Our History

Since 1986, GRAMMY Award-winning Los Angeles Children’s Chorus has provided choral music training of the highest quality to thousands of children and teenagers ages 6-18.

The GRAMMY Award-winning Los Angeles Children’s Chorus was founded in 1986 by Rebecca Thompson and Stephanie Mowery to sing the children’s chorus part for Britten’s War Requiem. LACC has since grown to include seven progressively experienced choirs, a program of First Experiences in Singing (FES) classes for 6-7-year-old boys and girls, and a First Experiences in Choral Singing Ensemble for FES graduates and children who audition at the pre-Preparatory Choir level. LACC’s comprehensive program addresses all learning styles and levels of experience through a sequential music literacy curriculum (based on the Kodály concept) and rehearsal schedule, in which choristers master a challenging, multi-lingual repertoire of fine choral music in the bel canto style. Choristers also acquire a solid education in music theory and receive individual vocal coaching.

Under Artistic Director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, LACC is recognized throughout the country for its exceptional artistic quality and technical ability. The Chorus performs frequently with leading music ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Calder Quartet, Pasadena Symphony, and MUSE/IQUE. LACC also assists LA Opera by training and providing children for its opera productions that require children’s chorus or child soloists. LACC choristers have served as musical ambassadors of Los Angeles on tours to Africa, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Japan, Poland, and Sweden, as well as many parts of the United States.

Among its numerous accomplishments, LACC was featured on alumna Billie Eilish’s cinematic concert experience Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles, released on Disney+ in September 2021. The Chorus also appears on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s and Gustavo Dudamel’s 2022 GRAMMY Award-winning Deutsche Grammophon album, Mahler Symphony No. 8; on John Williams’ 2017 album, John Williams & Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection; on the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s critically acclaimed 2010 Decca recording of Nico Muhly, A Good Understanding; and on Amore Infinito (“Infinite Love”), a 2009 Deutsche Grammophon CD of songs based on poems by the late Pope John Paul II. In 2007, LACC commissioned and presented the world premiere performance of the opera, Keepers of the Night (2007), by composer Peter Ash and librettist Donald Sturrock.

The subject of four documentaries by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock, LACC is featured in the Academy Award-nominated Sing!, about a year in the life of the choir; Sing Opera!, documenting the production of LACC’s commissioned family opera Keepers of the Night; Sing China!, chronicling its groundbreaking tour to China just prior to the Beijing Olympics; and the CHOIR and the CONDUCTOR.  LACC has performed with John Mayer on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” and was featured on Public Radio International’s nationally syndicated show “From the Top,” among other credits.

LACC’s commitment to artistic excellence has been recognized with leading industry honors, including a 2022 GRAMMY Award for Best Choral Performance for its performance on the LA Phil’s Mahler Symphony No. 8 album, and Chorus America’s 2014 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence.