Sunday, February 22, 2009, 7 p.m., at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Music Director Grant Gershon Conducts;
Debussy Trio Appears with Chorale for Clearfield Premiere

Music Director Grant Gershon and the Los Angeles Master Chorale pull out the stops with two world premieres and a West Coast premiere for its “Chorus + Organ” concert 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, Music’s Music, 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 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, which mentors emerging choral composers. Sametz has received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Santa Fe music festival, among others, creating new works for Chanticleer, the Dale Warland Singers, Philadelphia Singers, Pro Arte Chamber Choir 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.

The text for Sametz’s piece – written for double choir, mezzo-soprano, obbligato clarinet and harp – is based on the poem “Music’s Music” by Megan Freeman, the Freeman’s daughter. The composer notes, “The love of music does not retire when the mechanism (the singer’s voice) is no longer in its prime. That transformative power of music to reveal and enrich does not go away. But there is an acceptance that eventually overtakes all singers. Music’s Music is a tribute to a long musical career spent singing with colleagues and sharing the love of making music in song.”

States Kathie, “‘Music’s Music’ 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.”

Tickets to the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s concert range from $19 to $124. Student Rush seats are $10 and are available at the box office two hours before the performance. For tickets and information, please call (800) 787-5262 (outside California call 213-972-7282), or visit www.lamc.org. (Tickets can no longer be purchased at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office except on concert days starting 2 hours prior to the performance.) The Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 South Grand Avenue at First Street in downtown Los Angeles.

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EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

The Grammy-nominated LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE, currently celebrating its 45th Season, has been cited as a national leader for its innovative and dynamic programming. Los Angeles Times states the Chorale “has become the most exciting chorus in the country under Grant Gershon.” Since its founding in 1964, LAMC has presented more than 450 concerts, including choral music from the earliest writings to the most recent contemporary compositions. In 2003 the Chorale became one of two resident companies in Walt Disney Concert Hall, launching a period of incredible artistic and organizational growth. The Chorale has commissioned 21 and premiered 51 new works, and has recorded 6 CD's. The Chorale’s most recent recording with Gershon, Daniel Variations, was released on Nonesuch in spring 2008. LAMC performs a season of eight concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, plus two performances of the Messiah Sing-Along; family-friendly Holiday Wonders concerts in December; and performs regularly with the L.A. Philharmonic. The Los Angeles Master Chorale has more than 1,000 subscribers, serves over 40,000 audience members of all ages, and provides education outreach to approximately 13,000 children each year. In 2008, one of the Chorale’s highly successful outreach programs, “Voices Within,” earned the coveted Chorus America Education Outreach Award.

Los Angeles Master Chorale Music Director GRANT GERSHON is equally at home with symphonic and choral music, opera, and musical theater. He was named Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2001, and also serves as LA Opera Associate Conductor/Chorus Master. During his tenure with the Chorale, he has expanded the choir’s repertoire considerably, conducting dozens of world, U.S., West Coast and Los Angeles premieres. His Nonesuch recording with the Chorale of Steve Reich’s You Are (Variations) was honored with the WQXR Gramophone America Award in 2006. The New York Times, Washington Post and Newsday, among others, selected it as one of the top ten classical recordings of 2005. In 2002 he made his first CD with the Master Chorale, featuring the world premiere recording of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s first choral work as well as Philip Glass’s Itaipú (RCM 12004). Gershon has also served as chorus master on two Grammy Award-nominated CD’s, Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic Special Editions) and Ligeti’s Grand Macabre (Sony Classical). He recently appeared on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center leading the LA Master Chorale, and on the Making Music Series at Zankel Hall. Gershon conducted the Minnesota Opera’s world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s acclaimed opera The Grapes of Wrath, led subsequent performances of the work with the Utah Symphony and also conducted the cast recording released in 2008 on P.S. Classics. He received his bachelor of music degree cum laude in piano performance from USC, and currently serves on the USC Thornton School of Music Board of Councilors.

Artists, program and ticket prices subject to change.

12/18/08