Los Angeles Children’s Chorus Young Men’s Ensemble (YME) and Lineage Dance Company, in their first-ever interdisciplinary collaboration, present four free performances as part of Pasadena ArtNight on Friday, October 21, 2016, 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with performances beginning on the hour, at Lineage Performing Arts Center. The singers and dancers put form to sound through the physical interpretation of music as six interpretive dancers from Lineage, led by Artistic Director Hilary Thomas, dance to a wide range of classical and contemporary music sung by YME, the all-male youth chorus conducted by Director Dr. Steven Kronauer. Works include Faurés Cantique de Jean Racine; I Love You/What a Wonderful World arranged by Craig Hella Johnson; the Neapolitan folk songs O Sole Mio/Funiculì, Funiculà; and I Wanna Be Like You by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The collaboration is made possible in part by the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division. Pasadena ArtNight is free evening of art, music and entertainment in which 18 of Pasadena’s most prominent arts and cultural institutions open their doors to the public to offer demonstrations, performances and exhibitions with free shuttles connecting the venues. Last year, some 28,000 people attended the event.
Lineage Dance, a contemporary dance company founded in 1999 that is dedicated to reaching across barriers of age, ethnicity and ability, has partnered with nearly 200 nonprofit organizations to produce more than 500 performances. Its repertoire is athletic, energetic and emotional, and many of the company’s pieces tell compelling stories inspired by nonprofit partners and charitable causes, such as “Healing Blue,” a work about seven women fighting breast cancer that has raised funds for breast cancer-related causes nationwide; “Dancing Through the Ages,” which explores the power of dance at all ages and stages of life, and has raised funds to provide free healthcare to uninsured children; and “The Brain in Motion,” which explores the human brain and has raised funds for Alzheimer’s disease research. In May 2010, the company opened The Lineage Performing Arts Center, a non-profit arts venue that hosts a variety of low cost or free arts events, including dance and music performances, theatre productions, art exhibitions, fundraising events and film screenings, furthering Lineage’s commitment to making the arts accessible to all.
Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), is the recipient of Chorus America’s 2014 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence. Founded in 1986 and led by Tomlinson since 1995, LACC serves more than 400 children ages 6 to 18 through six choirs – Preparatory, Apprentice, Intermediate, Concert, Chamber Singers and Young Men’s Ensemble for boys with changing voices – and also offers a First Experiences in Singing program and First Experiences in Choral Singing Ensemble for 6-8-year-olds. LACC’s Young Men’s Ensemble, which was established in 2009, is one of only a few choirs 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 while fostering healthy vocal techniques. Among numerous highlights, YME has toured Cuba, Germany, Austria, Italy, Alaska and the East Coast; performed with Cuba’s celebrated Sine Nomine, Harvard Glee Club and University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, as well as the U.S. Army Chorus on the steps of the U.S. Capitol; organized seminars with acclaimed counter-tenor David Daniels and leading tenor Ben Hepner; and participated in workshop with Dr. Andrew Clark, Director of Choral Activities at Harvard University, Yale University vocal professor James Taylor, and Thea Kano, Artistic Director of the New York City Master Chorale and Director of the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus in Washington, D.C.
The YME and Lineage Dance Company performance is free. For information, visit www.lachildrenschorus.org or call (626) 793-4231. Lineage Performing Arts Center is located at 89 S Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena.
