Mark



The Los Angeles Clarinet Choir: "In the Groove"



Margaret Thornhill, Founder/Conductor
Victoria Ramos Dresel, Associate Conductor

E-flat Sopranino: David Sucik
Principal Soprano: Victoria Ramos Dresel
Sopranos: Christin Hablewitz, Jason Lopez, Steve Martinez, Joel Nalewajek, Hongsik Park, Brandon Samson, Linda Szeto
Alto: Joel Kabakoff, Brandon Samson
Bass: David Myer, principal, Tamara Garcia, Steve Martinez
Contrabass and contra-alto: Don Gross


Sunday, November 5, 2017, 7 p.m.
Drinkward Recital Hall




In a group shot of the Los Angeles Clarinet Choir, all musicians dressed similarly face the camera and hold their instruments.
Members of the Los Angeles Clarinet Choir. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Clarinet Choir.



PROGRAM



Festive Overture (1954)
Dmitri Shostakovich
arranged by Anthony Brackett
conducted by Victoria Ramos Dresel


Introduction and Groove (2016)
Clifton Jameson Jones


Introduction to the clarinet family, based on themes from
Five Dances for Five Clarinets (1966)
   Hoe-down David Sucik, E-flat
   Sarabande Joel Kabakoff, alto
   Guaracha David Myer, bass
   Afro   Don Gross, contrabass
   Hora   Christin Hablewitz, soprano
Alfred Reed
narrated by Brandon Samson


Meditation and Funk (2016)
   Meditation
   Mpingo Funk
   Victoria Ramos Dresel and Christin Hablewitz, soprano solos
Sean Osborn


All the Things You Are (1939)
Jerome Kern
arranged by Ward Swingle
transcribed for clarinets by David Sucik


Chamegando (2017)
   Brazilian samba-choro
Julião Adelino Barbosa
conducted by Victoria Ramos Dresel



The Los Angeles Clarinet Choir was founded in May, 2005 by renowned 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 ClarinetFest 2007 in Vancouver, Canada; 2010 in Austin, Texas; and in 2011 at CSUN, Los Angeles and 2017 at Orlando, Florida. They have performed at the 2010 Vandoren Clarinet Ensemble Festival at UCLA and for standing room-only audiences for four years at the South Pasadena Eclectic Music Festival. In June 2012, the LACC was featured at the Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena in Celebrating Sakura: Japanese Music for Clarinet Choir. They have also performed for schools, churches, libraries and senior centers throughout Southern California, including Westminster Gardens in Duarte, Biola University, the Baldwin Hills School District, the Ovations Arts series of the La Canada Presbyterian Church, the First AME Church of Pasadena, Artesia High School in Lakewood, and the Santa Monica Public Library.

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 has recently received a matching grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission for repertoire and artistic development.

The LACC is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission


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; and Occidental College; and is currently Adjunct Professor of Clarinet at Concordia University, Irvine. Thornhill is in demand as a master class leader and chamber music coach, writes articles for International clarinet journals, and is founder/director of the Claremont Clarinet Festival, a summer workshop for advanced clarinetists held annually at Pomona College in June since 2006. She holds the DMA from Stanford University.


Associate Conductor

Victoria Ramos Dresel has been a principal clarinetist of the LACC since 2006 and associate conductor since 2010. She is Director of Bands at Carmenita Junior High School in Costa Mesa, and previously held that 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.


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