Los Angeles Children's Chorus and Phoenix Boys Choir Appear in FREE Concert May 13, 2009

LOS ANGELES CHILDREN'S CHORUS AND PHOENIX BOYS CHOIR APPEAR IN FREE CONCERT

WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 7 P.M., AT PASADENA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Choirs to Perform Individually and Jointly

The voices of more than 100 talented children will be raised in song when two noted children's choirs - the Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) and the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Boys Choir - present a free concert on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 7 p.m., at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

The Phoenix Boys Choir, which is currently celebrating its 60th Anniversary, presents its Town Choir, under the direction of Artistic Assistant Greg Amerind. LACC's 68-chorister Intermediate Choir, directed by LACC Associate Artistic Director Mandy Brigham, also performs. The two choirs perform separately and jointly.

“Part of the mission of Los Angeles Children's Chorus is to provide our singers with the opportunity to perform with other top level choirs,” said Brigham. “It's an inv
aluable experience for them to meet and work with other children who share their love of and talent for singing.”

Established in 1948, the Phoenix Boys Choir provides top quality music education for boys ages seven to fourteen and lively entertainment for audiences around the globe. Considered one of the world's leading boy choirs, Phoenix Boys Choir has been under the baton of Georg Stangelberger since 1999. He succeeded Dr. Harvey K. Smith, who led the choir for forty years. Each season, 40 to 50 singers from the 170-member Phoenix Boys Choir are selected for membership in the organization's elite Tour Choir, which has appeared throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada, Mexico, China and Japan. The choir has performed for four United States Presidents and with such name entertainers as Doc Severinsen, Stevie Wonder, and Keith Lockhart conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra. In February 2000, the choir won a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for its recording of Penderecki's Credo with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Helmuth Rilling. Credo is one of eight compact discs featuring the choir, the most recent being Joy To The World. In 2001, the choir was named "Cultural Ambassador" to the European Union, and in February 2003, the Tour Choir performed for the American Choral Directors Association Convention in New York City at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center and Riverside Church. In July 2007, the Phoenix Boys Choir won first place in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival at the world-renowned Musikverein in Vienna, a competition created to provide a unique platform for the world's most talented youth choirs, bands and orchestras.

Los Angeles Children's Chorus, founded in 1986 and currently celebrating its 23rd season, is noted throughout the country for its exceptional artistic quality and technical ability. It frequently performs with such leading musical ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Under the direction of Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, LACC also assists Los Angeles Opera by providing and training children for opera productions that require children's chorus or soloists. LACC currently serves more than 290 choristers from 60 communities across Los Angeles in five choirs (Concert, Chamber Singers, Intermediate, Apprentice and Preparatory) and one new class for young singers, First Experiences in Music. The intensive training program includes weekly or twice weekly rehearsals. All children receive individual voice coaching and take comprehensive musicianship classes. LACC has toured Brazil, China, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland as well as many parts of the United States and Canada. It is featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, “SING!,” which chronicles a year in the life of the choir and is shown periodically on PBS stations nationwide, and the recently-released documentary “SING OPERA!.” LACC is also featured on "Amore Infinito" ("Infinite Love"), a Deutsche Grammophon CD of songs based on poems by the late Pope John Paul II and performed by Plácido Domingo, which was released worldwide in March 2009. LACC performs on one of 12 tracks that also include Domingo in duet with Andrea Bocelli, Vanessa Williams and Katherine Jenkins. Open auditions for LACC take place each May.

Tickets and Information
The concert featuring Los Angeles Children's Chorus and the Phoenix Boys Choir is free. Seating at Pasadena Presbyterian Church's Fellowship Hall is on a first come, first served basis. Reservations are not required. Pasadena Presbyterian Church is located at 585 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. For information, please call (626) 793-4231 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.
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CALENDAR LISTING
Event:
Los Angeles Children's Chorus Intermediate Choir
Mandy Brigham, Director
Phoenix Boys Choir
Greg Amerind, Artistic Assistant

Performance Date:
Wednesday, May 13, 7 p.m.

Location:
Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall
585 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
Ticket Prices:
FREE

Information:
(626) 793-4231
www.lachildrenschorus.org
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program and artists subject to change

Official Website: http://www.lachildrenschorus.org