LA Master Chorale's Messiah Sing-Along Set for Tonight

The Los Angeles Master Chorale's 35th Annual "Messiah Sing-Along," a beloved and time-honored tradition, brings together family, friends and the community to perform Handel's masterpiece tonight, December 16, 2015, 8 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Artistic Director Grant Gershon conducts the do-it-yourself version in which the entire 2,200-member audience becomes the choir. Sopranos, altos, tenors and basses of all levels - even those with no singing experience - are welcome. The performance features a professional chamber orchestra and a quartet of professional soloists, including soprano Beth Peregrine, mezzo soprano Laura Smith Roethe, tenor Bryan Lane and bass Scott Graff. Setting a festive visual mood as well, audience members "often dress up for the event, donning everything from formal wear to Christmas sweaters" (Downtown News). FOX-TV calls the Los Angeles Master Chorale's Messiah Sing-Along "the best around" and KABC-TV describes it as "comforting and uplifting." Messiah scores are available for $10 at the door.

Gershon says, "The Messiah Sing-Along definitely makes the season brighter. When 2,200 people raise their voices together in song, it's absolutely electrifying, especially when they sing the 'Hallelujah Chorus.'"

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. Since the Chorale's inception in 1964, it has presented the Baroque masterpiece a record 83 times, with 58 of those performances sung by the community at large as part of the Chorale's famed "Messiah Sing-Along."

Other seasonal offerings presented by the Chorale at Disney Hall include "Festival of Carols," December 5 and 12, 2 pm; two concert performances of "Handel's Messiah," December 6 and 20, 7 pm; and "Rejoice! Brass Tidings," December 13, 2015.

Tickets range from $29 - $79. Group rates are available. Children under six not admitted. For tickets and information, call (213) 972-7282, or visit www.lamc.org. 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 52nd season as a resident company of The Music Center of Los Angeles County and its 13th 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 47 and premiered 94 new works, of which 64 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 500 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 in Madison, Wisconsin, as well as in leading venues throughout the Southland. Its discography includes five commercial CDs under Gershon's baton. 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 and Amazon.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 9,000 students each year.

GRANT GERSHON is currently in his 15th 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 Walt Disney Concert Hall, including virtually all of the major works in the choral repertoire. A champion of new music as well, 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, Shawn Kirchner 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.