A free send-off concert launches the tour on Monday, July 17, 7 pm, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, featuring such works as Basque composer Josu Elberdin’s Salve Regina; the Canadian folk song Un Canadien Erran; and Dale Trumbore’s Breathe in Hope, commissioned and premiered by LACC at its recent Spring Concert and set to text found on social media. Additionally, the Young Men’s Ensemble (YME), under the director of Dr. Steven Kronauer, is currently in the Southern Hemisphere on a 14-day tour to Australia and New Zealand (June 18 – July 1, 2017).
“Los Angeles Children’s Chorus has a long and illustrious history of touring,” says Tomlinson. “It provides a vital opportunity for our choristers to transcend borders and language through their music, enabling the choristers to connect with other people and experience different cultures in a positive and powerful way.”
Highlights of YME’s tour include a joint performance with the Australian Boys Choir on June 21, in Melburne; concerts on June 23, at Nagle College and St. Mary’s Church in Bairnsdale; a workshop with Gondwana Young Men’s Choir on June 25, in Sydney; and concerts in two Sydney suburbs – June 26, at St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Mosman, and June 27, at the Starlight Room in Randwick. In New Zealand, YME participates in two special events on June 30 – a musical and cultural exchange at Rotorua Primary School in Rotorua, noted for its Maori culture, as well as a workshop and joint concert with Hamilton Boys High School Choir on June 30, in Hamilton. Young Men’s Ensemble is one of only a few choirs in the country to serve young male vocalists with changing voices and is designed to bridge the gap between treble and young men’s choral singing.
The Concert Choir’s British Columbia tour features a joint performance with the Richmond Youth Honor Choir on July 21, at Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond; an appearance at the 39 Days of July Festival on July 22, in Duncan; and a performance July 24, at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria. The Concert Choir regularly appears in Southern California with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale and LA Opera and has made numerous recordings and television and radio appearances.
The “send off” concert on July 17 is free and seating is on a first come first served basis. Pasadena Presbyterian Church, located at 585 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. For information on Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, please call (626) 793-4231 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.
Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) is recognized around the globe for its exceptional artistic quality and technical ability. Founded in 1986 and led by Tomlinson since 1995, LACC serves more than 400 children ages 6 to 18 through six choirs – Preparatory, Apprentice, Intermediate, Concert, Chamber Singers and Young Men’s Ensemble for boys with changing voices – and also offers 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, the nation’s highest choral honor, has toured North and South America, Africa, China, Japan, Australia and Europe. It appears on the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s critically acclaimed Decca recording A Good Understanding, and Plácido Domingo’s Deutsche Grammophon recording Amore Infinito (“Infinite Love”). The subject of a trilogy of documentaries by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock, LACC is featured in the Academy Award-nominated Sing!, about a year in the life of the choir; Sing Opera!, documenting the production of the LACC-commissioned family opera Keepers of the Night; and Sing China!, chronicling its groundbreaking tour to China just prior to the Beijing Olympics. LACC has performed with John Mayer on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” and has also been featured on PBS’s “Great Performances,” BBC Radio, and Public Radio International’s nationally syndicated show “From the Top,” among other credits.