio Allegri | Miserere György Ligeti | Lux Aeterna Abbie Betinis | Envoi Anders Hillborg | Muoayiyoum Steven Stucky | Three New Motets And other “ear candy” choral works
********************************* For more information or a free brochure, call 213-972-7282 or visit www.lamc.org
All performances held at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and conducted by Grant Gershon. Programs and artists subject to change.
Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at: 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Significant highlights of the Chorale’s innovative season include “Made in L.A.,” spotlighting four Chorale-commissioned world premieres by LA-based composers Jeff Beal, Nilo Alcala, Paul Chihara and Moira Smiley as well as works by Angelenos Dale Trumbore, Matthew Brown, Morten Lauridsen and Shawn Kirchner (November 15, 2015). The chorus also launches “Hidden Handel,” a major new five-year initiative featuring semi-staged and multimedia productions of five of the composer’s great but underrepresented oratorios designed in collaboration with some of the arts world’s leading directors and artists, starting with the highly anticipated partially staged production of Handel’s Alexander’s Feast created for the Chorale by eminent stage director Trevore Ross (April 16 and 17, 2016). In subsequent seasons, Gershon is slated to lead productions of Handel’s Saul, Israel in Egypt, Theodora and Samson.
The Chorale’s season opens with “The Russian Evolution,” an all-Russian program anchored by the US premiere of eminent Russian-born composer Sofia Gubaidulina’s intimate Canticle of the Sun, written for famed cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and featuring renowned LA Philharmonic Principal Cellist Robert deMaine. It also includes selections from Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, as well as Gretchaninov’s Cherubic Hymn and other Russian choral masterworks (September 26 and 27, 2015).
Bang On A Can All-Stars joins the Chorale for the West Coast Premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields, described by the LA Times as “a major, profound work.” Performed with a stunning multimedia backdrop by celebrated visual artist and scenic designer Jeff Sugg, the text weaves together the oral histories, interviews, union speeches and even accident reports from the Pennsylvania mining region at the turn of the 19th century. Additionally, the program, entitled “Music of the Coal Miner,” includes songs and spirituals of Appalachian coal miners (March 6, 2016).
The Chorale also gives two performances of the thrilling and virtuosic Verdi Requiem with full orchestra and acclaimed soloists Amber Wagner, soprano, Michelle DeYoung, mezzo soprano, Joshua Guerrero, tenor, and Morris Robinson, bass (January 30 and 31, 2016).
The season concludes with “Sonic Masterworks,” a spectacularly eclectic array of a cappella gems spanning six centuries, each of which Gershon describes as “sonically overwhelming,” among them the Chorale’s first-ever performance of Gregorio Allegri’s revered Miserere; Antonio Lotti’s Crucifixus; Pulitzer prize-winning composer Steven Stucky’s Three New Motets; György Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna, made famous by Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey; Abbie Betinis’ Envoi, simulating the sounds of a mass migration of butterflies; and Anders Hillborg’s Muoayiyoum, evoking the surreal beauty of the Aurora Borealis in the Scandinavian winter sky (June 5, 2016).
The Chorale also offers four distinctive holiday concerts in December, among them “Festival of Carols,” a joyous celebration of favorite yuletide carols and songs sung to perfection by the chorus’ 110 singers (December 5 and 12, 2015), two concert performances of Handel’s glorious Messiah (December 6 and 20, 2015), and the ever-popular “Messiah Sing-Along,” in which the audience itself is the choir (December 16, 2015). Additionally, organ virtuoso Szymon Grab and blazing brass ensemble add sonorous sparkle to “Rejoice! Brass Tidings,” which heralds the season with such classics as Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata for chorus and double brass, Giovanni Gabrieli’s Christmas Motets for double and triple choirs, John Rutter’s Gloria and Shawn Kirchner’s Behold New Joy: Ancient Carols of Christmas, composed as a companion piece to Rutter’s jubilant opus (December 13, 2015).
The Los Angeles Master Chorale opens the doors of Disney Hall to the public free-of-charge for its 27th Annual High School Choir Festival (April 22, 2016). Serving as a vital force in training the next generation of singers and music lovers, the comprehensive yearlong program culminates with a performance conducted by Gershon of 900 high school students from more than two-dozen Southland high schools.
The Chorale, which is a founding resident company of the Music Center of Los Angeles County, continues to present “ListenUp!,” a series of lively pre-concert conversations providing insight into the evening’s program, with Gershon and KUSC Radio’s Alan Chapman.
Ticket Information For further information about the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2015?16 season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, please call (213) 972-7282, or visit www.lamc.org.
Los Angeles Master Chorale 2015-16 Concerts Listed Chronologically
The Russian Evolution Saturday, September 26, 2015 – 2 pm Sunday, September 27, 2015 – 7 pm 110 singers a cappella | 48 singers with percussion & cello Tchaikovsky | Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Selections) Gretchaninov | Cherubic Hymn Rachmaninoff | All-Night Vigil (Selections) Sofia Gubaidulina | Canticle of the Sun US PREMIERE with Robert deMaine, cello And other Russian masterworks
Made in L.A. Sunday, November 15, 2015 – 7 pm 62 singers | piano | kulintang ensemble Morten Lauridsen | Ave Maria Jeff Beal | The Salvage Men WORLD PREMIERE Nilo Alcala | WORLD PREMIERE with Subla Ensemble, featuring Guru Danny Kalanduyan Paul Chihara | Ave Maria/Scarborough Fair WORLD PREMIERE Dale Trumbore | The Whole Sea in Motion Matthew Brown | Another Lullaby for Insomniacs Moira Smiley | WORLD PREMIERE Shawn Kirchner | Memorare
Festival of Carols Saturday, December 5, 2015 – 2 pm Saturday, December 12, 2015 – 2 pm 110 singers | pipe organ | piano Favorite Christmas Carols
Handel: Messiah Sunday, December 6, 2015 – 7 pm Sunday, December 20, 2015 – 7 pm
48 Singers | chamber orchestra | soloists Handel | Messiah
Rejoice! Brass Tidings Sunday, December 13, 2015 – 7 pm 62 singers | brass ensemble | pipe organ John Rutter | Gloria Shawn Kirchner | Behold New Joy: Ancient Carols of Christmas Daniel Pinkham | Christmas Cantata Giovanni Gabrieli | Christmas Motets And carols of the season
Messiah Sing-Along Wednesday, December 16, 2015 – 8 pm chamber orchestra | soloists | Audience is the Chorus! Handel | Messiah
Verdi Requiem Saturday, January 30, 2016 – 2 pm Sunday, January 31, 2016 – 7 pm 110 singers | orchestra | guest artists Verdi | Requiem Amber Wagner, soprano Michelle DeYoung, mezzo soprano Joshua Guerrero, tenor Morris Robinson, bass
Music of the Coal Miner Sunday, March 6, 2016 – 7 pm 32 singers | Bang On A Can All-Stars | video projection Julia Wolfe | Anthracite Fields WEST COAST PREMIERE With Bang on a Can All-Stars And songs and spirituals of Appalachian coal miners
Alexander’s Feast Saturday, April 16, 2016 – 2 pm Sunday, April 17, 2016 – 7 pm 48 singers | chamber orchestra | soloists Handel | Alexander’s Feast (The Power of Music) Trevore Ross, Stage Director
Sonic Masterworks Sunday, June 5, 2016 – 7 pm 110 singers a cappella Antonio Lotti | Crucifixus Gregorio Allegri | Miserere György Ligeti | Lux Aeterna Abbie Betinis | Envoi Anders Hillborg | Muoayiyoum Steven Stucky | Three New Motets And other “ear candy” choral works
********************************* For more information or a free brochure, call 213-972-7282 or visit www.lamc.org
All performances held at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and conducted by Grant Gershon. Programs and artists subject to change.
Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at: 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
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