LA Children’s Chorus Presents “I Raise My Voice” Spring Concert

Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), one of the world’s leading children’s choirs, embraces the vitality of the season with its Spring Concert, entitled “I Raise My Voice,” led by Artistic Director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz on Saturday, May 5, 7 pm, and Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12, 2018, 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.  Some 300 young singers ages 8 to 18, from six choirs are performing across the two concerts, which celebrate children. The program includes Spanish Ave Maria – a lyrical a cappella setting of the prayer Ave Maria sung in Spanish – composed by Bay Area artist Henry Mollicone, noted for writing works on social justice-related issues; and Gloria by Michael Bojesen, one of Denmark’s most prominent choral music figures who is known for mixing musical idioms. Also featured are Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, the Italian composer’s timeless and transcendent hope-filled masterpiece written in 1736; and Mark Hayes’ spine-tingling choral arrangement of Harold Arlen’s beloved Over the Rainbow, set to lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, which was sung by Judy Garland in the film The Wizard of Oz and has become one of the world’s most famous and widely sung songs.

“The Spring Concert draws from the repertoire the Concert Choir, Young Men’s Ensemble and Chamber Singers will perform on their upcoming summer tours to the East Coast, Eastern Europe and the Sun Valley Writers Conference, respectively,” says Malvar-Ruiz. “The program embraces a range of musical styles and genres that showcase the incredible range and versatility of LACC’s remarkable young artists.”

Malvar-Ruiz conducts the chorus’ Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Mixed Voices Choir.  Associate Artistic Director Mandy Brigham leads the Intermediate Choir, Diana Landis leads the Apprentice Choir, and Dr. Steven Kronauer conducts the Young Men’s Ensemble. The six highly regarded ensembles perform separately and combined.

Tickets to LACC’s Spring Concert $27, $40 and $46; children 17 and under are half price. For tickets and 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, widely recognized for its 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.