The Verdi Chorus Launches New Online Series November 8

The Verdi Chorus continues its 37th season with The Fox Singers in Amor y Odio, Songs of Spain and the New World presented by The Verdi Chorus and the Sahm Family Foundation.

This musical soirée is the premiere offering of the new online series called VERDI CHORUS PRESENTS led by Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum. The Fox Singers comprise the professional ensemble of The Verdi Chorus, which is the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music for opera chorus.

Amor y Odio is dedicated to the songs and zarzuelas of Spain and the New World, and will premiere online Sunday, November 8. Future VERDI CHORUS PRESENTS soirées featuring The Fox Singers will include an evening of Neapolitan favorites and Italian art songs and an evening dedicated to American song. These online concerts will be available on the Verdi Chorus website at https://www.verdichorus.org.

The Fox Singers demonstrate the mission of The Verdi Chorus to provide performance opportunities to young professional singers, and these highly promising singers, named in memory of long-time Chorus and Board member Walter Fox, not only serve as section leaders and rehearsal coaches for the Verdi Chorus, but also have opportunities to perform as featured singers in performances, and perform on occasion independently of the full Chorus. The Fox Singers featured in Amor y Odio, Songs of Spain and the New World are: sopranos Tiffany Ho and Sarah Salazar; mezzo-soprano Judy Tran; tenors Joseph Gárate and Elias Berezin; and bass Esteban Rivas.

The Fox Singers have been presented at several venues in Southern California including the Annenberg Beach House, The Broad Stage, the Huntington Library, and the Nixon Library.

Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum says, "I am so excited for these upcoming soirées, which will showcase our exceptional Fox Singers. Finding ourselves immersed in a virtual online world over these past months has inspired me to create new musical experiences unlike anything we have done before. Music is such a vital thing to share with the world during this difficult time. These online concerts also allow us to offer the talents of The Verdi Chorus' Fox Singers to an even larger audience."

Ketchum continues, "These young artists are our most valuable resource. We are not charging a viewing fee for the upcoming online concert, but are asking instead that our audiences consider a personal donation to our newly established 'Artist Relief Fund.' Details are on the Verdi Chorus website, and funds received will be sent exclusively to our wonderful and highly talented musicians."

How to watch: Go to https://www.verdichorus.org

Music Director and Founding Artistic Director ANNE MARIE KETCHUM has been the conductor of The Verdi Chorus since its inception in 1983. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Choral Conducting and a Master's degree in Voice Performance from California State University, Northridge, where she studied choral conducting with John Alexander and served as his assistant conductor. As a singer, she has appeared internationally and is well known for her performances of contemporary art music, vocal chamber music, solo recitals, and opera. She has made several recordings of contemporary music. Among her more recent activities Ms. Ketchum was the Stage Director for the Metropolitan Opera National Council - Western Region Showcase Concerts in Palm Springs for five years. She helped create This and My Heart: A Portrait of Emily Dickinson in Text and Song, a concert/theater piece which she co-wrote and performed with actress Linda Kelsey and pianist Victoria Kirsch. This was presented as part of Grand Performances in Los Angeles and made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Cultural Affairs Department of Los Angeles. In February of 2012, she premiered a piece in New York by Aurelio De La Vega entitled Recordatio for soprano and ten instruments, which was written for her.

Accompanist LARAINE ANN MADDEN has garnered acclaim as one of the most sensitive and experienced collaborating artists in the Los Angeles area. Trained in the Bay Area, she made her solo debut with the Oakland Symphony at age 13 performing Mozart's Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488. Ms. Madden studied Accompanying at the University of Southern California with its pioneer teacher, Gwendolyn Koldofsky and has accompanied in the master classes of Martin Katz, Geoffrey Parsons, Giorgio Tozzi, Martial Singher, Joan Dornemann and Peter Pears. She has served as "repetiteur" accompanist under conductors Simon Rattle, Christoph Perrick and Richard Buckley, and has appeared in concert with singers associated with New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, and Los Angeles Opera including Alan Titus, Rod Gilfry, Erie Mills, Young Mi Kim and Ealynn Voss. Recent engagements include performing on the Jacaranda Concert Series and with the Walter Fox Singers at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica, the Huntington Library in Pasadena, and the Richard Nixon Library for the Marshall B. Ketchum University Shared Visions Gala. This is her twenty-second year as collaborator with the Verdi Chorus.

For more information visit: https://www.verdichorus.org.

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