Los Angeles Master Chorale Brings Culture and Community to Walt Disney Concert Hall in Annual Gala

Walt Disney Concert Hall was the backdrop for an evening of culture, community, and music as the Los Angeles Master Chorale hosted its 2023 Gala to honor and celebrate GRAMMY Award-winning and Academy Award nominated composer Germaine Franco and the LA Arts Recovery Fund.

Nearly 1,000 guests attended the concert and dinner for a remarkable night that kicked off with sunset cocktails in the Blue Ribbon Garden that included live music, a hosted bar, passed hors-d'oeuvres and wines provided by Falcor Winery of Napa Valley.

Guests were then escorted into the Disney Hall where the program opened with the Chorale’s legendary Surround Sing in which their radiant voices fully enveloped the audience from all corners.

Danny Duran, Germaine Franco, Grant Gershon, Jenny Wong (photo: Benjamin Shmikler/ABImages)

Germaine Franco, the first female Artist Honoree for the gala, is widely acclaimed for her cumbia rhythms in Encanto to the warmth and colors of traditional Mexican music in Coco to the eclectic fusion of styles in her other choral works. She has blazed her own trail of success with accolades that include:

First woman to score a Disney film (Coco)
First Latina to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Score Encanto)
First Latina invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences music branch and to receive the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature (Coco).

Artistic Honoree Germaine Franco, Danny Duran and the Neighborhood Music School (photo: Benjamin Shmikler/ABImages)

Audiences were truly treated to a special night with music uniquely inspired by traditional folklorica, banda, indigenous and African musical sounds of Mexico and South America as it can only be heard in Los Angeles, along with classic choral works, beautifully sung by the stunning voices of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and guest artists that included singers from the Neighborhood Music School and Mariachi del Oeste from Hamilton Academy of Music and Performing Arts.

“This year’s gala was a testament to the shared sense of joy the arts bring into our lives. In an inspirational evening honoring the philanthropy of the LA Arts Recovery Fund, and groundbreaking composer Germaine Franco, our audience, donors, and friends of the Master Chorale generously celebrated the power of choral music, helping us to raise nearly $500,000 to benefit the Master Chorales education programs. We are truly grateful to all of the gala attendees and supporters.”

— Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director

During the program, the LA Arts Recovery Fund, was also honored and celebrated for its impact in helping arts non-profits throughout Los Angeles County endure the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; rebuild their operations; and reimagine the arts as an essential part of life in the city. The Fund has award over $40 million grants to non-profit arts and arts education organizations throughout Los Angeles County.

After the concert, guests made their way to BP Hall for a three-course dinner, live auction, and live music.

Created by legendary conductor Roger Wagner in 1964, the Chorale is a founding resident company of The Music Center and choir-in-residence at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Its mission is to share the traditional and evolving spectrum of choral music with the widest possible audience through performance, community education, collaboration, commissioning, and recording.

The Master Chorale focuses on using the transformative power of choral music to engage and to inspire more people in Los Angeles, and around the world

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