Roger Wagner, John Currie, Paul Salamunovich and Grant Gershon, music directors of the Los Angeles Master Chorale over the past 50 years / photos courtesy of LAMC
The Los Angeles Master Chorale, one of the world’s preeminent professional choirs, will offer gorgeous music, free champagne and a trip down memory lane when it launches its 50th Anniversary Season on Sunday, Sept. 22, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
This special opening night event will feature:
1) an extraordinary multimedia retrospective concert, replete with compelling historical video, audio clips and photos and more;
2) a one-day-only historical exhibition in BP Hall, including an electronic archive, original hand-written musical scores and more;
3) a post-concert complimentary champagne toast for the entire audience.
The concert, conducted by Kiki & David Gindler Music Director Grant Gershon, will include some of the most beloved and groundbreaking works in the chorus’ expansive repertoire and spotlight signature musical selections linked to each of the four music directors who have led the Chorale during its 50-year history, including Renaissance motets for Roger Wagner, Scottish folk songs for John Currie, O Magnum Mysterium for Paul Salamunovich and Unclouded Day and Spem in alium for Gershon. Literally bridging the past and present, more than 100 Chorale alumni are traveling from across the country to join the choir’s 115 current members for an emotional and memorable finale. KUSC’s Alan Chapman hosts the musical festivities.
The Chorale became one of the founding resident companies of the Music Center in 1964, when the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion opened its doors. It subsequently moved to Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003. Over the years, in addition to presenting its own concert series, it has served as a key collaborator with the LA Phil and for several years provided the chorus to the nascent LA Opera. It has also served as a leader among choral organizations around the globe, commissioning 42 works, giving world premieres of 60 pieces over the decades and touring to such far-flung destinations as the USSR, London, Paris, New York and Tijuana. It sang at Nixon’s 1974 inauguration, performed at the Grammys and earned a Grammy nomination of its own in 1998.
Tickets to the opening night concert range from $29 to $129. Group rates are available. For tickets and information, please call (213) 972-7282, or visit www.lamc.org. (Tickets cannot be purchased at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office except on concert days.)