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ANNE TOMLINSON, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS, SELECTED BY AMERICAN CHOIR DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION (ACDA) TO GUEST CONDUCT 150-MEMBER NEW MEXICO STATE CHILDREN’S HONOR CHOIR Saturday, February 2, 2008, 10 A.M.,
(PASADENA, CA) January 25, 2008 – Anne Tomlinson, Artistic Director of the renowned Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, will guest conduct the New Mexico State Children’s Honor Choir in a special admission-free concert on Saturday, February 2, 2008, at 10 A.M., at the New Mexico State University Music Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The 150-member honor choir, comprised of 4th, 5th and 6th grade students from throughout New Mexico, is under the auspices of the state’s chapter of the American Choir Directors Association (ACDA). Tomlinson was selected to conduct the prestigious group by Marilyn Bernard, past president of the New Mexico ACDA Chapter and Chair of Albuquerque Academy Department of Performing Arts. “I look forward to conducting these talented children,” said Tomlinson. “They are among the state of New Mexico’s top young singers, and it is a significant honor for them to be selected for the choir.” More than 400 students submitted audition tapes for the all-star honor choir. Established more than a decade ago, the honors choir program provides a unique music education and performance opportunity for the state’s students. Auditions are held annually and the selected students participate in intensive rehearsals that culminate in a one-time performance. For this year’s concert, Tomlinson will conduct seven works. They include Here's to Song by Allistar MacGillivray; Domine Deus by Vivaldi; The Birds by Eleanor Daley; Psalm 100 by Ruth Watson Henderson; Linden Lea by Ralph Vaughn Williams; I'se the By arranged by John Govedas; and Yo Le Canto by David Brunner. In addition to the Children’s Honor Choir, another 115-member vocal ensemble, the Youth Honor Choir, comprised of 7th and 8th grade students from throughout New Mexico will perform at 11 A.M. under the baton of Dr. Timothy Seelig, formerly of the Turtle Creek Choir in Dallas and currently and adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University. Tomlinson holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and a Master’s Degree in Conducting from Northwestern University, where she studied with luminary choral conductor and pedagogue Margaret Hillis. Tomlinson, who received the 2003 Power of One award presented by the Facing History and Ourselves Organization, joined the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) as Artistic Director in 1995. Under her direction, the 260-member choir – considered one of the nation’s leading children’s choirs – has expanded its repertoire considerably, commissioning new works by such noted composers as Paul Gibson, Ruther Watson Henderson and James Mulholland. Last summer, LACC premiered to record LACC audiences “Keepers of the Night,” an original opera by composer Peter Ash and librettist Donald Sturrock. Additionally, Tomlinson oversees the chorus’s preparation for its numerous engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Pasadena Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Los Angeles Opera, where she also serves as Children’s Chorus Mistress. LACC has toured Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland as well as many parts of the United States and Canada. It was featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, “SING!,” which chronicles a year in the life of the choir and is shown periodically on PBS stations nationwide. The State University of New Mexico Music Center is located at 2850 Weddell Street in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Admission to the New Mexico Children’s Honor Choir concert is free. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. For general information on the event, please call (575) 646-8199.
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