Impacting the Lives of Thousands of Young LACC Choristers

Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (Photo – lachildrenschorus.org).

Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) 2017-2018 is the season to celebrate the artistry and dedication of Anne Tomlinson, its Artistic Director since 1996.

Prepared by Jean Sudbury

2018 will be Anne Tomlinson’s final year as Artistic Director of LACC. She is stepping down after 22 years of service as artistic director and conductor. Along with these services, she has instigated and helped to develop the LACC educational programs.

Anne Tomlinson

Imagine Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bizet’s Carmen, John Adam’s El Niño, Bernstein’s Mass, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 or Britten’s War Requiem without the transcendent sound of children’s choir.  They would not be the masterworks that they are. There is simply no other sound on earth comparable to a treble choir.

Anne Tomlinson must deal with constantly rotating personnel as young choristers grow up and move on to college, or the voices of its young male choristers change overnight. When this voice change happens, Ann has prepared the singers to leave the Concert Choir, the premier performance ensemble, and join LACC’s Young Men’s Ensemble, which is designed to help them continue singing in a healthy manner as their voices fluctuate.

While the day-to-day aspect of training young children to sing is not glamorous, the results are beautiful and transformative for the children and audiences.

Anne has had a far-reaching impact on LA’s cultural fabric. Global audiences, and children’s choirs across the country regard LACC as one of the world’s preeminent treble choirs. Anne has positively affected the lives of the thousands of children she has worked with during her long and fruitful tenure.

A children’s chorus

LACC (Photo -Jamie Pham).

A children’s chorus can be the most beautiful, transparent sound of all. At every performance, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus achieves this transparency. A world renown ensemble, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus has been together for 32 years. Among the ensembles the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus performs with are The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, LA Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony and POPS, Jacaranda, and the Calder Quartet.

The Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) launches the 2017-18 season with a number of high profile appearances.

• On September 9, 14, 17, 20 and 23 and October 1, 2017, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LACC joins LA Opera for six performances of Bizet’s Carmen, directed by Ron Daniels, conducted by James Conlon and featuring Grammy Award-winning soprano Ana Maria Martinez in the title role.
• On September 23 and 24, 2017, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, LACC will appear with Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by Artistic Director Grant Gershon, in its season-opening performance of Orff’s exuberant cantata, Carmina Burana, with guest artists soprano So Young Park and tenor Nicholas Phan.
• On September 29, 2017, LACC will give back to the community, performing in the benefit concert, “Bach to Broadway.” The LACC will be joined by the critically acclaimed Los Robles Master Chorale, directed by Lesley Leighton.  Proceeds from this concert will help fund the restoration of Pasadena’s landmark St. Andrew Church, founded in 1886.  This church is considered an architectural and cultural treasure, and is one of the oldest churches in Los Angeles. The performance will be held at St. Andrews Church, 311 N Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103.
• On October 11, 2017, LACC performs in the West Coast premiere of The Hubble Cantata, in its second LA Opera appearance this season. It will take place at the John Anson Ford Theatre. An unprecedented live experience which pushes the boundaries of art and science, the space-inspired cantata features stunning images from the Hubble Space telescope. It is a tale about an astrophysicist searching for his wife in the stars, culminating in a five-minute virtual reality film. This sends the audience into a mind-expanding voyage through the Universe. The work features music by composer Paola Prestini, and libretto by Royce Vavrek.  Nathan Gunn and Jessica Rivera are the soloists. Eliza McNitt’s virtual reality film, Fistful of Stars, culminates the performance. During his narration, New York Times best-selling author and eminent astrophysicist Dr. Mario Livio places the characters’ saga in the majestic scheme of the cosmos.
• On October 25 and 26, 2017, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, the LACC will present a two-day masterclass with famed choral conductor and Artistic Director of Venezuela’s Schola Contorum. Maria Guinand. She is a foremost interpreter and champion of Latin American choral music of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.
• In December, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus will be spotlighted in three holiday events. On December 3, 2017, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LACC will be featured in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s prestigious Sounds About Town series. This program, led by Anne Tomlinson, is entitled “Our Heart’s Joy,’’ The concert features carols and musical selections interspersed with secular readings drawn from such universal themes as creation, hope and change. This will be the third time LACC has been spotlighted on the Sounds About Town series.
• On December 7-10, 2017, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LACC provides its stellar and distinctive live vocals for the Miami City Ballet‘s world premiere of a new version of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. This Music Center co-commission features new sets and costumes by Cuban-American artists/designers Isabel and Ruben Toledo and Balanchine’s iconic choreography. This marks the first collaboration between LACC and Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. This is a new version of the fairytale ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s timeless score. The Nutcracker Ballet is beloved holiday tradition around the globe.
• On Saturday, December 16, 2017, at Pasadena’s All Saints Church, LACC makes its tenth consecutive guest appearance in matinee and evening performances with the Pasadena Symphony and POPS‘ popular Holiday Candlelight Concert, led by conductor Grant Cooper. The program includes cherished holiday melodies, featuring the Donald Brinegar Singers and the L.A. Bronze Handbell Ensemble. The music helps to usher in the holidays by candlelight in the church’s visually striking and richly sonorous setting,
• On February 1-4, 2018, at Walt Disney Concert Hal, LACC appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Gustavo Dudamel, in four highly dramatic theatrical performances of Bernstein’s Mass, directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer. The cast will include singers, dancers, rock bands, marching bands, orchestra and chorus. The performance of this sweeping pageant advocates for peace and questions authority. The performance is a part of the world-wide centennial celebration of Bernstein, well-known as remarkable composer, conductor and educator, and as a humanitarian cultural ambassador.
• On March 2 and 3, 2018, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, 150 LACC choristers will be featured in the Los Angeles Philharmonic‘s US premiere of Andrew Norman’s acclaimed opera A Trip to the Moon, co-commissioned by the orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra, and conducted by Teddy Abrams.  Directed by Yuval Sharon, noted for expanding the operatic format with his unconventional body of work, the opera was inspired by Georges Méliès’ 1902 silent film version of the same name, which was based on the classic Jules Verne’s novels From Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon.
• On May 12 and 13, 2018, at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus presents its annual Spring Concert with a vibrant mix of contemporary and traditional music, including many of Anne Tomlinson’s favorites.
  

• On March 17, 2018, in Pasadena, LACC hosts a master class with Dr. Sharon Paul, Director of Choral Studies at Oregon State University, for the American Choral Directors Association. Under Dr. Paul’s direction, the Oregon State University Chamber Choir has garnered international acclaim, winning top honors at several leading international choral competitions. In 2014, the Chamber Choir became a resident ensemble at the Oregon Bach Festival, performing each summer under the direction of Helmuth Rilling and Matthew Halls.  Dr. Paul has served as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at California State University, Chico, and was Artistic Director of the San Francisco Girls Chorus.
• This spring, LACC will present its annual Gala Bel Canto fundraiser, which spotlights distinguished honorees from the worlds of the arts, philanthropy and the Chorus’ alumni community, draws supporters from across the Southland and spotlights the remarkable talents of LACC’s choristers.  Proceeds benefit the Chorus’ artistic, educational and scholarship programs.
• in June 2018, LACC culminates its 32^nd season with an international tour (destination TBA), continuing its proud tradition of reaching a global audience through its unique artistry.  The tour marks Tomlinson’s final, heartfelt farewell.

Of her experience at LACC, Anne Tomlinson said:

It has been a tremendous privilege and delight to serve as Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus for more than two decades.

My greatest joy has been working with the children, who are so inspiring and dedicated.  I also treasure the incredible opportunities LACC’s artistic partners have provided the organization and reflect warmly upon the transformative aspect of touring, experiences that have enriched LACC and its choristers in innumerable ways.

LACC Chair Cheryl Scheidemantle said:

Los Angeles Children’s Chorus is deeply indebted to Anne Tomlinson, whose consummate musical skills and dedicated leadership have impacted the lives of thousands of young LACC choristers as well as audiences around the globe for more than two decades.

She continued by saying that Anne has been “a positive influence on each and every LACC chorister she has worked with during her long and distinguished tenure.”

As Tomlinson will be conducting varied repertoire this season, special tributes are being planned throughout the year in honor of her.

The Los Angeles Children’s Chorus was founded in 1986 and led by Tomlinson since 1995. LACC serves more than 400 children ages 6 to 18 through six choirs and offers First Experiences in Singing classes and a First Experiences in Choral Singing Ensemble for 6-8-year-olds.

Source: lachildrenschorus.org