Event Update
Live audience cancelled for
‘62nd Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration’
Event continues as a live broadcast and
streaming opportunity accessible to all
LA Dance Chronicle published an article on November 25, 2021 announcing the 62nd Emmy Award-winning Los Angeles County Celebration taking place at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion live in-person on Friday, December 24, 2021 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Since that publication, there have been a few minor changes in the list of performers.
What has not changed is that this annual festive event which features over 20 music ensembles, choirs and dance companies from the diverse and culturally rich neighborhoods that make the City of Los Angeles so very special. Also, this performance is completely FREE. For anyone who cannot attend in person – do not despair. PBS SoCal will both broadcast and stream this event at 3 p.m. PT and with an encore airing at 10 p.m. PT. This event that has been a Los Angeles holiday tradition since 1959 will also be streamed by KCET on Christmas Day at 6 p.m. PT.
Co-hosts Brian White and Suzanna Guzman – Photo by Timothy Norris
Returning to co-host the Holiday Celebration are Internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Suzanna Guzmán and actor Brian White and the returning performers include the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, gospel singers Lorenzo Johnson & Praizum, Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy, klezmer band Mostly Kosher and two-time GRAMMY® award-winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea. Newcomers include Dembrebrah West African Drum and Dance and cellist and autistic savant Adam Mandela Walden. Scroll all the way down for a complete list of this year’s performers—22 groups in all.
The Los Angeles County based World Dance ensembles performing this year include
Dembrebrah West African Drum and Dance will perform “Koredjuga,” a rhythm shared by the Bamana and Malinke ethnic groups on the border of Mali and Guinea, traditionally performed by intermediaries between the people and the traditional chief whose only purpose is to educate others through laughter and irony.
Dembrebrah West African Drum and Dance – Photo courtesy of the artist
Celtic Irish Dance Academy, L.A.’s premier Irish dance school under the direction of Riverdance star, Maeve Croke, will perform a traditional Irish dance that showcases fast feet and the ability to tell a story through music and dance.
Celtic Irish Dance Academy – Photo courtesy of the artist
Daniel Ho & Hālau Hula Keali’i o Nālani, performing original Hawaiian music and hula together for over a decade, return to Holiday Celebration with a medley of two original Hawaiian songs composed by six-time GRAMMY® award-winning Ho and co-writer Amy Ku’uleialoha Stillman.
Daniel Ho & Hālau Hula Keali’i o Nālani – Photo by Gennia Cui
Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy, the official Korean cultural ambassador to Southern California, returns to Holiday Celebration with Geom-mu, a Korean sword dance traditionally performed at royal and official feasts to celebrate victory over war, hardship or disease.
Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy – Photo by Gennia Cui
Leela Youth Dance Company will perform “Malkauns Tarana,” choreographed by renowned artist Rina Mehta, highlighting the rhythmic footwork, dynamic movements and swift chakkars (pirouettes) characteristic of kathak classical dance of North India.
Leela Youth Dance Company – Photo courtesy of the artist
Pacifico Dance Company returns to Holiday Celebration with “Fiesta Calentana,” a journey through Mexico’s southwestern, coastal state of Guerrero that explores Peruvian cultural influence in the region through dance, music and holiday traditions.
Pacifico Dance Company – Photo courtesy of The Music Center
Other artists performing in the 62nd Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration Include
Adam Mandela Walden, an autistic savant who is currently a senior at Berklee College of Music in Boston—the first severely autistic student to attend a conservatory full time and the subject of two Emmy-winning HBO documentaries (Autism: The Musical and Autism: The Sequel)—will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Greensleeves” for violincello (also known as “What Child is This”) as well as “Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert, both accompanied by classical pianist Jordan Daniels.
Amare Girls Band breaks tradition, seamlessly combining traditional Chinese instruments—guzheng and pipa—with the Western flute and violin to perform an inclusive composition by band leader and guzheng artist Annie Zhou that highlights the power of women in music.
Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles – Photo by Gennia Cui
Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, whose holiday concerts are a beloved, decades-old L.A. tradition, returns to Holiday Celebration for the 31st year in a row to perform classic and inspiring holiday songs from Holiday Homecoming at Royce Hall
Lorenzo Johnson & Praizum will sing high energy Gospel renditions of classic Christmas songs, accompanied by fun choreography.
Lorenzo Johnson and Praizum – Photo by Timothy Norris
Los Angeles Chamber Choir will perform “Glory, Glory, Glory to the Newborn King,” based on the spiritual “Go Tell it on the Mountain” with additional words and music by Moses Hogan.
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 22 years, will reach out to touch those with broken hearts this Christmas season with a Mariah Carey holiday medley.
Mostly Kosher will add New Orleans flare to high energy klezmer and Jewish folk melodies, blending Hanukkah and Mardi Gras into one experience.
MUSYCA Children’s Choir will sing “Believe” from The Polar Express, reminding us that everything is possible at Christmas, and “Seasons of Love” from Rent in honor of the many losses and triumphs experienced by students and their families during this unprecedented time.
MUSYCA Childrens Choir – Photo courtesy of The Music Center
Palmdale High School Choral Union and Sunday Night Singers, a select ensemble of current high school and alumni singers that has performed nationally and internationally, will perform “White Christmas” and “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” an energetic, joyful carol that celebrates coming back together to celebrate the holiday.
Sean Oliu and The Coastline Cowboys return to the Holiday Celebration with songs celebrating country music and the holiday season
Street Corner Renaissance—just back from a six-week engagement in Dubai—will wow the audience with a cappella renditions of the classic Christmas blues tune “Please Come Home for Christmas” by Charles Brown and a spirited medley of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” and “Joy To The World.”
The Citrus Singers, the first American choir to win the International Choral Festival in Spittal, Austria, returns to Holiday Celebration with stunning choral arrangements of holiday favorites accompanied by handbells.
The Opera Company at LACHSA (Los Angeles County High School for the Arts), which has produced some of this country’s finest singers, will perform holiday works from contemporary composers and Jonathan Dove’s opera, Mansfield Park, based on the Jane Austen novel and set in the Regency era.
The Spirit Chorale of Los Angeles, a professional ensemble dedicated to keeping alive the Negro spiritual along with jazz, blues and original Gospel works, emerges from the pandemic to perform the debut of “Hope for Tomorrow,” celebrating and shining a light on the possibilities of the future.
Vox Femina Los Angeles – Photo by Ed Krieger
VOX Femina Los Angeles, L.A.’s premier women’s choir, will celebrate the season with a performance of holiday songs including the traditional Hanukkah song “S’vivon,” the Christmas classic “Jingle Bells” and the Spanish carol “A La Nanita Nana,” honoring the diverse communities that make up Los Angeles.
Young Angels Choir and Orchestra will combine voices, orchestra and handbells to perform “Christmas Eve Sarajevo,” then rearrange the song to meld Western music with Eastern traditions by adding traditional Korean drums.
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WHAT: The Emmy Award-winning L.A. County Holiday Celebration
WHEN: Friday, December 24, 2021 from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
- Doors open at 2:30 p.m.
- Patrons may come and go throughout the three-hour performance.
- A live broadcast of the show airs from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. on PBS SoCal and online at pbssocal.org/holidaycelebration and kcet.org/holidaycelebration, with an encore broadcast on PBS SoCal at 10 p.m.
- Re-broadcast of the show airs on KCET on Saturday, Dec. 25 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion located at 135 N. Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012
ADMISSION:
- FREE; no reservations or tickets to the show.
- First come, first seated.
- The line usually begins to form around noon.
- Proof of vaccination for Covid-19 or a negative test within 72 hours required; please allow extra time for check-in prior to getting in line.
- Masks required throughout the performance.
PARKING: FREE in The Music Center parking garage.
For more Information, use the hotline: (213) 972-3099 or visit HolidayCelebration.org.
TICKETS to the in-person event are free and available on a first come, first seated basis. Doors open at 2:30 p.m., although the line usually begins to form around noon. Proof of vaccination for Covid-19 or a negative test within 72 hours will be required for admission; patrons should allow extra time for check-in prior to getting in line. Masks must be worn throughout the performance. 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. For more information, go to HolidayCelebration.org.
Those who cannot make it to The Music Center on Dec. 24 can watch the broadcast on PBS SoCal or stream live online at pbssocal.org/holidaycelebration and kcet.org/holidaycelebration.
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.
Click HERE to view the promo trailer.
Written and compiled by Jeff Slayton from the press release by Luck Pollak.
Featured image: 62nd L.A. County Holiday Celebration – Pacifico Dance Company – Photo by Will Tee Yang
