INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED CHORAL CONDUCTOR
MARÍA GUINAND JOINS MUSIC DIRECTOR GRANT GERSHON TO CONDUCT LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE’S
21^st ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR FESTIVAL

Friday, April 16, 2010, 1:00 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall

FREE Concert Features Massive Choir of 900 Students from 26 Southland High Schools and Special Performance by Festival Honor Choir

Internationally acclaimed choral conductor María Guinand, director of the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela, joins Music Director Grant Gershon to conduct the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s celebrated 21^st Annual High School Choir Festival on Friday, April 16, 2010, at 1:00 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall.  This free concert, which is open to the public, is the culmination of one of the largest high school choir festivals in the nation, designed to inspire and help train the next generation of singers.  It showcases the remarkable vocal talents of 900 students from 26 Southland schools in a massive combined choir and features music from North and South America.  It is part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Festival of the Americas.”  Sharing the stage with Mr. Gershon, Ms. Guinand will conduct several selections during the concert and will also conduct the inaugural Festival Honor Choir, comprised of top singers from each of the participating schools.

Among the performance highlights, renowned composer Morten Lauridsen, recipient of the prestigious 2007 National Medal of Arts and named by an American Choral Master by the National Endowment of the Arts, will accompany the combined choir on his gorgeous composition, Dirait-on, conducted by Mr. Gershon, who will also conduct Hanacpachap cussicuinin by Juan Pérez Bocanegra, Salmo 150 by Ernani Aguiar, and Good News, The Chariot’s Comin’, a spiritual by Moses Hogan.  Ms. Guinand will conduct Muié Rendêra by C.A. Pinto Fonseca and Alleluia by Randall Thompson.

In addition, Ms. Guinand will conduct the 80–member Festival Honor Choir in three works, including Arroz con Leche by Carlos Guastavino, Zion’s Walls arranged by Aaron Copland and Glenn Koponen, and Joy by Ricky Ian Gordon.  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 and will rehearse with Ms. Guinand the morning of the festival.

The performance is the culmination of a yearlong in-school music education program presented by the Chorale that provides vital mentorship for young singers throughout the region.  It is one of the largest high school choir festivals in the nation.

“It is an honor to have María join me to conduct at this year’s choir festival,” said Gershon.  “She is one of the most revered figures in the choral world and an tremendous inspiration to us all.”

Participating schools include Agoura High School (Agoura), John Mosley, director; Alhambra High School (Alhambra), Sara Maloney, director; Arroyo High School (El Monte), Jennifer Stanley, director; Baldwin Park High School (Baldwin Park), Vicki Salmon, director; Bellflower High School (Bellflower), Carolyn Kelley, director; Birmingham High School (Van Nuys), Michael Suffolk, director; California High School (Whittier), Dan Hawkins, director; Covina High School (Covina), Susan Silver, director; Culver City High School (Culver City), Lisa Michel, director;  Eagle Rock High School (Los Angeles), Rachel Lee, director; Granada Hills Charter High School (Granada Hills), Craig Gruenberg, director; Grant High School (Valley Glen), Marsha Lynne Taylor, director; John Marshall Sr. High School (Los Angeles), Sophia Lee, director; Loyola High School (Los Angeles), Steven Speciale, director; Mark Keppel High School (Alhambra), Tony Azeltine, director.

Also participating are: Montebello High School (Montebello), Nancy Schwartz, director; Norwalk High School, (Norwalk), Nancy Lanpher, director; Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (Rolling Hills Estates), Daniel Doctor, director; Rancho Cucamonga High School (Rancho Cucamonga), Kelley Squires, director; Renaissance High School for the Arts (Long Beach), Drew Holt, director; San Gabriel High School (San Gabriel), Cecilia Revilla, director; Sierra Vista High School (Baldwin Park), Suzanne Brookey, director; Susan Miller Dorsey High School (Los Angeles), Crystal Nichols, director; Taft High School (Woodland Hills), Tom Pease, director; Thousand Oaks High School (Thousand Oaks), Gary Fritzen, director; Torrance High School (Torrance), C. David Wright, director; and Wilson Classical High School (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 work on the repertoire, selected by Mr. Gershon.  Directors then work in-class 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 lead the student singers and directors in a masterclass of the festival music.  A month before the festival, each school attends one of two joint 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 Los Angeles County Arts Commission; the Georges and Germaine Fusenot Foundation; Metropolitan Associates; the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation; the Lon V. Smith Foundation; the John and Beverly Stauffer Foundation; the Charitable Foundation, Agent Community Outreach of Prudential California Realty; and the Weingart 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.  To order free tickets for the concert, please call (213) 972-7282 or visit www.lamc.org/HSCFtickets.

EDITOR’S PLEASE NOTE: CALENDAR LISTING

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