Los Angeles Master Chorale Will Present SOUND WAVES at Walt Disney Concert Hall
The GRAMMY-winning ensemble closes its season with two world premieres led by artistic director Grant Gershon.
On Sunday, May 31, at 7 PM, the GRAMMY Award-winning Los Angeles Master Chorale will close its 2025/26 season with Sound Waves - an immersive concert experience at Walt Disney Concert Hall designed to calm the senses, lower the pulse, and surround audiences in breathtaking music inspired by water, breath, and nature. Blending meditation, visual art, spatial sound, and some of today's most innovative composers, Sound Waves invites audiences to disconnect from chaos and reconnect with themselves.
"People are craving experiences that help them slow down, breathe, and feel grounded again," said Grant Gershon, Kiki and David Gindler Artistic Director. "This program creates a space where music becomes healing - physically, emotionally, and spiritually."
At the center of the evening is Indian American composer Reena Esmail's Malhaar: A Requiem for Water, inspired by the climate crisis and ancient Hindustani raags intended to summon rain. Featuring internationally acclaimed vocalist Saili Oak, tabla virtuoso Abhiman Kaushal, renowned percussionist Ian David Rosenbaum, and a mesmerizing video installation by Camilla Tassi, the performance transforms Disney Hall into a cocoon of light, motion, and sound.
The evening also features two major world premieres written specifically for the Master Chorale:
Korean composer Hyowon Woo's SUM (숨) becomes a "sound bath for the soul," with 62 singers positioned throughout the hall, while Korean percussion and resonant singing bowls create waves of vibration and breath-like resonance.
American composer Marques L. A. Garrett's On the Seashore unfolds like the ocean itself - voices rising and receding in sweeping currents inspired by a 1912 poem from Rabindranath Tagore that reflects innocence, fragility, and humanity's relationship with a changing planet.
Additional works include Eric Whitacre's luminous Water Night and the beloved American folk song Shenandoah, arranged by James Erb.
SOUND WAVES
Sunday, May 31, 2026 - 7:00 PM Walt Disney Concert Hall
Tickets available now at lamasterchorale.org
PROGRAM
• Hyowon Woo - SUM (숨)
• Marques L. A. Garrett - On the Seashore
• Eric Whitacre - Water Night
• Reena Esmail - Malhaar: A Requiem for Water
• arr. James Erb - Shenandoah
ARTISTS
• Grant Gershon, conductor
• Saili Oak, vocalist
• Abhiman Kaushal, tabla
• Ian David Rosenbaum, western percussion
• Camilla Tassi, video installation
• 62 singers
PRE-CONCERT EVENT
Listen Up! Pre-Concert Lecture Featuring Jennifer Miller Hammel, Grant Gershon, Reena Esmail, Marques L. A. Garrett, and Hyowon Woo.
Videos
