New York Arts Executive Jean Davidson, who has been affiliated with some of the country's most innovative and successful arts organizations, has been named President & CEO of the Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC), the nation's largest professional chorus and Walt Disney Concert Hall resident chorus led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon and heralded around the globe for its unparalleled artistry, announces LAMC Chair David Gindler. She assumes the post on August 31, 2015. Davidson has served since 2011 as Executive Director & CEO of New York Live Arts, an internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary performing arts center under the artistic direction of Bill T. Jones. Guiding its phenomenal growth and success since its inception, she was instrumental in leading the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company through its merger with Dance Theater Workshop to create New York Live Arts, a new model of artist-led, producing and presenting arts organization unique in the United States. Today New York Live Arts, noted for commissioning cutting-edge new works, its vibrant community partnerships and as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, presents more than 100 performances annually in its theater and studios inside its 20,000-square-foot facility in Chelsea, operating with a $5.8 million budget. Davidson is cited for her forward-thinking management style, fostering artistic innovation, developing and expanding creative partnerships with disparate educational and cultural organizations, and overseeing tremendous revenue development and programmatic growth. She previously served as Executive Director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in New York City for six years prior to the merger, when the company launched two successful initiatives entitled Partners in Creation and Partners in Education; Managing Director of The Silk Road Project, Inc., a non-profit arts and cultural organization founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma which during her tenure commissioned 25 chamber works, launched a worldwide tour, released three recordings; and Production Administrator for the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Davidson replaces LAMC President & CEO Terry Knowles, who steps down at the end of the season following a tremendously successful 15-year tenure with the chorus, during which time the Chorale experienced unsurpassed financial and artistic growth, toured around the world to critical acclaim, released six commercial CDs, created a recording partnership with Decca Classics, and twice received the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming as well as Chorus America's prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the nation's highest choral music award. Davidson's appointment comes at a critical time in the Chorale's history, as it is poised to launch its 52nd season and a new period of strategic growth. The national executive search for Knowles' successor was led by Arts Consulting Group, the leading provider of executive search and other services for the arts and culture industry.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale wraps its 51st season with a compelling program showcasing the boundless harmonic imaginations of American composer Eric Whitacre, a noted pioneer who has embraced the artistic potential of social media, and the music of Estonian "mystic minimalist" Arvo Part, celebrated for his beautifully sensuous and reflective chant-like compositions, today, May 16, 2 pm, and Sunday, May 17, 2015, at 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
The Chorale was previously honored with the organization's ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming three times in 1995, 2003 and 2010, the Education and Community Engagement Award twice in 2000 and 2008, and also earned Chorus America's prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence in 2012.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale wraps its 51st season with a compelling program showcasing the boundless harmonic imaginations of American composer Eric Whitacre, a noted pioneer who has embraced the artistic potential of social media, and the music of Estonian "mystic minimalist" Arvo Part, celebrated for his beautifully sensuous and reflective chant-like compositions, on Saturday, May 16, 2 pm, and Sunday, May 17, 2015, at 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Water becomes an extraordinary and transformative musical instrument taking center stage as it flows, drips, gurgles, splashes, bubbles and crashes to create a staggering array of percussive sounds when the Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by Artistic Director Grant Gershon, presents Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer Tan Dun's riveting Water Passion After St. Matthew, 'a masterpiece for the ages' (AllMusic), on Saturday, April 11, 2 pm, and Sunday, April 12, 2015, 7 pm, at Disney Hall.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) -- heralded around the globe for its unparalleled artistry and wide-ranging repertoire - announces its 2015|16 Season, its 52nd, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Acclaimed Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director Grant Gershon, "a first-rate conductor" (Opera News) who marks his 15th season at the choir's helm, conducts 10 programs shaped by his keen creative vision, 5 of which are repeated, for a total of 15 performances at Disney Hall. The innovative season features numerous world, US and West Coast premieres as well as semi-staged and multi-media concerts designed to provide an immersive experience.
The 110-member Los Angeles Master Chorale continues its vital role of expanding the choral music repertoire when Artistic Director Grant Gershon conducts two highly anticipated world premieres based on the theme of ascension by Swan Family Composer in Residence Shawn Kirchner and distinguished Korean-American composer Nackkum Paik on Sunday, March 8, 2015, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Adding a final flourish to the holiday season, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon, presents two concerts of Handel's Messiah on Wednesday, December 17, 7:30 pm, and Sunday, December 21, 2014, 7 pm, at Disney Hall. Featuring 40 members of the acclaimed chorus, orchestra and four gifted soloists from the Chorale's ranks, the concert provides the opportunity to hear this riveting oratorio - rich with soaring high notes, powerful bass, majestic brass and lush orchestrations - performed by what many critics consider to be the best chorus in the country. The soloists are Christina Bristow, soprano; Nike St. Clair, mezzo soprano; Arnold Livingston Geis, tenor; and Chung Uk Lee, baritone. Composed in a mere 24 days, Handel's 1741 English-language oratorio continues to be the composer's most popular work and may be the most performed classical work of all time.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale's holiday offerings continue with "Rejoice! A Cappella Christmas," showcasing the Chorale's astonishingly pure sound and exquisite balance in an all a cappella program that celebrates the 20th anniversary of former composer-in-residence/National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen's monumental O Magnum Mysterium, on Sunday, December 14, 2014, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC), led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon, presents an all-a cappella program of soaring Renaissance choral gems that promises to resonate in the sparkling acoustics of Disney Hall on Sunday, November 16, 2014, 7 pm. The Chorale, which is particularly adept at performing this musical style with crisp, clear intonation, performs William Byrd's Sing Joyfully, Josquin des Prez's Ave nobilissima creatura, John Taverner's Western Wind Mass, Thomas Tallis's If Ye Love Me and Orlando di Lasso's O Crux Splendidior, among other 16th and 17th century works.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC), led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon, launches the 2014|15 season, its 51st, with a spectacular multi-faceted cinematic and aural event featuring the Walt Disney Concert Hall premiere of Richard Einhorn's "brilliantly effective" (Washington Post) 1994 work Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan of Arc, inspired by and performed live to the 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc. Einhorn's evocative piece, written for orchestra, chorus and soloists, provides a haunting backdrop to the rarely seen restored version of Carl Dreyer's cinematic masterpiece, considered by many critics to be among the top films ever made.
The Hollywood Bowl's 2014 classical season concludes in grand fashion with conductor Juanjo Mena leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, 'Choral,' Thursday, September 11, at 8 pm.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) concludes its year long 50th Anniversary Season celebration on Sunday, June 8, 2014, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, with 'Today, Tomorrow & Beyond,' a forward-looking program conducted by Music Director Grant Gershon featuring the world premieres of three works commissioned by the acclaimed choir in honor of its 50th jubilee.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) has announced that eminent Music Director Grant Gershon will continue his key leadership role at the choir's helm through the 2019-2020 season, which will be his 19th season with the chorus, with the new title of Artistic Director effective July 1, 2014, according to LAMC Chair David Gindler.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) continues its epic 50th Anniversary Season with a heartfelt two-part tribute to National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, the choir's Composer In Residence from 1995 to 2001, the composer most closely associated with the renowned chorus and the most frequently performed American choral composer in modern history. The tribute begins with an exclusive screening of the award-winning documentary film 'Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen' and post-screening conversation with Lauridsen, film director Michael Stillwater and LAMC Music Director Grant Gershon tonight, March 14, 2014, 8 pm, at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) continues its epic 50th Anniversary Season with a heartfelt two-part tribute to National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, the choir's Composer In Residence from 1995 to 2001, the composer most closely associated with the renowned chorus and the most frequently performed American choral composer in modern history. The tribute begins with an exclusive screening of the award-winning documentary film "Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen" and post-screening conversation with Lauridsen, film director Michael Stillwater and LAMC Music Director Grant Gershon on Friday, March 14, 2014, 8 pm, at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale. The tribute concludes with the Chorale's highly anticipated all-Lauridsen concert featuring some of his most well known works conducted by Gershon with one work accompanied by composer himself on piano on Sunday, March 16, 2014, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) - heralded around the globe for its unparalleled artistry and wide ranging repertoire - continues expanding and transforming the spectrum of choral music with two world premieres while also presenting Renaissance gems, a cappella masterpieces, contemporary classics and seminal large-scale works during the 2014-15 Season, its 51st, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Acclaimed Kiki & David Gindler Music Director Grant Gershon, who marks his 14th season at the choir's helm, conducts 10 programs, 4 of which are repeated, for a total of 14 performances at Disney Hall. The Grammy®-nominated Chorale displays its skills as both a virtuosic symphonic chorus and a masterful a cappella tour de force with a season of carefully curated repertoire, featuring works by some 20 composers, nearly half of whom are active today, among them Swan Family Composer in Residence Shawn Kirchner, Tan Dun, Arvo Part, Eric Whitacre, Nack-Kum Paik, Richard Einhorn, Ariel Quintana, Jan Sandstrom and Morten Lauridsen.
The trailblazing Los Angeles Master Chorale launches its milestone 50th Season tonight, September 22, 2013, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, with a spectacular retrospective concert conducted by the Kiki & David Gindler Music Director Grant Gershon celebrating the rich history and inspiring artistry of the extraordinary musical organization.
The trailblazing Los Angeles Master Chorale launches its milestone 50th Season on Sunday, September 22, 2013, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, with a spectacular retrospective concert conducted by the Kiki & David Gindler Music Director Grant Gershon celebrating the rich history and inspiring artistry of the extraordinary musical organization that has been acclaimed for its 'needle-sharp quality' (Financial Times) and hailed as 'inspired' (New York Times), 'adventurous' (Daily Variety), and 'matchlessly polished' (Los Angeles Times).
The Los Angeles Philharmonic's classical season at the Hollywood Bowl opens with celebrated conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leading the orchestra in Mahler's Second Symphony ('Resurrection') with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and soprano Kiera Duffy and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tonight, July 9, at 8 pm. Tilson Thomas continues the opening week of the Bowl classical season, leading one of the world's greatest violinists, Gil Shaham, in Sibelius' Violin Concerto, Thursday, July 11, at 8 pm.
