GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF LOS ANGELES,
CONDUCTED BY DOMINIC GREGORIO,
PRESENTS
‘SURE ON THIS SHINING NIGHT,’
INCLUDING WORLD PREMIERE OF “THE END OF IT ALL,”
FOR CHOIR AND ELECTRONICA BY JOHN TEJADA,
FEATURING TEJADA ON ELECTRONICA
Saturday, August 21, 2010, 8 PM, at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Concert also Features Opera Selections from Verdi, Bizet, Rossini and Donizetti and Contemporary Choral Works by Eric Whitacre, David Conte, Morten Lauridsen and Others, Showcases “The Harvey Milk Schools Project” and Introduces “GMCLA Alive Music Project Youth Chorus”
The renowned Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) – a leading artistic force, staunch advocate of civil and human rights and first gay men’s choir to perform for a sitting president (Bill Clinton) – presents the world premiere of The End of It All by noted electronic artist and DJ John Tejada, on Saturday, August 21, 2010, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Commissioned by GMCLA and written for choir and electronica, it will feature the composer on electronica. Also on the program are a selection of great opera choruses, a range of classic contemporary choral works and the GMCLA’s poignant and critically acclaimed Harvey Milk Schools Project, a mix of music and spoken word spotlighting the life of civil rights icon Harvey Milk to promote equality and acceptance and raise awareness about anti-gay bullying in schools. This marks the choir’s third performance in Disney Hall.
The concert, conducted by Interim Artistic Director Dominic Gregorio, opens with such contemporary choral classics as David Conte’s Invocation and Dance, for choir, four-hand piano, percussion and glockenspiel, praised by the New York Times as “a sparkling hymn to life”; Sure On This Shining Night by Morten Lauridsen, a lyrical setting of James Agee’s well known love poem; and Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre, whose compositions have been described as “works of unearthly beauty and imagination.”
Other contemporary compositions include In The Space of Now by Kevin Robison, commissioned by GMCLA in 2004; and Jonathan Wesley Oliver, Jr., a compelling work by singer/songwriter Tom Brown written in 1988 about the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which is the largest piece of community folk art in the world.
Also featured are selections from operas by Verdi, Bizet, Rossini and Donizetti, among them “Amore d fede eternal” from Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia; “Possente amor mi chiama” from Verdi’s Rigoletto; and “Fra poco a me ricovero… Oh meschina!” from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.
In addition, GMCLA highlights its poignant and critically acclaimed Harvey Milk Schools Project. Presented by the Chorus in Los Angeles-area schools, it is a mix of music and spoken word focusing on the life of civil rights icon Harvey Milk to promote equality and acceptance and raise awareness about anti-gay bullying in schools. The choir notes that every year, over 85% of LGBT students in American schools are physically or verbally abused.
Introduced for the first time on the main stage will be the GMCLA Alive Music Project Youth Chorus, comprised of local students, which will perform several numbers then join GMCLA for a medley featuring such hits as True Colors and Michael Jackson’s Will You Be There?.
Tickets for general seating range from $25 to $85 and can be purchased online through www.ticketmaster.com. VIP tickets, which include a pre-show reception in Disney Hall Founders’ Room are $150 and are available by calling (800) MEN SING or www.gmcla.org. The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in downtown Los Angeles.
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