PBS Socal's 62nd ANNUAL L.A. COUNTY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION Returns Virtual Dec.24th & 25th 2021.
Facts edit by Karen Ostlund
The 62nd annual L.A. COUNTY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION three-hour seasonal music and dance spectacular will be hosted by internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano and Emmy® Award winning television host Suzanna Guzmán as well as actor Brian White.
PBS SoCal and KCET, Southern California's PBS stations will present 62nd Annual L.A. COUNTY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, which is a local tradition since 1959.
This holiday celebration is presenting music and dance performances from more than 20 L.A.-based artists who showcase the diverse talents of L.A. County.
The event will be broadcasted and streamed LIVE on PBS SoCal on Fri., Dec. 24 from 3-6 p.m. with encores on Fri., Dec. 24 from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. on PBS SoCal and on Sat., Dec. 25 from 6-9 p.m. on KCET. The program will also be available online at pbssocal.org/holidaycelebration
The Music Center has announced cancellation of the LIVE audience of 62nd annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration out of a rise of COVID-19 cases, but the show will be broadcasted as usual.
2021 L.A County Holiday Performances will 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.
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| • 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. |
• 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.
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| • 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. |
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| • 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. |
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| • 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. |
• Leela Youth Dance Company will perform “Malkauns Tarana,” choreographed by renowned artist Rina Mehta, showcasing the rhythmic footwork, dynamic movements and swift chakkars (pirouettes) characteristic of kathak classical dance of North India.
• Lorenzo Johnson & Praizum will sing high energy Gospel renditions of classic Christmas songs, accompanied by fun choreography.
• 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.
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| • 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. |
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| • 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.
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| • Pacifico Dance Company returns to the 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. |
• 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.”
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| • 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. |
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| • 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, 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. HolidayCelebration.org
