45th Season Includes Third Installment of “LA Is the World,” Reflecting Region’s Cambodian Influences with World Premiere of Work by Chinary Ung in Collaboration with Dancer/Choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, as well as World Premieres of Andrea Clearfield’s Dream Variations and a New Work by Steven Sametz Plus Two West Coast Premieres — Nico Muhly’s Expecting the Main Things from You, and Roberto Sierra’s Missa Latina, with Soprano Heidi Grant Murphy and Baritone Nathaniel Webster

Multi-Year “Homage to Haydn” Project Concludes with Harmonie Mass and Heilig Mass, Mendelssohn’s Elijah Features Bass-Baritone Eric Owens, Chorale Sings Messiaen’s Trois petites liturgies, Plus Music Director Grant Gershon Conducts Harrison’s La Koro Sutro, and Works by Rachmaninoff, Rutter, Liszt, Pärt, Brahms, Bartók, Poulenc, Copland and Others, and Ricky Ian Gordon Is Commissioned to Write Piece for 20th Anniversary of Chorale’s High School Choir Festival

As the voice of Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, under the baton of Music Director Grant Gershon, has become one of the world’s leading choirs, revolutionizing the practice of concert programming and shaping the choral literature with striking new commissions. During the 2008|09 season, the Chorale continues its trajectory with 13 programs and special events at Disney Hall featuring three world premieres, a pair of West Coast premieres and a range of sublime choral works both contemporary and long established, as well as a special commission for the 20th Anniversary of the High School Choir Festival. Gershon conducts all 13 programs and shares the podium with Chorale’s Assistant Conductor Ariel Quintana for two concerts.

Among the highlights of its 45th season, the Chorale resumes its exploration of the impact of myriad cultural influences on the city with the world premiere of a work by renowned Cambodian-born composer Chinary Ung. Created in collaboration with dancer/choreographer/singer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, it reflects the city’s strong Cambodian ties and is the third installment of LA Is the World, a multi-year commissioning initiative that unites immigrant master musicians, composers and the Chorale. The late seminal composer Lou Harrison’s quintessential Eastern-infused anthem, La Koro Sutro, writtenfor gamelan ensemble and choir, provides a unique contrast to Ung’s piece.

The other world premieres are Dream Variations by Andrea Clearfield, who The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed “the new guard,” and All About Jazz says “is to be thanked for ‘daring to disturb the universe,’” and a new piece by Steven Sametz, written in honor of Grant Gershon and the Chorale.

Gershon also conducts the West Coast premiere of Roberto Sierra’s Missa Latina, which was debuted at Kennedy Center in 2006 under the baton of Leonard Slatkin and was described by the Washington Times as “the most significant symphonic premiere in the District since the late Benjamin Britten’s stunning War Requiem... Mr. Sierra’s new work is, quite simply, shockingly brilliant.” Soprano Heidi Grant Murphy and baritone Nathaniel Webster, who performed the premiere, are featured soloists.

Showcasing another side of the contemporary music scene, the Chorale presents the West Coast premiere of Expecting the Main Things from You by New York-based composer Nico Muhly, who has collaborated with such artists as Björk, Philip Glass and American folk singer Sam Amidon. Though his music is rarely performed on the West Coast, The Chicago Tribune states, “This young composer has something to say and a smart, sassy, in-your-face way of saying it.”

Acclaimed bass-baritone Eric Owens joins the Chorale for Mendelssohn’s masterpiece Elijah. A program of folk songs includes works by Brahms, Bartók, Tormis, Poulenc and Copland, at which Quintana handles some of the conducting duties. The Chorale’s multi-year initiative “Homage to Haydn” concludes with two of the composer’s late masses: Harmonie Mass and the rarely performed Heilig Mass. The Disney Hall organ takes center stage for an organ extravaganza spotlighting motets by Bruckner, and organ/vocal pieces by Liszt, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and others. The Chorale also performs Messiaen’s extraordinary 20th Century masterwork Trois petites liturgies. Rutter’s Gloria, Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity, Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata and Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium are among choir’s seasonal offerings.

Other season highlights include two performances each of the Messiah Sing-Along and Holiday Wonders, the Chorale’s beloved family Christmas concert, plus the Chorale’s 20th Annual High School Choir Festival, featuring a piece by Ricky Ian Gordon specially commissioned for the anniversary, which will be performed by more than 1,000 high school stgudents from Southern California.

“Business as usual for the Chorale is always business with a twist,” contends Gershon. “The Chorale’s amazing singers make it possible to explore the widest possible range of music. It’s such a joy to work with them to discover new works and breathe life into choral gems — often in the same program. These artists consistently deliver performances of unparalleled excellence and dazzling freshness because of their unique ability to adapt their technique and sound to impeccably execute virtually any style of music while infusing it with unmatched richness, depth and emotion.”

The Chorale continues to present “Listen Up!,” a series of lively pre-concert conversations providing insight into the evening’s program, with KUSC’s Alan Chapman and Gershon.

Post-concert gala caps season opener of Rachmaninoff and Haydn works on October 12

The Master Chorale launches its 2008|09 season with the a cappella grandeur of Rachmaninoff’s The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Op. 31 and Haydn’s Harmonie Mass, considered a veritable summation of the great composer’s body of work, on Sunday, October 12, 2008, at 7:00 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Music Director Grant Gershon conducts, and a post-concert black-tie gala in Disney’s BP Hall caps the evening. The Haydn work is the fifth to be presented in the Chorale’s multi-year “Homage to Haydn” project showcasing all six of the composer’s famous final Masses over three seasons and culminating in 2009, the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death.

Commenting on the musical pairing, Gershon says, “Both are masterworks that convey an overwhelming larger than life choral experience, and both swap musical clothes to some degree. People who know Haydn’s work think of him as being very straight laced and Rachmaninoff as being hyper Romantic and sensual and over the top.”

Composed in 1910, the Rachmaninoff piece, one of only two major unaccompanied choral works by the composer, is, according to Gershon, “rife with big lush harmonies and a Russian soul but also has an austerity, a directness and simplicity to it that is surprising from this great Romantic composer.” A cosmopolitan man who traveled extensively and immigrated to the United States at the height of his career, Rachmaninoff seems to reconnect with his Russian roots and spirituality in this piece. Originally intended as part of a long service in the Orthodox Church, the Chorale presents a 40-minute segment, sung in Russian, from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, as is typical when it is performed in concert.

When Haydn wrote Harmonie Mass, he knew it would be one of his last great masterworks and spent far more time composing it — over a year — than he did on any of his other masses. It is considered his most romantic and extroverted piece, which Gershon states, “definitely has a valedictory feeling to it, a summation of everything he explored.” It features a solo vocal quartet and is the only one of Haydn’s late Masses written for a full contingent of woodwinds, brass, strings and organ.

Far East-influenced program on November 9 Pairs Harrison’s La Koro Sutro with third installment of “LA Is the World”

The Chorale, conducted by Gershon, takes a musical journey to the far East via two quintessential California composers when it pairs seminal composer Lou Harrison’s Eastern-influenced anthem La Koro Sutro, written for choir and American Gamelan, with the world premiere of a work by noted Cambodian-born, San Diego-based composer Chinary Ung on Sunday, November 9, 2008, 7:00 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Ung’s piece features legendary Cambodian dancer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, director and choreographer of the Khmer Arts Ensemble, with a complement of dancers from her troop, and is the third installment of “LA Is the World,” a multi-year commissioning project that unites immigrant master musician immigrants, composers and the Chorale.

Colorful, exotic and evocative, both pieces are marbled with ritual overtones, dance elements and shades of another era. Gershon notes, “This concert is the kind of experience that can only happen in this city. It’s essentially a collaboration between our audience and the performers — a literal and metaphorical intersection of LA.”

Reflecting the city’s strong Cambodian ties, Ung’s piece, commissioned by the Chorale, was created in collaboration with the Chorale and Sophiline, founder of the Khmer Arts Ensemble, with bases in Long Beach and Phnom Penh, whose mission is to preserve the Khmer classical dance and singing traditions. Sophiline and her dancers provide not only movement but, according to Gershon, “untrained voices that contrast with the polish of the Chorale.” Embodying the spirit of the ancient Cambodian classical tradition, she is one of only a few artists of her generation to survive the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. She is also a member of the first generation to graduate from Phnom Penh’s Royal University of Fine Arts after the fall of the regime. She currently splits her time between Cambodia and Long Beach, California.

Ung, born in Takeo, Cambodia, in 1942, escaped the Khmer Rouge when he immigrated to America with his family in 1964 after graduating from Cambodia’s national music conservatory. His new work, a deeply personal piece, utilizes Western instruments but incorporates Asian pentatonic scales for an Eastern sound and is loosely based on the ancient Cambodia anthem Sathukar, which was nearly erased from the collective culture of Cambodia during the genocidal upheaval. He is acclaimed for his melodic music, deft balance between Western and Eastern sounds, and extremely challenging writing for the voice — in spite of not hearing a symphony orchestra nor seeing notated music until he was 17 years old.

Lou Harrison (1917–2003), a native of Portland, Oregon, who resided in Northern California for the majority of his life, has been in the vanguard of American composers for fifty years. An innovator of musical composition and performance that transcends cultural boundaries, Harrison’s highly acclaimed work juxtaposes and synthesizes musical dialects from virtually every corner of the world. Among the nearly 50 pieces of gamelan music Harrison wrote is the standout La Koro Sutro, which in Esperanto means “the Heart Sutra.” Among the most popular and profound of Buddhist sutras, it refers to the heart of divine wisdom. The San Francisco Chronicle proclaims Harrison’s piece, “Nonpareil, to say the least.”

Two matinees of “Holiday Wonders” jingle on December 6 and 13

Adding a festive note to the holiday season, the Chorale, conducted by Gershon, offers two matinees of “Holiday Wonders,” its signature yuletide family concert, on Saturday, December 6, 2008, 3:00 p.m., and Saturday, December 13, 2008, at 3:00 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The show rings with carols and memory-making sing-alongs, making it one of the city’s most popular holiday traditions — and best values — for children and adults of all ages. The talented Los Angeles Master Chorale Voices Within Children’s Choir, comprised of Los Angeles-area students who have participated in the Chorale’s “Voices Within” artist-in-residency program, performs several original choral works written by local fifth graders. Plus Santa himself may drop in with a baton to conduct a carol or two. Tickets for children 17 and under are half price in all sections. (Suitable for children five years of age and older.)

Messiah Sing-Along returns December 7 and 15

Gershon conducts two performances of the ever-popular Messiah Sing-Along on Sunday, December 7, 2008, at 7:30 p.m., and Monday, December 15, 2008, at 7:30 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Long considered a highlight of the holiday season, the sing-along turns Disney Hall into the ultimate surround-sound venue when the audience becomes the choir. A team of four professional singers from the Chorale performs the solo roles while the rest of the Chorale takes the night off.

“It is so much fun to conduct the audience,” says Gershon. “We get some very talented singers in the hall, but lots of folks come just to enjoy the spirit of the evening and Handel’s beautiful music. Anything goes!” Scores are available for sale at the door.

Music of Respighi, Pinkham, Lauridsen and Rutter resonates at annual holiday concert December 14

A quartet of seasonal classics — Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity, John Rutter’s Gloria, Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium and Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata — are among the selections featured at the Chorale’s annual holiday concert on Sunday, December 14, 2008, 7:00 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The program, conducted by Gershon along with the Chorale’s Assistant Conductor Ariel Quintana, also includes carols both old and new.

In Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity, the Chorale is transformed into a chorus of angels conversing with the Christmas Angel and Mary. The work, which incorporates madrigal, chant and melodic forms created centuries earlier, is based on a text written by Jacopone de Todi, a 13th century Franciscan monk who had dedicated his life to writing praise poetry (laude) after the tragic death of his pious wife.

Gloria, by popular English composer John Rutter, became an instant crowd-pleaser when the composer conducted its world premiere in 1974 at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1996 the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon the noted composer, choral conductor and arranger in recognition of his major contribution to the music field.

Christmas Cantata captures the essence of the season with its Latin texts and joyful color, and variety and pace of its music. Daniel Pinkham, a central figure in Boston’s music community for six decades, composed the work in 1957, when he was teaching at Harvard. It is scored for chorus and double brass choir. In Pinkham’s 2006 obituary, The Boston Globe states, “His music won admiration for its ability to engage a wide audience beyond the small circle of connoisseurs following the latest trends in contemporary music.”

Lauridsen’s a cappella motet O Magnum Mysterium has become one of the world’s most popular choral works since it was debuted in 1994 and become one of the all-time best-selling choral scores distributed by Theodore Presser, in business since 1783. The music of Lauridsen, who served as composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994–2001, occupies a permanent place in the standard vocal repertoire of the 20th Century.

Bass-baritone Eric Owens is guest soloist for Mendelssohn’s Elijah January 25

Bass-baritone Eric Owens, who has garnered tremendous critical acclaim for his recent opera roles with LA Opera, the Royal Opera, Paris Opera, San Francisco Opera and other companies, joins the Los Angeles Master Chorale as guest soloist for a highly anticipated performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah on Sunday, January 25, 2009, 7:00 p.m., at Disney Hall.

“This is a great piece of theater for the voice,” says Grant Gershon, who conducts the gripping and masterful oratorio, which is based on the life of the Old Testament prophet, Elijah.

Completed in 1846, Elijah had a resounding first performance about which the composer wrote to his brother, “No work of mine went so admirably the first time of execution, or was received with such enthusiasm by both the musicians and the audience.” Filled with imaginative orchestration, beautiful arias and choruses and a highly dramatic style that, at times, borders on the operatic, it was influenced by the choral masterpieces of Bach and Handel. But it is the dramatic impact of his vivid characterization of Elijah that has made it a work for the ages.

Acclaimed for his commanding stage presence and inventive artistry, Owens has carved a unique place in the contemporary opera world as both a troubadour of new music and a powerful interpreter of classic works. Called “consistently charismatic, theatrically and vocally” by New York Magazine and “absolutely remarkable” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Owens is equally at home in concert, recital and opera performances, bringing his powerful poise, expansive voice and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the globe. He performed the Verdi Requiem with the Chorale in March 2006.

World premieres by Andrea Clearfield and Steven Sametz plus West coast premiere by Nico Muhly top “organ blow out” on February 22

Grant Gershon and the LA Master Chorale pull out the stops with two world premieres and a West Coast premiere for its “organ blow out” on Sunday, February 22, 2009, 7:00 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The chorus debuts Dream Variations by Andrea Clearfield, written for flute, viola, harp and organ and performed with the Debussy Trio, which is leading the commissioning consortium for the piece, plus a new work by Steven Sametz, commissioned by Kathie and Alan Freeman in honor of Grant Gershon, Master Chorale Executive Director Terry Knowles and the Chorale. Expecting the Main Things from You, a three-movement piece for organ and string quartet by Nico Muhly, makes its West Coast premiere.

Also slated are Bruckner’s Motets, Liszt’s Inno a Maria Vergine, a lush and lyrical piece pairing organ with harp, and Arvo Pärt’s De Profundis, for men’s chorus, which starts at the lowest depth, as its title suggests, and uncoils into an eight-minute long crescendo and thundering climax with tam-tam (gong) and organ.

“These are all surprising works that showcase the choir and organ in very unique ways,” Gershon explains.

New York-based composer Nico Muhly has collaborated with such artists as Björk, Phillip Glass and American folk singer Sam Amidon. Though his music is rarely performed on the West Coast, The Chicago Tribune states, “This young composer has something to say and a smart, sassy, in-your-face way of saying it.” A humorous and prolific blogger as well, who was recently profiled in The New Yorker, he plans to attend the Chorale’s concert.

Clearfield’s music has been described as an “undulating harmonic landscape punctuated by jagged ethnic rhythms” and has generated such adjectives as “sonorous,” “taut,” “vibrant,” “haunting“ and “soaring.” The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed the Philadelphia native “the new guard,” and All About Jazz says she “is to be thanked for ‘daring to disturb the universe.’” She has written for instrumental and vocal soloists, mixed chamber ensembles, chorus, orchestra, film and dance, and her works have been performed by noted artists in the U.S. and internationally.

Steven Sametz has earned increasing renown in recent years as both composer and conductor. He is the Ronald J. Ulrich Professor of Music and director of Lehigh University Choral Arts, one of the country’s premiere choral programs. He also serves as Artistic Director for the elite a cappella ensemble The Princeton Singers and is the founding director of The Lehigh University Choral Composer Forum, a summer course of study designed to mentor emerging choral composers. Sametz has received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Connecticut Council on the Arts, and the Santa Fe music festival, creating new works for Chanticleer, the Dale Warland Singers, Philadelphia Singers, Pro Arte Chamber Choir, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Connecticut Choral Artists, and the King of Thailand. The Freemans commissioned the work on the occasion of the impending retirement of Kathie, the Chorale’s long-time Artistic Personnel and Production Manager, at the end of the choir’s 2008|09 season.

States Kathie, “The piece is dedicated to Grant, Terry and the Chorale for all they have meant to my life. I chose Steven Sametz because he hasn’t written anything that I don’t relate to. His writing style is beautifully expressive and his choral music, text driven, is very accessible. I told him I wanted a piece that would have a life — something other groups without the consummate skill of the Master Chorale might be able to perform. One of the most meaningful pieces for me that he has written is an a cappella piece recorded by Chanticleer titled I Have Had Singing. It sums up my feeling about the singing I have had in my life.”

Chorale presents spectrum of timeless folk music conducted by Gershon and Assistant Conductor Ariel Quintana March 29

Over the centuries, many of the world’s leading composers have adapted the rich folk music traditions of their homeland to create timeless cultural-infused gems. The Chorale presents an inviting cross-section of these compelling interpretations on Sunday, March 29, 7:00 p.m., at Disney Hall. Grant Gershon and the Chorale’s Assistant Conductor Ariel Quintana share conducting responsibilities.

Gershon leads 40 members of the choir in such classics as Bartók’s Slovak Folk Songs, Forgotten Peoples Cycle by Tormis, Poulenc’s Chansons Françaises and Copland’s Old American Songs. Assistant Conductor Ariel Quintanta takes the podium to conduct Brahms’ gypsy-tinged Zigeunerlieder.

Messiaen’s masterpiece Trois petites liturgies juxtaposes rare performance of Heilig Mass to conclude multi-year “Homage to Haydn” project on May 3

Haydn’s rarely performed Heilig Mass concludes the LA Master Chorale’s multi-year “Homage to Haydn” project on Sunday, May 3, 2009, 7:00 p.m., at Disney Hall. It is juxtaposed by Messiaen’s extraordinary masterpiece Trois petites liturgies for women’s chorus and ondes martenot, one of the world’s first electronic instruments.

“On the surface these two works couldn’t be more different but several things make them kindred sprits,” comments Gershon, who conducts the concert. “Both composers are consummate craftsmen, meticulous in the skill and beauty of their compositional technique. Both pieces have a strong spiritual underpinning that is both personal and universal.”

The focus of the “Homage to Haydn” initiative has been for the Chorale to showcase all six of Haydn’s famous final Masses over the past three seasons in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death in 2009. Heilig Mass, a ravishingly lyrical and beautiful work in three movements, is thought to be the first of Haydn’s six late masses.

Messiaen’s Trois petites liturgies, beautiful, ethereal, emotional and quintessentially French, has earned a reputation as one of the choral masterpieces of the 20th Century and is one of the few choral works he wrote. Among its dramatic contrasts are virtuoso piano solos, long lush passages and spinning melodies.

West coast premiere of Sierra’s Missa Latina crowns season May 31

Grant Gershon and the Los Angeles Master Chorale close the 45th season with the West Coast premiere of Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra’s acclaimed full-length Missa Latina on Sunday, May 31, 2009, 7:00 p.m., at Disney Hall. Filled with lively percussion, the exuberant celebratory piece “dances off the stage.” Soprano Heidi Grant Murphy and baritone Nathaniel Webster are featured soloists.

The Washington Times described the work’s 2006 debut at Kennedy Center as “the most significant symphonic premiere in the District since the late Benjamin Britten’s stunning War Requiem... Mr. Sierra’s new work is, quite simply, shockingly brilliant.” Sierra, now based in New York, is a prolific composer whose colorful and rhythmic music has attracted a growing audience both in North America and Europe as well as commissions by virtually every major orchestra in the States and in Europe.

Acclaimed as one of Latin America’s most active contemporary composers, Sierra came to prominence in 1987 when his first major orchestral composition, Júbilo, premiered at Carnegie Hall with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Since then, his works have been performed by the orchestras of San Francisco, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio, and Phoenix, by the American Composers Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, Continuum and England’s BBC Symphony, as well as at Wolf Trap, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Festival Casals, France’s Festival de Lille, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, and Germany’s Neue Musik Bonn.

Special event: 20th Annual High School Choir Festival set for April 24

The Chorale opens the doors of the Walt Disney Concert Hall to the city free-of-charge for its 20th Annual Los Angeles Master Chorale High School Choir Festival on Wednesday, April 24, 2009. One of the largest high school choir festivals in the nation, it showcases the remarkable vocal talents of more than 1,000 high school students from some two dozen Southland schools in a massive choir conducted by Grant Gershon. To commemorate this special milestone, the Chorale has commissioned acclaimed composer Ricky Ian Gordon to write a piece for the combined choir. The community is welcome to enjoy the vitality and power of these young voices raised in song in the splendid setting of Disney Hall.

Ticket Information

For a free brochure on the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2008|09 season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, please call 213-972-7282 or log on to www.lamc.org.

Program, prices and artists subject to change.

03-09-08

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