The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC), conducted by Music Director Grant Gershon, continues its year-long 50th anniversary season celebration with back-to-back performances of Orff's Carmina Burana, one of the most popular choral works of the 20th century, featuring Chorale member Timothy Gonzales, tenor, and noted guest artists Stacey Tappan, a "mellifluous" soprano (Wall St. Journal), José Adán Pérez, a "glorious baritone" (Bach Track), and the ever-polished Los AngeLes Children's Chorus on Saturday, November 2, 2013, 2 pm, and Sunday, November 3, 2013, 7 pm, at Disney Hall. Verdi's lush Te Deum, for double chorus and orchestra with roots in polyphony and Gregorian chant, opens the program.
A pop culture favorite, it has been featured in such disparate films as The Last of the Mohicans, Speed and Excalibur and such television shows as Glee, The Simpsons and Survivor. The irreverent and dynamic work, based on a remarkable collection of 13th century writings by medieval poets, defrocked monks, vagabond scholars and minstrels, illuminates the bawdy and sensuous side of mankind. Written in 1936, when Orff was 41, it is perhaps the most recognized choral work of the 20th century. The majority of its movements are for chorus, which provides the musical heart of Carmina Burana and is a testament to Orff's considerable skill in handling massed voices. A staple for the Chorale, Carmina Burana has been performed 16 times and conducted by all four of the choir's music directors over the past 50 years. Gershon last conducted the piece in 2005.
Tickets for Camina Burana range from $29 - $129. Group rates are available. For tickets and information, please call (213) 972-7282, or visitwww.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.Serving as the musical voice of Los Angeles for half a century, the LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE (LAMC) holds a prominent place in the city's cultural fabric as well as in the annals of classical music. The 2013-14 Season marks the milestone 50th Season of the trailblazing chorus, noted for its remarkable legacy as one of the world's preeminent choirs, credited with enriching the choral literature with numerous high profile commissions and world premieres, and hailed as both a virtuosic symphonic chorus and a masterful a cappella tour de force. A dazzling year-long celebration embracing both the choir's rich history and its commitment to advancing choral music showcases the Chorale's broad and impactful reach. The Kiki & David Gindler Music Director Grant Gershon, proclaimed "a first-rate conductor" (Opera News), conducts 10 programs, 4 of which are repeated, for a total of 14 performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall with repertoire chosen from the Grammy-nominated choir's treasure trove of signature works. Season upcoming highlights include four Christmas programs in December, an extraordinary Anniversary Weekend Celebration (January 25 and 26, 2014), paying homage to the Chorale's inaugural performance and featuring "Golden on Grand," a gala honoring 50 years of exceptional music; and a heartfelt musical tribute to former Composer in Residence Morten Lauridsen (March 16, 2014), as well as a film tribute to him at the Alex Theatre. Additionally, the Chorale launches the second installment of the LA Phil's popular Minimalist Jukebox Festival (April 6, 2014); showcases the next generation of composers at its season finale (June 8, 2014); opens the doors of Disney Hall to the public free-of-charge for its 25th Annual High School Choir Festival (May 2, 2014); and continues its vital role in the classroom through its Voices Within in-school artists in residence and other education programs, reaching some 9,000 students and adults annually.
GRANT GERSHON was named the Kiki and David Gindler Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2001 and also serves as Resident Conductor of LA Opera. Heralded by critics, 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, Gershon has led world premiere performances of major works by Louis Andriessen, Christopher Rouse, Steve Reich, 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); and five CDs with the Chorale: Glass-Salonen (RCM), You Are (Variations) (Nonesuch), Daniel Variations (Nonesuch), A Good Understanding (Decca), and, most recently, Miserere (Decca), featuring works by Henryk Górecki recorded in Walt Disney Concert Hall. The 2013-14 season marks the Los Angeles Master Chorale's 50th season with Gershon conducting 14 performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall. With LA Opera, he conducted Bizet's Carmen at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (September 26, 28, and October 4, 2013). In celebration of composer Chinary Ung's 70th birthday, Gershon conducts his critically acclaimed AURA at UC San Diego (November 13, 2013) He also guest conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance with the Chorale of Phillip Glass' the CIVIL warS, the Rome Section at Disney Hall, (April 17 and 19, 2014), and conducts a concert with high school students from across the country at Carnegie Hall for Choirs of America (June 21, 2014).
Soprano STACEY TAPPAN continues to distinguish herself as a world-class musical artist. In stellar reviews for her "witty and sexy" Adele in Die Fledermaus with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, she was praised for the production's "most polished singing... her coloratura bright and well-focused." This season she stars as Stella in LA Opera's production of A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Renée Fleming. Among recent engagements, she appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic singing Wing on Wing, composed and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand" at the Hollywood Bowl. She sang in the first concert of the Recovered Voices series at the Los Angeles Opera under the baton of James Conlon, and has also appeared with the opera company as the Wren in The Birds, Virtú and Pallade in L'incoronazione di Poppea, and the Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel.
A native of Mazatlán, México, JOSÉ ADÁN PÉREZ is an alumnus of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program of LA Opera. A dramatically expressive singer possessing a rich, ample baritone of significant presence, Pérez turned to singing after establishing himself as an engineer in the competitive automobile industry. His roles with LA Opera include Di Cosimo in the world premiere of Daniel Catán's Il Postino, in which he shared the stage with Plácido Domingo, both Figaro and Fiorello in IL Barbiere di Siviglia and the Second Senator in the American premiere of Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten under the baton of James Conlon. Pérez made his New York City Opera debut in L'elisir d'amore, performing the role of Bel Core, and his Hollywood Bowl debut as Dancaïro in Carmen with the LA Phil conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.
LOS ANGELes ChildREN'S CHORUS - described as "astonishingly polished" and "hauntingly beautiful"-is recognized throughout the country for its exceptional artistic quality and technical ability. Founded in 1986, LACC performs with such leading organizations as LA Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony and POPs, and The Calder Quartet. The Chorus' roster includes more than 375 children aged 6-18 from 60 communities across Los Angeles in seven choirs and First Experiences in Singing classes for its youngest singers. LACC has toured North and South America, China, Europe, South Africa and Australia. The chorus appears on Nico Muhly's Decca recording "A Good Understanding" with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and Plácido Domingo's Deutsche Grammophon recording "Amore Infinito" ("Infinite Love"). The subject of a trilogy of documentaries by Academy Award winning filmmaker Freida Lee Mock, LACC is featured in the Academy Award-nominated "Sing!" about a year in the life of the Chorus; "Sing Opera!" documenting the production of LACC's commissioned opera "Keepers of the Night"; and "Sing China!" chronicling its groundbreaking tour to China prior to the Beijing Olympics. LACC has performed on NBC's "The Tonight Show" and was featured on Public Radio International's nationally syndicated show "From the Top."
Photo by: Steve Cohn
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