Sunday, December 7, 2014, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Chorale’s Do-It-Yourself Version Hailed as “Best Around”
Belting out the Hallelujah chorus has become an exhilarating and joyous holiday tradition, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s (LAMC) famed “Messiah Sing-Along,” conducted by Artistic Director Grant Gershon, continues to reign supreme as the ultimate must-do for sing-along fans on Sunday, December 7, 2014, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Sopranos, altos, tenors and basses of all abilities – even those with no singing experience – are welcome to the Chorale’s 34th Annual Sing-Along, in which the 2,100-member audience becomes the choir. The performance features a professional orchestra and quartet of professional soloists from the Chorale, including Holly Sedillos, soprano; Janelle DeStefano, mezzo soprano; Ben Cortez, tenor; and David Castillo, baritone. Messiah scores are available for $10 at the door.
“The Messiah Sing-Along is one of the highlights of the holiday,” says Gershon, “You can't help but feel the spirit of the season when you're literally surrounded by 2,100 people joined together in song.”
Reflecting the global popularity of Handel’s Messiah, LAMC Founding Music Director Roger Wagner brought the tradition to Los Angeles in 1980 after learning of the success of the “Do-It-Yourself Messiah” in Chicago. During its 50 year history, the Chorale has presented the Baroque masterpiece a record 79 times since its inception in 1964, with 58 of those performances sung by the community at large as part of the Chorale’s famed Messiah Sing-Along, which FOX-TV calls “the best around” and KABC-TV describes as “comforting and uplifting.”
Tickets range from $29 - $99. Group rates are available. For tickets and information, please call (213) 972-7282, or visit www.lamc.org. (Tickets cannot be purchased at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office except on concert days starting 2 hours prior to the performance.) The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in downtown Los Angeles.
Giving a voice to Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Grammy-nominated LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE is led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon. Proclaimed “the nation’s most pioneering major chorus” (Los Angeles Times), it has also been hailed as “inspired” (The New York Times), “magnificent” (Chicago Tribune) and “a superb vocal ensemble” (The New York Observer). The Chorale is currently in its 51st season as a resident company of The Music Center of Los Angeles County and its 12th as the resident chorus at Disney Hall. Presenting its own concert series each season, it performs choral music from the earliest writings to the most recent contemporary compositions. To date, the choir has commissioned 45 and premiered 92 new works, of which 62 were world premieres, and has been awarded three ASCAP/Chorus America Awards for Adventurous Programming as well as Chorus America’s prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence. The Chorale has performed in more than 300 concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at both Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, and has toured with the orchestra to Europe and New York City. It has also appeared at the Ojai Music Festival, the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center, the Ravinia Festival and the Overture Center inMadison, Wisconsin, as well as in leading venues throughout the Southland. Its discography includes five commercial CDs under Gershon’s baton. The latest, released in 2012 on Decca, features three works by Polish composer Henryk Górecki. In addition, in 2013, as part of its 50th anniversary season celebration, the Chorale released a digital recording featuring signature a cappella works available online-only at LAMC.org, iTunes andAmazon.com. LAMC previously released three CDs under former Music Director Paul Salamunovich on RCM, including the Grammy-nominated Lauridsen-Lux Aeterna. The Chorale is also featured with Gershon on the soundtracks of such major motion pictures as Lady in the Water and License to Wed. Serving more than 30,000 audience members of all ages annually, the Los Angeles Master Chorale also provides education outreach to some 6,000 students each year.
GRANT GERSHON is currently in his 14th season as the Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and also serves as Resident Conductor of LA Opera. The Los Angeles Times declares that the Chorale "has become the most exciting chorus in the country under Grant Gershon” and Opera News proclaims him “a first-rate conductor.” During his tenure with the Chorale, he has led more than 100 performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, including virtually all of the major works in the choral repertoire. A champion of new music as well, Mr. Gershon has led world premiere performances of major works by John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Lang, Louis Andriessen, Christopher Rouse, Steve Reich, Morten Lauridsen, Ricky Ian Gordon, Gabriela Lena Frank and Chinary Ung, among many others. His discography includes two Grammy Award-nominated recordings: Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic Special Editions) and Ligeti’s Grand Macabre (Sony Classical); five commercial CDs with the Chorale: Glass-Salonen (RCM), You Are (Variations) (Nonesuch), Daniel Variations (Nonesuch), A Good Understanding (Decca), and Miserere (Decca); and a digital recording featuring some of the Chorale’s signature a cappella works available online-only at LAMC.org, iTunes and Amazon.com.
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