NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contacts (for media only):
For Holiday Celebration: Lucy Pollak (818) 887-1499, [email protected]
For The Music Center: Gil Diaz (213) 972-3332, [email protected]
‘L.A. County Holiday Celebration’ announces
performers for 64th annual event
Free holiday spectacular at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion will
be broadcast live on PBS SoCal, streamed at pbssocal.org and on the free PBS App
LOS ANGELES (REVISED November 10, 2023) — The Music Center, L.A.’s premier performing arts destination, is excited to announce the performers for this year’s 64th annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration, a one-of-a-kind, free holiday spectacular that has been a Los Angeles holiday tradition since 1959.
Celebrating L.A. County’s vibrant diversity, creativity and energy, this year’s version of the two-time Emmy® award-winning event will feature 23 music ensembles, choirs and dance companies representing the county’s many neighborhoods and cultures. As always, the program will delight an in-person audience with the free performance at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Sunday, Dec. 24 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., as well as at-home audiences watching the live broadcast on PBS SoCal or streaming the show live on the pbssocal.org website. Following the live broadcast, the Holiday Celebration will remain available to stream on-demand on pbssocal.org, as well as on the free PBS app. An encore presentation will be broadcast by PBS SoCal on Sunday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m., and on KCET on Sunday, Dec. 24 at 9 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 25 at 12 p.m.
Featuring a line up of diverse L.A.-based artists and performing arts groups who will showcase their talent, artistry and holiday traditions, colorful costumes and global sounds from China, Korea, Japan, India, Mexico, France Ukraine, Bulgaria and more, this year’s participating artists hail from communities across L.A. County: from West L.A. and Culver City to Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, and from the northern reaches of the Antelope and San Fernando Valleys to Downtown L.A., the South Bay and South Los Angeles.
Returning audience favorites include two-time GRAMMY® award-winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea; 10-piece Latin jazz band Gabrielito y La Verdad; the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles; Jewish culture revival band Mostly Kosher; high energy, powerhouse dance ensemble Reverb Tap Company; and internationally renowned Japanese drummers TAIKOPROJECT in a collaboration with Indian-inspired Blue13 Dance Company.
Among this year’s newcomers are Carnegie Gospel Choir, recently returned from Carnegie Hall; America’s Got Talent quarter-finalists Divas and Drummers of Compton; the Hiza Yoo Korean Dance Institute; Mexican folklórico company Técnica Arte y Folklore; and Bulgarian dance ensemble XoroTroptzi.
Entrance to the in person event is free, and seating is available on a first–come, first–seated basis. RSVPs are recommended, but do not guarantee seating. Doors open at 2:30 p.m., although the line usually begins to form around noon.
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located at 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Parking is free in The Music Center parking garage.
The L.A. County Holiday Celebration is produced on behalf of the County of Los Angeles by The Music Center and PBS SoCal in association with CDK Productions and directed by Emmy® award-winning producer/director Kenneth Shapiro.
Scroll down to find a complete list of this year’s performers.
For more information, visit HolidayCelebration.org.
Details for Calendar Listings
64th annual ‘L.A. County Holiday Celebration’
WHAT:
The two-time Emmy Award-winning L.A. County Holiday Celebration joyously returns to The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to celebrate its 64th anniversary with a free, live, in-person holiday spectacular. The annual event will feature 23 music ensembles, choirs and dance companies from the many neighborhoods and cultures of L.A. County. Those who can’t make it to The Music Center on Dec. 24 will be able to watch the event live on PBS SoCal, livestream online at pbssocal.org, or catch a PBS SoCal encore broadcast later in the evening. KCET will also rebroadcast on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day. Entrance to the in-person event is free, and seating is available on a first–come, first–seated basis. RSVPs are recommended, but do not guarantee seating.
WHEN:
• Free in-person event: Sunday, Dec. 24 from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.
• A live broadcast of the show airs on PBS SoCal on Sunday, Dec. 24 from 3 p.m.–6 p.m.
• Live streaming at pbssocal.org
• An encore broadcast will follow immediately on PBS SoCal on Sunday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.
• Two encore broadcasts will air on KCET: Sunday, Dec. 24 at 9 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 25 at 12 p.m.
• Following the live broadcast, the Holiday Celebration will remain available to stream on-demand on the pbssocal.org website, as well as on the free PBS App.
WHO:
• Performing artists from across Los Angeles County
• Sponsored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
• Produced by The Music Center and PBS SoCal in association with CDK Productions
• Directed by Emmy® award-winning producer/director Kenneth Shapiro
• Live telecast, streaming and encore broadcast on PBS SoCal; streaming and encore broadcasts at KCET
WHERE:
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
135 N. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
PARKING:
FREE in The Music Center parking garage.
ADMISSION:
• FREE; no reservations or tickets to the show.
• First-come, first-seated.
• The line usually begins to form around noon.
HOW:
Information hotline: (213) 972-3099 or HolidayCelebration.org
Artists performing in the
64th annual ‘L.A. County Holiday Celebration’
(subject to change)
- Carnegie Gospel Choir, an ensemble created from the many choirs of Byron J. Smith to perform at Carnegie Hall, will perform gospel renditions of “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and “Amen.”
• Christian Fellowship Chorale
, a non-denominational gospel choir, will sing a contemporary version of “Drummer Boy” accompanied by African drums, and a contemporary jazz/gospel version of “Joy to the World.”• Divas and Drummers of Compton,
a dance and drumline program for inner-city youth, will do a performance with polyrhythmic percussion cadences and an array of dance styles.
• Gabrielito y La Verdad, the premier West Coast Latin music ensemble, brings the fire with a high-energy show stopper.• Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles returns to the L.A. County Holiday Celebration for the 33rd year in a row to perform holiday songs from film and television.
• Hiza Yoo Korean Dance Institute will perform “‘Y’Nanta,” Hiza Yoo’s original take on a South Korean non-verbal comedy show created and produced by Song Seung-whan which incorporates traditional samul nori rhythm.
• Jessica Fichot brings together her French, Chinese and American heritage, blending French chanson, Shanghai jazz and international folk music to perform two original songs with her band — including “Le Grand Voyage,” a holiday song written specifically for the Holiday Celebration.
• M Dance Collective, bridging eastern and western dance styles, will perform “Ink Impressions,” a dance inspired by the beautiful art of Chinese calligraphy.
• Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, the two-time GRAMMY® award-winning all-female ensemble that has pushed to expand the scope of mariachi music for over 24 years, will perform a bilingual medley of classic kids’ favorites that will have everyone singing along.• Mostly Kosher and the Jewish Youth Orchestra will join forces, combining traditional Hanukkah offerings with their unique mash-up of klezmer, rock and soul.
• MUSYCA Children’s Choir, a renowned vocal ensemble that brings together gifted young people to study and perform outstanding choral repertoire, will sing the enchanting Ukrainian classic “Carol of the Bells” and the beloved holiday favorite “Sleigh Ride.”
• Palmdale High School Choral Union and Sunday Night Singers, a select ensemble of current high school and alumni singers who have performed nationally and internationally, will perform a jazzy “Jingle Bells” by Derric Johnson and a traditional Christmas piece from the Hispanic culture arranged by Santiago Veros.• Pasadena Girls’ Choir, cultivating vocal musicianship among young girls, returns to the Holiday Celebration with “All That Christmas Stuff.”
• RAISE, L.A.’s own gospel/R&B/soul choir, will sing a medley of Black music genre-inspired arrangements of “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” “Joy To The World,” “Joy” and “Hallelujah.”• Reverb Tap Company showcases fierce footwork and style, tap dancing to a jazz-based score, honoring and preserving the history of the art form while bringing a youthful, vibrant and unexpected twist to the stage.
• South Side Symphony, founded by composer Marcus Norris with the idea, “What if orchestras didn’t exist and were invented today by a young Black man?,” will perform a new instrumental orchestral fusion of a holiday medley rooted in Black American soul music.
• TAIKOPROJECT, known for thrilling, heart-pounding Japanese drumming, and Blue13 Dance Company, one of the nation’s leading contemporary dance ensembles inspired by Indian dance forms, will present a visually-stunning collaboration entitled “The Stroll,” blending Japanese American taiko and Indian-influenced contemporary choreography.
• Técnica Arte y Folklore brings folklórico and costumes from the state of Colima, Mexico, and will perform to a mariachi score.• The Citrus Singers, the first American choir to win the International Choral Festival in Spittal, Austria, returns to the Holiday Celebration with stunning choral arrangements of holiday favorites accompanied by handbells.
• Torrance Civic Chorale, directed by Edward Trimis, providing the South Bay with exceptional choral music since 1961, will perform a selection of three holiday songs.
• Treble on Grand, a jazz a capella group from the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts (“Grand Arts”), will perform two pieces.
• VOX Femina Los Angeles, L.A.’s premier women’s choir, will touch on the joy and meaning of the season with musical selections ranging from the musical roots of North America to a sweet song celebrating Hanukkah and a classic Broadway hit.• XoroTroptzi, Los Angeles’ only Bulgarian folk dance ensemble, will perform a dance from the Shopski folklore region in costumes typical of the area.
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About The Music Center
The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County and on a digital platform called The Music Center Offstage. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on social media @MusicCenterLA.
