Germany’s Famed Hamburg Girls’ Choir Makes Southern California Debut in Free Concerts Presented by Los Angeles Children’s Chorus

Germany’s renowned Hamburg Girls’ Choir, hailed for its unique vocal style and repertoire, makes its Southern California debut in a free concert presented by the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) on Sunday, March 10, 2019, at 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Based in Hamburg, Germany, and led by Gesa Werhahn, the Hamburg Girls’ Choir performs works by a range of Northern European composers, and also performs jointly with Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, led by Artistic Director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz. The concert adds to LACC’s long and storied history of championing and presenting international children’s choirs.

“LACC is proud to share the distinctive artistry of the Hamburg Girls’ Choir with Southern California audiences,” says Malvar-Ruiz. “Its appearances provides LACC choristers an opportunity to interact with these accomplished young artists and learn about their singing techniques and styles.” 

The Hamburg Girls’ Choir, founded in 2013 as part of the National Youth School of Music in Hamburg, has more than 200 members, of which 52 are participating in the group’s first tour to the United States, which includes its Pasadena appearance as well as stops in Northern California, Utah and Arizona. The program features such works as Abendlied (Evening Song) by Rheinberger, who wrote the motet at age 15; Brahms’ Guten Abend, gute Nacht, known as Brahms’ Lullaby, which has been recorded by artists ranging from Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby to Anne Sofie von Otter; and Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s Northern Lights, inspired by the beauty of the aurora borealis. The choir also performs Latvian composer Eriks Ešenvalds’ Stars, for choir and water-tuned glasses; Grieg’s Solveigs Song, from the incidental music he wrote for Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt; and Finnish composer Mia Makaroff’s Butterfly, among other works. Hamburg Girls’ Choir, whose members ranging from 14-22, has enthralled audiences from Switzerland to Swaziland with its nuanced sound, a cappella repertoire and polished performances.

The concert is free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, visit www.lachildrenschorus.org or call (626) 793-4231.  Pasadena Presbyterian Church is located at 585 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101.

LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS (LACC), widely recognized for its agile bel canto sound and artistic excellence, has been lauded as “hauntingly beautiful” (Los Angeles Times), “astonishingly polished” (Performances Magazine) and “one of the world's foremost children's choirs” (Pasadena Star News). Founded in 1986 and led by Artistic Director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, who began his tenure in August 2018, LACC presents its own concerts and regularly performs with such organizations as LA Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale and Jacaranda, among others. The Chorus serves 400 children ages 6 to 18  in seven choirs – Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, Mixed Voices Choir, Young Men’s Ensemble, Intermediate Choir, Apprentice Choir and Preparatory Choir – and a First Experiences in Singing program and First Experiences in Choral Singing Ensemble for 6-8-year-olds.  LACC, recipient of Chorus America’s 2014 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, tours internationally, is the subject of three documentaries and has appeared on NBC's “The Tonight Show,” PBS’s “Great Performances,” BBC Radio, Public Radio International's “From the Top” and is featured on John Williams' latest recording, John Williams & Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection.  www.lachildrenschorus.org.

FERNANDO MALVAR-RUIZ, internationally regarded choral conductor, clinician and educator, is the Artistic Director of Los Angeles Children’s Chorus. He has worked with children’s and youth choirs his entire career. From 2004 to July 2017, Malvar-Ruiz was the Music Director of The American Boychoir, leading some 150 performances and up to five national and international tours annually. He prepared the choir for appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra, among others, working with such conductors as Marin Alsop, Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas and Valery Gergiev and artists ranging from cellist Yo-Yo Ma, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and pop legends Beyoncé Knowles, Sir Paul McCartney and Josh Groban to opera singers Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman. He also conducted the choir on six recordings, led its performances on the Academy Awards and a 9/11 Memorial Service, broadcast globally on CNN and was the music director on the film “Boychoir.” Malvar-Ruiz previously served as The American Boychoir’s Associate Music Director from 2000-2004 under James Litton. An expert in the adolescent male evolving voice, Malvar-Ruiz has guest conducted children’s and youth choirs around the globe. He has a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Ohio State University and completed the coursework toward a doctoral degree in from the University of Illinois.