Who's Performing at the 62nd Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration
Adam Mandela Walden
A Los Angeles native, Adam was diagnosed with moderate/severe autism at three years old and was also diagnosed as a prodigious music savant by the famed neurologist and author Oliver Sachs. At six he played his 1/4 sized cello on MSNBC's exploration of the rise in autism diagnosis. Adam became the first autistic student requiring an aide, to attend a LAUSD performing arts magnet school after he played Bach for the school board, thereby opening those 181 schools to severely autistic students. During his elementary school years, Adam studied classical cello rep at the Colburn School and played jazz with the World Stage Youth Orchestra in Leimert Park. He became a 7-year member of the Harmony Project and became the first autistic musician to tour with conductor Gustavo Duhamel with his YOLA- youth orchestra of L.A. Despite having limited functional speech, Adam graduated with an academic diploma from Roman C. Cortines H.S. for Visual and Performing Arts and won a full academic scholarship to Berklee College of Music/Boston Conservatory at Berklee where he is currently a senior. He attends every class with a communication facilitator provided by L.A.'s Lanterman Regional Center.
When Adam was 8, he starred in the Emmy winning documentary "Autism:The Musical." Last year, HBO traveled to Berklee and filmed another documentary with Adam, "Autism: The Sequel" showing what college is like for severely autistic students. Adam appeared on Lifetime's Genius series and has been featured in San Diego's Mainly Mozart Festival in their Mozart and the Mind concerts. Adam has won gold and silver medals at several classical music competitions and is the face of autism for Infiniti Motorcar's autism awareness commercials in China. Adam also composes music and has had several pieces published. This Holliday performance is especially wonderful for Adam as he and his family, for years, lined up outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and watch this event live.
Amare Girls Band
The Los Angeles-based Amare Girls Band was formed as a bold statement that aims to spread the word about the power of women and minorities in music. The group merges traditional Eastern and Western instruments played by band members who are native American and Asian American.
Inspired by cultural exchange, the band combines the Chinese Guzheng and Pipa with Western Flute and Violin. Amare Girls Band is a perfect example of what it means to make music with a socially progressive attitude, an open mind, and, more importantly, an open heart.
Celtic Irish Dance Academy
Los Angeles based Celtic Irish Dance Academy is an Irish Dance school under the direction of Riverdance Star, Maeve Croke. Performing at the 62nd Holiday Celebration are some of the Academy’s top dancers that include world championship and national qualifying dancers. The mission of the Celtic Irish Dance Academy is to bring out the best in each dancer through inspirational and creative teaching that nurtures each student's unique abilities and talents while fostering a love of dance. Celtic Irish Dance Academy has performed throughout Los Angeles as well as on TV.
https://www.celticirishdanceacademy.com/
Daniel Ho & Hālau Hula Kealiʻi o Nālani
Hawai‘i-born, Los Angeles-based Daniel Ho is a six-time GRAMMY® Award winner, 14-time GRAMMY
Award nominee, six-time Taiwanese Golden Melody Award winner, and recipient of multiple Hawaiian Music awards. He is an ukulele virtuoso, slack key guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, singer-songwriter, producer, audio engineer, and record company owner. His philosophy is simple -- present music with sincerity and artistry.
Keali'i Ceballos, director of Halau Keali'i O Nalan,i a Los Angeles based Halau Hula (Hula School) – is an internationally acclaimed teacher, dancer and choreographer of Hawaiian and Polynesian dance. He studied under such renowned teachers as Cecilia Cissylani Ceballos, Nona Beamer, George Na'ope, Kawaikapuokalani Hewett and Robert Uluwehi Cazimero. Ceballos has taught over 2,000 dancers in the past 30 years, and Halau Keali'i O Nalani is one of the largest schools for Hawaiian dance in Southern California.
Dembrebrah West African Drum & Dance Ensemble
Dembrebrah West African Drum & Dance Ensemble is a collection of professional, semi-professional and lay artist/educators dedicated to the study, preservation and promotion of authentic, traditional West African art, culture and history in all of its power, beauty, strength and grace. The company includes musicians, storytellers, poets, dancers, singers and crafts artisans whose vibrant artistry has brought audiences to their feet cheering and demanding encores. Dembrebrah is committed to the study, practice preservation and promotion of African drumming and dance as methods of healing, communicating, educating and entertaining the public. Dembrebrah has been performing since 1996 and continues to be unified in its pursuit of educating people on the glory, splendor and beauty of African culture.
Dembrebrah is based in Long Beach California and is a part of the Afrikan Cultural Research and Study Group of Long Beach. Their weekly classes that are held at Homeland Cultural Center in Mac Arthur Park are open to the public.
Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA), under the leadership of Executive Director & Producer Lou Spisto and Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison, has continued to garner acclaim for artistic excellence while remaining deeply rooted in service to the Los Angeles community and beyond by promoting civil rights, tolerance, and acceptance through music. Founded in 1979 during the emergence of the gay rights movement, GMCLA has spread its message of love and acceptance with concerts across the globe and has raised its collective voice in the struggle for equality, social justice, the AIDS crisis, the fight for marriage equality, and for all those seeking to find their own voice. GMCLA’s free ticket program has provided access to concerts for thousands of low-income families over the decades, and research-based education programs have served over 70,000 young people throughout the Los Angeles region. In 2019 GMCLA performed at Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl (with Hugh Jackman), and in February 2020 GMCLA’s performance on the Film Independent Spirit Awards was viewed more than 7 million times. During the pandemic GMCLA presented a full virtual season of concerts and special events, as well as school programs, that reached thousands of new and longtime fans from almost every corner of the globe—from Los Angeles to Ireland, Brazil, and New Zealand, GMCLA’s streaming concerts were incredibly well received. Critics have proclaimed the Chorus “inspired,” “expressive, innovative, and utterly moving,” and hailed GMCLA for presenting “meaningful entertainment.”
Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy
Acting as Korean cultural ambassadors, Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy provides an opportunity for students to not only learn dance, but also to learn more about Korean heritage. The group participates in various events in its neighboring communities and schools within Los Angeles County. With this participation, it hopes to share more about Korean culture and the art of dancing with the public.
https://www.koreandanceacademy.com
Leela Youth Dance Company
Leela Youth Dance Company (LYDC) is an elite pre-professional performing group under the artistic direction of renowned kathak artists and educators, Rina Mehta and Rachna Nivas. The program champions excellence in kathak, classical dance of North India and serves as a platform for youth leadership development. Through world-class training and mentorship the program empowers teens to develop their voices and become advocates and ambassadors for Indian classical art and culture within their communities and in the world. LYDC has performed nationally in numerous prestigious venues and festivals, including the WorldWideWomen’s Girl’s Festival, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Youth Festival, and more.
Lorenzo Johnson & Praizum
Lorenzo Johnson, songwriter, musician, teacher, minister and advocate for foster youth, was shaped by his own personal tragedy and loss. His passion leads him to stand on every platform with purpose, hoping to impact lives and make a difference with every word, note and melody.
Lorenzo's heart was always beating to the rhythm of music. At a young age he was considered gifted, and his gifts and talents have made room for him in the gospel and mainstream industry. His musical diversity has allowed him to perform on live television, at various venues around the world as well as work on Grammy-nominated projects. He is most proud of the musical group he founded call PRAIZUM.
The group uses his musical platform to bring awareness to social issues, arts education, foster youth advocacy and cancer awareness. He has been recognized as an agent of change by the mayor and city council members of Los Angeles and Carson, California. He has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times as an active advocate for the arts in education. Johnson currently serves as the youth pastor and minister of music at his local church. He also serves his community as a music teacher in South Los Angeles. Johnson is more focused than ever and hopes to leave his footprint on culture and history for Christ.
PRAIZUM was established in 2006 by Lorenzo Johnson Jr. with the purpose of harnessing the heart and soul of this generation through music. The members of PRAIZUM derive from a variety of churches across Southern California. The group’s original musical compositions cover an array of inspirational and positive music including hymns, traditional, contemporary, hip-hop, R&B, Christian & gospel. The group’s diversity sets it apart and gives it a unique ability to appeal to people from different walks of life.
PRAIZUM’s debut album Life Support is comprised of Christian, traditional and contemporary gospel music. Johnson’s own experience with his aunt and mother's diagnosis with multiple-sclerosis and breast cancer respectively was the inspiration behind the album’s title Life Support. The group is driven by its message of hope and plan to take that message beyond national borders.
https://lorenzojohnsonpraizum.bandcamp.com/
Los Angeles Chamber Choir
The Los Angeles Chamber Choir is a semi-professional choir made of mostly Korean-American singers who love to perform great classic choral pieces. Their goal is to introduce classic choral pieces to residents of L.A .County. Los Angeles Chamber Choir believes that outstanding choral performance need not be limited to the formal concert hall, but should be available to everyone; thus actively seeking performance venues accessible to individuals who have the tendency to be overlooked. They have participated and collaborated with the LA Master Chorale and the LA Phil with Gustavo Dudamel.
http://www.lachamberchoir.com/
Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea
Celebrating twenty-two years as a ground-breaking all-female multi-Grammy award-winning ensemble, Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea continues to innovate and expand the scope of mariachi music. Founded in 1999 by musical director and trumpet player Cindy Shea, Mariachi Divas has won two GRAMMY awards, eight GRAMMY nominations, and three Latin GRAMMY nominations. With an established recording track record, their discography includes seventeen professional full-length album releases through East Side Records. Mariachi Divas specializes in providing professional mariachi music for commercials, television, movies, and film recordings. They’ve also performed daily at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Anaheim, California, as the official female mariachi of Disney for the past eighteen years.
https://www.mariachidivas.com/
Mostly Kosher
Mostly Kosher, the acclaimed Klezmer/Rock band, radically reconstructs Judaic and American cultural music through ravenous klezmer beats and arresting Yiddish refrains. Mostly Kosher is a musical feast that explodes into a global food-fight of Jazz, Latin, Rock, and Folk. In response to the poetry and folk music of Judaic roots, their original voice resounds with themes of social justice, human dignity and mutual understanding. Led by frontman Leeav Sofer, one of Jewish Journal’s "30 under 30" most accomplished professionals in the Los Angeles Jewish diaspora, Mostly Kosher is comprised of some of the highest regarded Los Angeles musicians: violinist Janice Mautner Markham, drummer Eric Hagstrom, bassist Adam Levy, accordionist Gee Rabe, trombonist Taylor Covey and Aníbal Seminario on clarinet and sax.
Mostly Kosher is a fixture at renowned California stages such as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, Skirball Cultural Center, Torrance Center for the Arts and Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center. They have also graced the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for a live television broadcast to over half a million viewers in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The ensemble has headlined multiple summer festivals including the Silicon Valley Jewish Music Festival, Claremont Folk Festival. Mostly Kosher had the honor of being the first Jewish music ensemble at the Disney parks with 2021 marking their fifth season performing during the 2-month long Festival of Holidays. Mostly Kosher was credited for “stealing the Festival of Holidays Show” by the acclaimed Fresh Baked Disney podcast. For the 2017 holiday season, Mostly Kosher added Epcot Center in Florida to their list of holiday performance venues, becoming Disney’s first Jewish cultural music performed on both coasts.
MUSYCA Children’s Choir
MUSYCA Children's Choir is a performance-based vocal music education program for children and youth in the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles area. MUSYCA singers serve the community through their performances, charitable event appearances, and sound recordings and represent Los Angeles and the US on domestic and international tours.
MUSYCA collaborated with Kanye West, Camila Cabello, Jennifer Hudson, DJ Mustard, Ella Mai, Newsboys, Rihanna, Ty Dolla Sign, Teddy Walton and many, many more.
The voices of MUSYCA singers are featured in motion picture soundtracks (Boy Erased, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), movie trailers and commercials. MUSYCA’s television appearances include LA County Holiday Celebration concerts (PBS SoCal), Home and Family Show (Hallmark Channel), NBC Channel 4 News, The OA (Netflix series), Fresh off the Boat, Single Parents (ABC), and Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The choir tours regularly, with past performances in New York, Washington DC, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore.
MUSYCA is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Pacifíco Dance Company
Pacifíco Dance Company was founded in 1992 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and reconstruction of classical and contemporary Mexican dance forms. Under the artistic direction of Adriana Astorga-Gainey, Pacifíco Dance Company has performed for audiences across the nation and internationally. Comprised of 40 accomplished dancers and musicians, the company prides itself on educating culturally diverse communities as well as providing Hispanic audiences with a forum for developing pride in their own heritage. These brilliant artists collaborate to present both traditional and innovative works that combine the essence of traditional styles with modern dance idioms.
Some of their most ambitious works include Frida Kahlo, the Legend of La Llorona, Salón México, Mictlan, Calacas Clandestinas and the Virgin of Guadalupe. Pre-Hispanic works from Concheros and traditional dances from Jalisco, Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas and Veracruz round out the repertoire.
For six consecutive years the company performed at the prestigious Dance Kaleidoscope Summer Dance Festival in Los Angeles. The company has collaborated with several well-known musicians including Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez, Pablo Montero, Conjunto Jardin and Pepe Aguilar for live performances.
The company has performed at many venues throughout the Southwestern United States including Utah, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Pacifíco was also honored to perform in residence at the Kennedy Center in 2007. Local Southern California venues include The Carpenter Center in Long Beach, the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, the Redlands Bowl, The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Luckman Fine Arts Complex, The Getty Center and the Universal Amphitheatre. In 2001, Pacifíco Dance Company along with Mariachi Sol de Mexico made a historic visit to North Korea and the People's Republic of China as part of a cultural arts exchange.
In a conjunction with major partners like The Music Center, The Ford Amphitheatre and most recently The Orange County Performing Arts Center, Pacifíco has been educating young children and adults all over the U.S., including the prestigious Kennedy Center. Pacifíco's educational workshops provide students with an overview and further knowledge of all the rich components that make up the beautiful culture of Mexican Folklore.
Pacifíco has been recognized twice as part of the Irvine DanceMaker awards. Throughout its 20-year history, Pacifíco has put much emphasis on collaborations with educational organizations to produce performances for students from K-12.
https://www.pacificodanceco.org/
Palmdale High School Choral Union
The Palmdale High School Choral Union are a select group of singers drawn from the 60-voice a cappella choir. They earned a reputation for excellence through regional, national, and international choral festivals and competitions scoring superior and gold level rankings. The group will be participating in the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales this summer. It is truly a wonderful opportunity to share our music.
http://www.thesundaynightsingers.com/
Sean Oliu and The Coastline Cowboys
Sean Oliu is a prolific young singer, songwriter, musician and actor from Southern California. Sean fell in love with country music as a young boy when his grandfather introduced him to the great Country music legends. Ever since then, Sean has been intertwining country with the influences of Blues, and early Rock n’ Roll to form his own unique musical style. In 2013, at the age of 11, he advanced out of a pool of over 6500 invited contestants to be one of six finalists on the NBC/Telemundo program La Voz Kids (the Spanish version of The Voice). Sean’s broad appeal led him to become the youngest Mouseketeer on the digital-first variety program Club Mickey Mouse.
Sean opened for Rachel Platten at the VH1 Save The Music Holiday Concert and was selected to record and perform the title tracks "Remember Me" and "Un Poco Loco" (from the movie Coco) with Anthony Gonzalez. He was thrilled to open for LeAnn Rimes on her "You and Me Christmas Tour". He recently returned from Nashville where he had the honor to perform at the legendary Bluebird Cafe, the Original Basement, and to record and write with some of Country music's leading artists. Sean's talents have opened the door to collaborations with many other talented musicians and to a current partnership with Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Darrell Brown. Sean was also humbled to be awarded the 2020 OC Artist of the Year. A Highlight in the very challenging year of 2020 was being the first country music artist chosen to be part of the Music Center's 61st LA Holiday Celebration on PBS.
When he isn’t collaborating with other artists, Sean enjoys playing all around the Southland with his three-piece country music band – Sean Oliu and The Coastline Cowboys. Accompanying Sean’s deep and soulful classic country sound are his close friends and very talented musicians Nathan Reyes and Danny Hudson. Because of their beliefs in the power of music and giving back, he and the band continuously participate in numerous fundraisers that support music in schools, community and first responder events.
Street Corner Renaissance
Street Corner Renaissance Founder and Artistic Director Maurice Kitchen was a frustrated long time professional with a solid career in the insurance claims industry when he decided enough was enough. “An AARP member for two years already, my waking prayer every morning became, ‘Lord, please don’t let me die a claims adjuster,’” says Kitchen. "I didn't want to wake up in another 25 years and realize that, although I had I lived in a nice house on a hill, it had come with a closet full of regrets." Lamenting over unfulfilled dreams and lack of earnest effort in his pursuit, Kitchen quit his job and began orchestrating his life’s second act and the ultimate encore performance.
He joined forces with likeminded founding members Torrance Brannon Reese, the organizer of a successful mentoring program, and Kwame Alexander, a former Seventh-Day Adventist pastor. Then along came Anthony (Tony) Snead, an itinerant legal assistant, and Charles (Sonny) Banks, a city worker on the verge of retirement and a life of golf. The five banded together “for one last hurrah," forming a group distinguished gentlemen a cappella singers dedicated to singing the music they loved from a by-gone era. Upon the untimely passing of Kwame, Bob Henley joined the group following a 10-year stint performing with the legendary Smokey Robinson.
In December 2014, these “new jack seniors” found themselves in a cappella heaven when they joined the young people in the cast of NBC’s network show, The Sing Off, Season 4. Street Corner Renaissance was an instant hit and crowd favorite, garnering over 60,000 YouTube hits overnight and millions over time. The group had a chance to work with some of the biggest names in music such as, The Temptations, Chuck Berry, Kool & the Gang, and Boyz II Men opened two nights for Jay Leno. The group is currently featured in the PBS special DooWop Generations.
These cats can flat out sing! Their infectious energy and versatile show-set offers audiences an authentic/interactive street corner experience, combining the polish of a seasoned Las Vegas act with humor and masterful stage craftsmanship. Street Corner Renaissance’s late-life good fortune is the result of its unmitigated courage to live the “Improbable Dream.”
http://streetcornerrenaissance.com/
The Citrus Singers
For over fifty years, the Citrus Singers have literally circled the globe with live and televised appearances in over twenty-seven countries, sharing their remarkable brand of talent and energy throughout the world.
This prestigious thirty-member troupe has opened the Rose parade, appeared at Super Bowl XII and provided entertainment at several of Hawaii’s finest resorts include the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Sheridan Waikiki. They have performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, appeared with Melissa Manchester, entertained past presidents and foreign dignitaries, and toured throughout much of the world including Japan, Russia, Italy, France, Austria, Spain, Germany, Great Brittan, and the Republic of China. They also have the distinction of being the first American choir to win the International Choral Festival in Spittal, Austria.
The Citrus Singers perform a wide variety of musical styles certain to enchant and entertain audiences everywhere. Their repertoire ranges from familiar holiday carols and sacred classical works to Broadway showstoppers, standards and contemporary pop hits. This energetic and polished blend of talented singers and dancers artfully present spectacular entertainment, certain to delight and enthrall audiences of all ages.
https://citrusartsproductions.org/citrussingers.html
The Opera Company at LACHSA
The Opera Company at LACHSA is the ONLY high school opera company in the nation that performs a season with orchestra and is a proud member of Opera America. Since 1993, the mission of TOC@LACHSA is to provide an environment of practical performance experience in opera and classical musical theatre for the high school voice. Instruction is tailored to nurture and support in all aspects of performance techniques. Students are selected from every district in Los Angeles County by audition, and upon acceptance, they follow a traditional public high school academic plan in tandem with a conservatory style training program. Operas are done multi-lingually, with a nod to social justice, universal messaging, and community engagement. Founded by acclaimed opera director, Stephanie Vlahos, TOC@LACHSA (formerly the Full Circle Opera Project) strives to prepare its students for university/conservatory acceptance or entrance to the professional stage. Noted alums include: Angel Joy Blue, Peabody Stillwell, Phoebe Bridgers and the Haim Sisters to name a few. LACHSA is a tuition-free public high school run by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
The Spirit Chorale of Los Angeles
For almost 30 years, the Spirit Chorale of Los Angeles has proudly maintained the tradition of choral performances in the African American community. In the style of historic ensembles such as the Fisk Jubilee Singers, The Spirit Chorale keeps alive the Negro Spiritual in a cappella performances and arrangements. The Spirit Chorale is one of a small group of choirs that offer exciting and uplifting choral music featuring the spiritual. It is the choir's mission to inspire the world to keep moving upward and forward and provide "Hope for Tomorrow"
VOX Femina Los Angeles
VOX Femina Los Angeles gives women voice through the performance of quality choral literature. Diverse in culture, age, race, belief and sexual identity, Vox Femina Los Angeles is a chorus committed to commissioning new works and raising awareness about issues that affect all women. Through music, the group aims to create a world that affirms the worth and dignity of every person.
Founded in 1997 by nationally recognized choral conductor Dr. Iris S. Levine, VOX Femina has made over 400 appearances throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. The women of VOX sing culturally diverse repertoire from the Renaissance to the contemporary, in a wide range of styles and languages. Throughout its 25 years, VOX has remained committed to commissioning new works for women's voices, collaborating with 40 composers on over 50 commissions since its founding. VOX also participates in the ACDA’s Women's Commissioning Consortium, which has commissioned an unprecedented 21 new works.
VOX carries out its mission and leverages its presence in the greater Southern California community through a growing number of artistic and community partnerships. In January 2019, VOX performed at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles along with nine other choirs in “Fulfilling the Dream,” a concert to promote social justice action. VOX was honored to kick off the first annual Los Angeles Women’s March with a performance at Pershing Square in 2017, and performed at the 2019 Women’s March with singer Ingrid Michaelson. VOX joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles and more than 200 members of Southern California choirs in two performances at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in “I Rise” in July 2017. In 2020, VOX won the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Award for the Best Choral Performance of the 2019-2020 Season in the Los Angeles area.
Young Angels Choir
Let Your Voice Shine!
For more than 30 years, The Young Angels Choir has strived to provide the youth of Los Angeles, and its surrounding communities, a rewarding music program that gives them the opportunity to learn and perform outstanding choral music. With pianist Soyun Kim and our new conductors (since 2018), David D. Kim and WonHyeon Choi, the Young Angels Choir sings about their dream and the hope for all the people.
Established in 1990, the Young Angels Choir is as a nonprofit organization that is based in Los Angeles, comprised of over 40 boys and girls ranging from elementary to high school. The mission of the Young Angels Choir is to bring together the many diverse communities that call Los Angeles their home through music and harmony. The Young Angels Choir has performed at various locations including the 2003 Rose Parade, the Los Angeles Music Center, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Good Samaritan Hospital, Knott's Berry Farm, Cerritos Art Performing Center, Zipper Hall, LA Children's Hospital, Disneyland and more. In December 2018, we collaborated with the Young Angels Orchestra and the Handbell Choir which brightened up our music for the holidays. Hosting a concert with Kim, HyeonCheol, a famous Korean-singer, the Choir also promoted Korean music and culture. The Young Angels Choir continues to grow through the support of our local community, parents, families, alumni and dedicated choir members.
This is what we believe. This is why we sing.
