Los Angeles Children's Chorus Presents Salon Recital, 2/26

Three very special Los Angeles treasures - two musical and one astronomical - join forces for an unforgettable evening of heavenly musical magic on Saturday, February 26, 2011. The Los Angeles Philharmonic's incomparable concertmaster, Martin Chalifour, and the Los Angeles Children's Chorus acclaimed 15-member Chamber Singers appear in an intimate recital at the private Hale Observatory, an historic architectural and scientific gem built in 1924 and tucked away in a quiet residential neighborhood in Pasadena. Presented by the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, two seatings are available at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., with a joint reception for both seatings at 6:30 p.m., featuring delightful wines and exquisite hors d'oeuvres by lauded epicure Mary Blodgett.

"It is a tremendous honor to present Martin Chalifour, whose peerless artistry has thrilled audiences around the globe," says LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, who conducts the Chamber Singers, "Hearing him perform in this intimate and beautiful venue will be a real treat."

Mr. Chalifour performs a selection of solo works for violin on the 1716 Milstein Stradivarius, compliments of Terri and Jerry Kohl.

Among the a cappella works presented by the Chamber Singers are the English Madrigal Strike It Up Tabor by Thomas Weekles; Sing All Ye Joyful by Kirke Mechem; and North Point by LACC alumna Caroline Park, composed for LACC's 20th Anniversary and based on poetry taken from graffiti on a wall at North and Point Streets in San Francisco that speaks to the importance of dreams and their place in our lives.

The Hale Observatory, commissioned by internationally recognized solar astronomer George Ellery Hale after retiring as director at Mount Wilson, was designed by the Pasadena firm of Johnson Kaufman and Coate in 1924 in conjunction with landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, the sole woman among the founding members of the American Society of Landscapers. Hale, who invented the spectroheliograph, an instrument used to discover the magnetic fields of sunspots, among other celestial findings, used the observatory, which includes a machine shop in the basement, as his office and workshop. It is currently owned by Pasadena architects Elizabeth Moule and Stefanos Polyzoides.

Tickets to the salon are $100 and seating is limited. For tickets and information, please call (626) 793-4231 or email mpowers@lachildrenschorus.org. The Hale Observatory is located at 740 Holladay Road, Pasadena, CA 91106.

PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Chalifour

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