The Los Angeles Clarinet Choir: Classics for Clarinet Choir

Margaret Thornhill, Conductor and Artistic Director
Victoria Ramos Dresel, Associate Conductor

Principal Clarinetist: Victoria Ramos Dresel
Co-Principal: Christin Hablewitz
E-flat Sopranino: David Myer
Sopranos: Rigo Carillo, Julia Damron, Ryan Espinosa, Joel Nalewajek, Michael Salas, Jenna Tatiyatrairong
Alto: Joel Kabakoff
Bass: Hongsik Park (on leave), Carlos Herrera, Karen Zelazo; Daryl Golden, guest
Contra-alto: Karen Zelazo
Contrabass: Jose Moreno

The Los Angeles Clarinet Choir—fourteen clarinetists performing on soprano, sopranino, alto, bass and contrabass instruments—returns to HMC with a program of original music and transcriptions for clarinet ensembles from Europe, Japan, and the USA, including the iconic “Chorale and Danza” by Vaclav Nelhybel, “The Gifts of Kumamoto Folksong” by Kazuhiro Morita, “One Step at a Time” by Paul Richards,  “Song Without Words” by Mendelssohn, and more.

Sunday, October 20, 2024, 7 p.m.
Drinkward Recital Hall

Members of the Los Angeles Clarinet Choir. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Clarinet Choir.


The Los Angeles Clarinet Choir was founded in May, 2005 by Southern California clarinetist and teacher, Margaret Thornhill. Members, who are selected by audition, have college degrees in clarinet performance or the equivalent in college level music study. The ensemble has been featured at the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFests© in Vancouver,  Austin, CSU Northridge, Orlando, and Knoxville. They have also performed for festivals, schools, churches, libraries, concert series and senior centers throughout Southern California, including Westminster Gardens in Duarte, Sollheim retirement in Eagle Rock,  the Baldwin Hills School District, the La Canada Presbyterian Church, the First AME Church of Pasadena, Artesia High School in Lakewood, the Santa Monica and South Pasadena Public Libraries, the Norton Simon Museum, Cal Poly Pomona, Biola University, Concordia University Irvine, and Harvey Mudd College.The LACC has a strong commitment to  performing new, original music for this unusual instrumentation and has given many local and world premieres. A nonprofit,  501(c)3 organization, the LACC is the recipient of a matching grant from the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. To contribute toward the match for the LACC’s LACDAC grant, visit losangelesclarinetchoir.com or speak to an LACC representative. The LACC is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Department of Arts and Culture.

Conductor and Artistic Director

A clarinet recitalist and chamber musician active in the US and Europe, Margaret Thornhill is also one of LA's most sought-after private clarinet teachers. She is a former faculty member of the University of California Santa Cruz, Stanford University,  Occidental College, Concordia University Irvine, and  Claremont Graduate University.  Thornhill is in demand as a masterclass leader, writes articles for  International clarinet journals, and is a wind chamber music coach for the Humboldt Chamber Music Worskhop at Cal Poly Humboldt and at  Hidden Valley Music in Carmel Valley.  She holds the DMA from Stanford University.

Associate Conductor

Victoria Ramos Dresel has been principal clarinetist of the LACC since 2006 and Associate Conductor since 2010. She is Director of Bands at Carmenita Junior High School in Cerritos, and previously held the same position at Artesia High School in Lakewood.  She holds the MM degree in Music Education from the University of Southern California where she also pursued doctoral work and taught courses in the School of Education. Dresel studied clarinet with Yehuda Gilad and David Howard at USC and also with Dr. David Ross as an undergraduate at the University of Texas El Paso. In 2025, she will become Principal Conductor of the LACC.



HMC is deeply grateful for the generous support that created The Ken Stevens ’61 Founding Class Concert Series.