More than 900 of the area's talented singers from 25 high school choirs performed in the Los Angeles Master Chorale's two-part annual High School Choir Festival.

Among the choirs performing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall was the Glendale Adventist Academy (GAA) Chorale, directed by Brenda Mohr. The GAA Chorale was one of three choirs selected through a rigorous audition process to present individual musical showcases. According to Mohr, this is the fifth time GAA's chorale has been showcased in the festival.

The afternoon concert featured Los Angeles Master Chorale Music Director Grant Gershon conducting the massed choir in a program featuring five diverse works, including the world premiere of Tu Voz (Your Voice) by Shawn L. Kirchner, a member of the chorale who also serves as the pianist for the concert.

"The High School Choir Festival is one of the highlights of the Los Angeles Master Chorale's season," said Gershon. "The students and their choral directors work very hard all year to prepare for the performance, and it really shows."

The festival is one of the largest high school choir gatherings in the nation. The performance culminated the master chorale's year long, in-school music education program that provides vital mentorship for young singers. Event sponsors included the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; the Los Angeles Times Family Fund and the Weingart Foundation.

"The fact that the GAA Chorale was selected and honored as a showcase choir is quite an honor, considering that they come from a school with a relatively small student population when compared to the large public and magnet music schools that participated," said Glen Baker, GAA principal. "To be featured alone on the stage at Disney Hall, a premier performance arts center in the world, is a real honor for our students and for Mrs. Brenda Mohr, the director. They were the only group to receive a spontaneous and thunderous standing ovation as well as a commendation from the emcee who said, ‘That was outstanding.'"