LA Children’s Chorus Men’s Ensemble
Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) continues to expand its national and international reach when two of its leading choirs embark on significant tours this summer to Cuba and the East Coast. The Young Men’s Ensemble (YME), under the director of Dr. Steven Kronauer, travels to Cuba for an 11-day tour of the recently “opened” island nation from June 12-22, 2015, marking LACC’s first tour to the Caribbean region in its 29-year history. In addition, the Concert Choir, led by LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, tours to the East Coast on an eight-day American Heritage Tour to Washington, D.C. and Virginia from June 23-30, 2015. To launch the tours, both choirs are featured in free send-off concerts at Pasadena Presbyterian Church with YME performing on Thursday, June 11, 7 pm, and the Concert Choir appearing on Saturday, June 20, 7 pm.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to share Los Angeles Children’s Chorus’s artistry with such diverse audiences,” says Tomlinson. “These tours also provide LACC choristers an opportunity to participate in meaningful cultural exchanges.”
Highlights of YME’s tour include a joint performance with the Cantorías Coralillo and Solfa of the Schola Cantorum Coralina in the Casa de las Americas in Havana, on June 15; a workshop with Cuba’s acclaimed all-male choir Sine Nomine, which LACC presented in Pasadena in its U.S. debut last season, on June 16; a workshop and joint performance with AudiNos in the Teatro La Caridad in Santa Clara, on June 19; and a joint concert with Sine Nomine in Iglesia Sagrado Corazon in Havana, on June 21. The choir also enjoys cultural tours of Old Havana, Modern Havana, Trinidad and Santa Clara, and traces Ernest Hemingway’s footsteps in Havana and the fishing village of Cojimar. Young Men’s Ensemble is one of only a few in the country to serve young male vocalists with changing voices and is designed to bridge the gap between treble and young men’s choral singing.
The Concert Choir’s East Coast tour features a total of six performances: at the First Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, VA, on June 24; Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in Williamsburg, VA, on June 25; St. Anne’s Parish Church in Annapolis, MD, on June 26; All Saints Episcopal Church in Frederick, MD, on June 27; Best of Serenade! Festival Concert at Strathmore Hall in North Bethesda, MD, on June 28; and at the Millennium Stage of Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 29. The Concert Choir regularly appears in Southern California with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale and LA Opera and has made numerous recordings and television and radio appearances.
Admission to the free “send off” concerts on June 11 and 20 is on a first come first served basis. Pasadena Presbyterian Church, located at 585 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California 91101. For information on Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, please call (626) 793-4231 or visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.