LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS APPOINTS LARISSA DONNELLY APPRENTICE CHOIR DIRECTOR

Larissa Donnelly has been appointed director of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) Apprentice Choir, it was announced by LACC Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson.  Donnelly will oversee all aspects of the Apprentice Choir, geared for young singers with little or no previous vocal training, including selecting appropriate repertoire to match the singers’ skill level and conducting rehearsals and concerts. She replaces Amy Brehm, who relocated to the East Coast.

“We are very pleased to welcome Larissa to LACC’s artistic staff,” says Tomlinson.  “With her passion for teaching and exceptional conducting and leadership skills, she will provide LACC’s young singers with a solid musical foundation, which is particularly crucial since they will be promoted into LACC’s more advance choirs as their skills develop.”

“I look forward to working closely with Anne and the entire LACC staff,” states Donnelly.  “LACC has a tremendous reputation for not only helping its choristers develop into outstanding singers, but also for instilling in them a true love of singing.  I am proud to be a part of that tradition.”

Donnelly has been involved with children’s choirs since childhood when she joined, at the age of eight, the renowned Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus, now known as Anima, with which she sang for seven years.  Donnelly holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Michigan State University, where she studied voice and piano, graduating with honors, and a Master of Music Education and Choral Conducting from Florida State University. In addition, she earned Level I and II certification from Doreen Rao’s prestigious Choral Music Experience Institute for Choral Teacher Education at the University of Toronto.  Donnelly has taught in both public and private schools across the country, including in Garland and San Antonio, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, and Paramount, California, with a focus on middle and high school choirs. She also worked with the famed Michigan State Children’s Chorus and the Virginia Children’s Chorus as well as HOLA, Heart of Los Angeles.   A professional singer, most recently she was a core member of the Virginia Symphony Chorus, and has also served as an accompanist for numerous choral ensembles. She resides in Lakewood, CA, with her husband, Joe, and her two sons, Ian and Jack. 

Los Angeles Children's Chorus – described by the media as “astonishingly polished,” “hauntingly beautiful,” and “one heck of a talented group of kids” – is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost children's choirs.  Founded in 1986 and currently led by Artistic Director Anne Tomlinson, LACC performs with such leading organizations as LA Opera, LA Phil, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, LA Master Chorale, LACO, Pasadena Symphony and POPs and Calder Quartet.  The chorus' roster includes more than 350 children aged 6-18 from 60 communities across Los Angeles in six choirs and  “First Experiences in Singing” classes for young singers.  LACC has toured North and South America, China and Europe, and produced the world-premiere of Keepers of the Night, an opera by Peter Ash and Donald Sturrock.  The chorus appeared on LA Master Chorale’s recently released Decca recording “A Good Understanding,” and Plácido Domingo’s Deutsche Grammophon recording "Amore Infinito" ("Infinite Love").  The subject of a trilogy of documentaries by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Lee 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 “Keepers of the Night”; and Sing China!, chronicling its groundbreaking tour to China just prior to the Beijing Olympics.  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.  For more information on the choir, please visit www.lachildrenschorus.org.