LACC Hosts United States Army Chorus, 3/3 & Young Men's Ensemble, 3/17

Los AngeLes Children's Chorus (LACC), continuing to expand musical boundaries for its members and for the community at large, hosts two pillars of the choral world in a pair of free concerts at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The illustrious United States Army Chorus, one of the nation's only professional all-male choruses, comes to the West Coast on Thursday, March 3, 2011, 8 p.m., to perform with the distinguished LACC Young Men's Ensemble (YME). Two weeks later, on Thursday, March 17, 7 p.m., the renowned all-female Radcliffe Chorale Society shares the stage with the elite LACC Chamber Singers. Each pair of choirs performs separate and jointly.

The U.S. Army Chorus, conducted by Major Dwayne S. Milburn, was established in 1956 as the vocal counterpart of The U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own." Beyond the traditional military music and patriotic standards, the repertoire of the Army Chorus covers a broad spectrum that includes pop, Broadway, folk, and classical music and is reflected in its concert with LACC's Young Men's Ensemble on March 3, which features Soldiers' Chorus from Gounod's opera Faust; Stephen Foster's classic, Camptown Races; and Randy Newman's pop hit You've Got a Friend in Me. YME joins them to perform Non nobis, by Patrick Doyle and arranged by Milburn; Prisoners' Chorus, from Beethoven's opera Fidelio, which will feature a solo by a YME member; and the stirring Battle Hymn of the Republic, arranged by Peter Wilhousky.

The Radcliffe Choral Society, founded in 1899 and one of the oldest and most preeminent collegiate women's choirs in the nation, makes a stop in Pasadena on March 17, to appear with LACC's Chamber Singers as part of a spring break tour to California, which also includes engagements in Santa Barbara and San Diego. The acclaimed ensemble, featuring its new conductor, Andrew Clark, and organist Paul Meier, performs Benjamin Britten's Missa Brevis. The two choirs join together for Michael Haydn's Dixit Dominus and Britten's Old Abraham Brown. In addition, the Chamber Singers themselves perform I Shall Keep Singing by BrIan Holmes and Bach's Cantata #199 Mein Herze Schwimmt im Blut, among other selections.
Both concerts are free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please call (626) 793- 4231 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.