Five Culver City Middle School students, who have studied under Diane Feldman, the school’s Musical Theatre Director, have been invited to sing this weekend with the National Children’s Chorus elite Scholars Choir in the Joffrey Ballet’s acclaimed production of the Nutcracker by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
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From left, Claire Skelley, Sarah Toutounchian, Isabel Berliner, Crickett Cary-Green, Sofia Frohna
Performances with the L.A. Opera Orchestra, which started last night, will be staged through Sunday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center.
Luke McEndarfer, the Artistic Director of the National Children’s Chorus, specially requested trained and experienced youth singers from around Los Angeles to enhance the ethereal but powerful sound of his most experienced ensemble of 14 students for the vocal section of the Waltz of The Snow-Flakes.
Mr. McEndarfer was pleasantly surprised that all of the Culver City students met the challenges of his rigorous standards. They were invited to fill five of eight additional spots for this week’s performances.
The National Children’s Chorus, formerly the Paulist Choristers, is the oldest professional children’s chorus in Los Angeles. Nationally acclaimed, it has performed masterworks with esteemed organizations such as Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the Kronos Quartet. The chorus also has performed world premiere pieces and modern compositions at Royce Hall and the Broad Stage among others. This year, the chorus is working with Maestro Gustavo Dudamel for the L.A. Philharmonic’s Mahler Festival in February at the Shrine Auditorium.
The Culver City students – Cricket Cary-Green, Claire Skelley, Sarah Toutounchian, Sofia Frohna, and Isabel Berliner – are thrilled to be a part of this guest ensemble.
After her first rehearsal, Ms. Frohna said, “This is pretty exciting. I’ve never heard something so beautiful and full – when we hit those high notes, it was powerful.”
For more information and tickets: musiccenter.org/events/dance_1112_joffrey.html
