Free Day in London!

Well, we all made it safely to London and were greeted by a typical blustery March arrival of upper 30’s and rain. After our bleary-eyed arrival in London, LAMC Singers had a free day to recover from a long travel day and to begin to adjust to a seven-hour time difference.

So, after a hearty English breakfast, our fearless travelers ventured to all corners of the city – and even into the countryside, with several groups following the trail to Canterbury and others explored the learned halls of Oxford.Around the city of London, our singers visited museums, spied over London from atop the Eye, refelcted at Evensong services at Westminster Abbey, and of course caught some theatre in the evening and sampled the local fares at the neighborhood pubs.

And We’re Off!

It’s a shame to have to leave L.A. on such a sunny warm day. London, here we come! Our plane should be touching down at around 7 a.m.-ish tomorrow morning (California time). Cheerio!

   

 
           
   

 

 

By the Numbers…

The Master Chorale before the final Matinee performance in Los Angeles.

Today the LA Master Chorale takes the stage with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the last time in Los Angeles before a brief respite to do their laundry, pack, make those last minute arrangements before disembarking on an 18-day tour.  Already it has been an incredible adventure… Dudamel whisked off to Venezuela to participate in a state funeral and our very own Maestro – LAMC Music Director Grant Gershon, stepping in to lead Saturday evening’s performance.

Speaking of arrangements… here are a few of the “numbers” that have gone into the tour planning – and that will shape the final details of the Tour.

For the Chorale’s part – we are 48-singers strong, 12 singers in each voice section (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) and four staff members will be tagging along to help keep all the cogs of the wheel moving smoothly – so our singers will be well-rested, arrive on time, and

In preparation for the performance, our fearless singers will each have…

• Participated in 84 hours of rehearsal (4,020 hours in total for the Company!)
• Memorized 207 pages of music
• Sung more than 1,000 measures of music during each performance!

During the Tour the singers will:

• Stay in 120 hotel rooms… in 4 cities… in 4 countries
• Take 26 coach bus rides, covering 315 miles, between hotels, airports, and venues
• Spend nearly 29 hours in the air… on 5 flights… on 3 different airlines… covering 12,338 miles… That’s a lot of frequent flyer miles!
• Work in three different time zones
• Will handle 4 different currencies

So those are a few of the nitty-gritty details… we’ll share more of our fun, and details along the way. So check back daily! And we will talk to you soon.

Au Revoir!

From the Singer’s Perspective: Staging Rehearsals

Last night was our longest single rehearsal to date.  We had a costume call at 6:30.  It was great to see everyone in costume for the first time.  We’re all wearing “street clothes,” and it’s interesting to see how different everyone looks when they’re not choosing their own wardrobe. Some people look as though they were wearing things from their own closet, and others…not so much.  🙂

We took the stage at 7pm and proceeded to run the entire show.  We’re still working with our fearless leader Grant as conductor and the astounding Lisa Edwards as orchestra.  I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m in awe of these two AND the entire cast.  Kelly, Tamara, and Russell (the principals) sing not only with gorgeous tone, but with an emotional intensity that has to be exhausting.  They hold nothing back, even in rehearsal.  Daniel, Brian, and Nathan (the three counter-tenors) create an other-worldly sound and texture that I consider one of John Adams’ compositional trademarks.  The dancers (Michael, Anani, and Troy) display amazing feats of athleticism.  Every single element of this production is top-notch.

As our audiences know, the LAMC singers rarely have to memorize our concert music.  However, since this production is staged, we have had to memorize this entire piece.  It has been quite an undertaking!  Last night I think we all realized which little corners of the piece still require some individual attention (and I think those corners are different for everyone).  Because we’re not at our preferred level of accomplishment, some of us were feeling a bit discouraged (and, frankly, exhausted) at 11pm when we finally ended rehearsal.  I was talking with fellow LAMC member Scott Graff in front of Disney Hall after rehearsal, and who should come down the stairs and join our conversation but composer John Adams!  After talking about the rehearsal process for a few minutes, John said to us:

“You guys are unbelievable.  You are truly the best choir in the world.  I feel so lucky!”

I didn’t feel so discouraged after I heard him say that.  🙂

Today (3/3) is a day off, and then we have “hell week”:  6 hours of rehearsal on Monday…4.5 hours of rehearsal on Tuesday (and our first time with the LA Phil)…4.5 hours of dress rehearsal on Wednesday…performances on Thursday night, Friday night, and Sunday afternoon.  Then we have a day to do laundry and pack, and we’re off to Europe!

– Amy Fogerson (Alto in the LA Master Chorale)

Peter Sellars Discusses the Evolution of John Adams’ Passion

On Friday, February 8, Director Peter Sellars dropped by for a conversation with Grant Gershon for some of LAMC’s donors before a choral rehearsal of John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary. One of the most fascinating points of his talk was regarding the changes that were made to the work since it’s concert debut in May 2012 and why the composer made those changes.

At the end of the clip, you’ll hear a snippet of the rehearsal in Choral Hall with mezzo soprano Kelley O’Connor. Only 11 more rehearsals until the staged version premieres at Disney Hall on March 7!

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