Los Robles Master Chorale Concludes Season With LAURIDSEN & CO, 5/20

The 105-voice Los Robles Master Chorale (LRMC), led by Artistic Director Lesley Leighton, concludes its 29th season with back-to-back matinee and evening performances of "Lauridsen & Co," an inspirational program of choral music by living composers that features chorale-commissioned world premieres by three rising young California composers, all UCLA students, as well as the music of National Medal of the Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, on Saturday, May 20, 2017, at 4 pm and 8 pm, at The Church of the Epiphany in Oak Park, CA. The world premieres include E Novem Punctis Unum by Vittorio Russo, Loam by William Cabison and America by Nicholas Carlozzi. The first half of the program spotlights five works by Lauridsen - the Grammy-nominated O Magnum Mysterium; Lux Aeterna; Sure on this Shining Night (from Nocturnes); Dirait-on (from Les Chansons des Roses); and Ov'è, Lass', Il Bel Viso? (from Madrigali: Six Firesongs). The chorale also performs Lauren McLaren's Yama No Mizu, Eric Whitacre's When David Heard, LRMC Composer-in-Residence Jasper Randall's The Cloths of Heaven and Norma Rio-Pablico's Banwar iti Cordillera.

"Los Robles Master Chorale has long championed young composers and is particularly pleased to premiere works by William Cabison, Nicholas Carlozzi and Vittorio Russo, three exceptionally talented composers at the beginning of very promising careers," says Leighton. "Their works serve as a compelling counterpoint to the music of legendary choral composer Morten Lauridsen, esteemed internationally for his superlative body of work."

Lauridsen was named an "American Choral Master" by the National Endowment for the Arts and was bestowed with the 2007 National Medal of the Arts "for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide." He has been a composition professor at USC Thornton School of Music for more than four decades.

Cabison, a Los Angeles native who recently won the Los Angeles Master Chorale's national Young Composers Competition, is a student in the studio of classical pianist David Kaplan at UCLA, from which he will graduate in June 2017 with a B.A. in music-piano performance. His works have been performed in Jan Popper Theater, Schoenberg Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall. This is his first professional commission.

Carlozzi was born in San Francisco, California and grew up in San Mateo, a suburb of San Francisco. He recently completed a bachelor's degree in music composition at UCLA and is continuing at UCLA in the master's program in music composition. His song cycle "Songs for a Stranger" won the 2011 Pacific Musical Society Composition Competition and was a finalist in the 2012 NATS Art Song Composition Competition.

Russo has composed numerous concert works and film scores. A Los Angeles native, he is currently studying music composition at UCLA. His principal teachers are Ian Krouse, Adam Schoenberg and Richard Danielpour. In addition to the Los Robles Master Chorale commission, his recent projects include the film score for Made of Ivory and Gold by director Jennifer Shadd, Sussurus Ex Abysso, which was premiered by the wildUp ensemble, and various works for chamber orchestra, wind ensemble and choir.

Los Robles Master Chorale, lauded for its "robust choral tapestry" (Artillery) and considered among Southern California's premier choirs, is hailed for its remarkable sound, striking versatility, and commitment to commissioning new choral works. The Ventura County-based chorus harnesses the power of music to enrich the lives of people of all ages with repertoire ranging from early music and great choral masterworks to folk, contemporary and world music. Celebrating a rich legacy, LRMC presents its own concert series each season and performs with leading music organizations across the Southland in such iconic venues as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl and Royce Hall. The chorale has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New West Symphony and Ventura Symphony, among others.

Tickets, on sale now, are $29; $22 for seniors; and $8 for students. The Church of the Epiphany Is located at 5400 Churchwood Drive, Oak Park, CA 91377. For tickets and information, please call (805) 526-7464 or visit www.losroblesmasterchorale.org.

CREDIT: Mark Lowry

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