LA Children's Chorus & HOLA Partner for Music Education Program

The Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) and Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) announce a significant partnership to bring The Choir’s world-class choral music education program to the HOLA campus in Lafayette Park, reaching underserved youth in Central and South Central Los Angeles. This marks the first time these two highly regarded organizations have collaborated under LACC Artistic Director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz’s leadership, as well as the first time LACC has expanded outside of its Pasadena home base and the first time HOLA has offered a comprehensive program providing access to the choral arts. Auditions for LACC @ HOLA will be held on January 27, 9 am to 3 pm, at HOLA Arts and Recreation Center in Lafayette Park. (Details below.)

Malvar-Ruiz says, “Los Angeles Children’s Chorus is thrilled to partner with HOLA to expand its program in such a meaningful and impactful way. Extending LACC’s reach to HOLA’s constituents to provide access to the transformational power of choral music reflects LACC’s deep commitment to serving students who represent richly diverse racial, economic, and cultural backgrounds. HOLA, with its stellar reputation for serving Central and South Central LA with meaningful programs and its deep roots there, is the perfect partner. This is the first of many such collaborations planned for LACC. LACC is expanding throughout the Los Angeles region in order to provide children access to LACC’s program in their own communities. We want to make it convenient for children – and their families – to participate in LACC’s transformative program right where they live.”

HOLA’s CEO Tony Brown states, “When we learned that Los Angeles Children’s Chorus was interested in expanding to our beloved Westlake neighborhood, we knew we wanted to see HOLA kids participate. Having LACC find their home at our Arts & Recreation Center is a dream scenario. We welcome LACC and are proud to add its esteemed choral music education program to our center’s offerings.”

The program, offered at no cost to HOLA participants, launches with two LACC entry-level ensembles for children ages 8 to 11 – Preparatory Choir and Apprentice Choir – with the goal to add advanced ensembles in future years based on demand as children progress through LACC’s tiered multi-choir program. LACC’s current music staff will direct the choirs and also provide musicianship training and voice lessons to participating choristers. Choir rehearsals will be held on Saturday mornings with the inaugural 12-week session beginning on February 3, 2024.

Notably, HOLA’s 35-year history supporting students from low-income households in the Westlake area and beyond will help ensure program benefits aren’t impacted by socioeconomic barriers to learning, including food and housing instability, underdiagnosed disabilities, and trauma and mental illness, among others.

According to Malvar-Ruiz, LACC’s HOLA-based choirs will be an integral part of LACC. He explains, “The children who rehearse at HOLA will have the same opportunities as LACC’s other choristers. For example, they will all participate in the same highly structured music education program, perform in two annual concerts, and join forces to sing together. There will also be cross-over rehearsal opportunities at both our Pasadena and HOLA locations. Plus, once the choristers’ singing skills are developed and they are ready, they may have opportunities to sing with LACC partner organizations such as LA Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pasadena Symphony, and Los Angeles Master Chorale.” Additionally, as the HOLA program continues expanding in the future to include advanced-level LACC touring choirs like Concert Choir and Young Men’s Ensemble, children will have the opportunity to tour nationally and internationally.

While fostering a love of singing is a core element of LACC’s choral music education program, Malvar-Ruiz stresses there are enormous the benefits to singing in a choir that can have a profound impact on a child’s life, “especially in an era when kids are glued to their screens.”

He states, “Singing is an essential human activity, and being part of a choir promotes collaboration, accountability, and the acceptance of differences. It also provides a sense of belonging, or family, and fosters self-affirmation. When you are part of a group that is performing beautifully, it is elevating because the group is stronger than the individual.”

The LACC collaboration exemplifies HOLA’s approach to program development, which is firmly rooted in an ethic of partnership. Brown says, “Whether it’s sharing space with the City Recreation & Parks Department, offering instrumental music education as a joint venture with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, or working hand-in-hand with longstanding organizations to expand our work into South Central and Watts, the benefit to kids is exponentially greater when the institutions supporting their development lean into their strengths and work together.”

LACC, founded in 1986 and widely recognized as one of the world’s preeminent youth choirs, currently serves more than 500 children ages 6–18 from 40+ communities across Southern California. Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) provides underserved youth in Central and South Central Los Angeles a comprehensive array of free after-school academic, arts, athletics, and wellness programs, empowering them to develop to their full potential, pursue higher education, and strengthen their communities.

LACC @ HOLA AUDITIONS TO BE HELD JANUARY 27, 9 AM TO 3 PM, AT HOLA’S ARTS AND RECREATION CENTER

Auditions for LACC @ HOLA will be held on January 27, 9 am to 3 pm, at HOLA’s Arts and Recreation Center. For information and to sign up for an audition, please visit lachildrenschorus.org or call (626) 793-4231. HOLA’s Arts and Recreation Center is located at 615 South La Fayette Park Place, Los Angeles, CA 90057.