Charles Dickens Carolers; Photo by Ed Krieger
As Angelenos finish up their holiday shopping, they have one more gift to look forward to. They don’t even have to wrap it.
It’s the 52nd Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration, a present that arrives every December 24 as a gift to the community from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. A feature of the season, the holiday festival has provided entertainment free of charge to the public since 1959. Then, at the instigation of Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, the celebration moved in 1964 to the Music Center’s new Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and it has been held in that venue ever since.
Kwan Gyu Lim Dance Company
The entertainment, aiming to showcase the cultural diversity of Los Angeles County, brings together folk groups, singers, dancers, and choral groups for a three-hour celebration of the holidays.
“It’s become a Los Angeles tradition,” says Adam Davis, managing director of productions for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, which stages the event. “Just as people spend New Year’s Day watching the Rose Parade, they spend Christmas Eve Day here at the Music Center.”
This year, some 24 groups of performers will be featured on the Pavilion stage. “Some groups have come several times, but we try to have close to half of the participants new to the celebration each year,” Davis says. This year he is especially excited about Latin Grammy award nominee La Santa Cecilia that will lead off the program with a holiday mix of Latin, rock, and world music.
City of Angels Children's Community Chorus; Photo by Ed Krieger
Also among the 11 new participating groups are the City of Angels Children’s Community Chorus presenting a classic holiday repertoire, the Bricks, a group of young musicians dedicated to delivering positive social messages, and the Charles Dickens Carolers, a 16-person a cappella choir dressed in traditional festive attire.
Also new this year is the Kwan Gyu Lim Dance Company performing a traditional Korean fan dance, the Prime Note Ensemble, an all-male Filipino choir singing in English and Kinaray-a (a Filipino dialect), and Mandrill, a progressive band that plays funk and rhythm and blues.
Appearing for the first time, a Klezmer group, the Shpil, will provide a medley of classic Hanukkah songs, and the returning Harmonic Bronze Handbell Ensemble, a 20-person group of 11- to 18-year olds, will render its version of “Hava Nagila” on the bells.
Agape Love Ensemble
“All our groups, whether they are new to the celebration or veterans, are especially strong this year,” Davis notes. “We are happy to have the Gay Men’s Chorus, the Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company, the Agape Love Ensemble, and ADAAWE, a group of nine African female singers and drummers who bring incredible energy to the stage, all returning this year.”
Other returning choral groups include the Mt. Rubidoux Seventh Day Adventist Church Choir, the Palmdale High School Choral Union, the Salvation Army Tabernacle Children’s Chorus, the Young Angels Choir, and the Voices of Destiny, a 45-member gospel chorus which recently won a national competition sponsored by Verizon Wireless.
Mariachi Sol de Mexico, the Jazz Tap Ensemble, Grammy-nominated Lisa Haley and the Zydekats, and the Versa-Style Dance Company, a hip hop ensemble, will also be returning, and a new group, Trumpetology, will premiere with a brass-centered jazz interpretation of “What Child Is This?”
Jazz Tap Ensemble
Hosting the show will be LA Opera star Suzanna Guzman and actress and Grammy award-winning musical artist Tia Carrere. Also featured on the program will be pop culture humorist and author Charles Phoenix.
“Putting all this together is an awesome job,” Davis says. “This is my sixth year of producing the show. We try to get the best of the best in each category, and then we give the artists the opportunity and a platform to do what they do best. Each group performs for four to five minutes, doing one or two songs or a single dance piece, but the logistics are insane.
“We have only one rehearsal, on December 3, and we give the groups notes and talk about their costumes. Then we don’t see them again until the day of the performance.”
Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company
The performers number about 500. “The show is timed to run exactly two hours, 58 minutes and 56 seconds, and not a second longer because it’s broadcast live on KCET. There are no commercials and no stops. We give ourselves 10 minutes of pad time in case an act inadvertently runs too long,” Davis adds, “then we have to cut pieces at the last minute. We are constantly revising the show while it’s running.”
So how do they keep things moving and prepare the stage for the next number while the group before it is still performing?
“The choir seats are set up as risers on the apron at the front of the stage, and the curtains are closed behind them,” Davis explains. “And while they’re singing, the next act is behind the curtain getting set up.”
To facilitate the process, he and his staff, which includes master coordinator Chris Christel, who has been with KCET since 1964, create a “look book” for the stage crew. “Each act has its own page, and everything that needs to be set up is listed in order. Then Chris makes sure it all gets done.”
Harmonic Bronze Handbell Ensemble; Photo by Ed Krieger
Then, because the show is free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, the audience begins assembling early. “The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion has 2500 to 2800 seats for this event and there’ll be some 3,000 people waiting in line by 9 a.m.,” Davis says. “But even though the doors don’t open until 2:30, there’s a festive air to the gathering, as the public is entertained on the plaza by groups of carolers and other performers.”
Overall, some 5,000 to 6,000 people attend each year, but they are free to come and go, and most don’t stay for the full three hours, he says, so everyone gets to see the show. He doesn’t say how he fared, however, in 2007 when 10,000 people showed up.
Parking in the Music Center’s underground garage is free and tickets to the show are not necessary. But those who can’t make it to the site can watch the show live from 3 to 6 p.m. on KCET or listen to it live on KPFK, 90.7 FM. The KCET broadcast will air again from 8 to 11 p.m. and can also be streamed at www.kcet.org.
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center is located at 135 N. Grand Ave. in Los Angeles.
***All photos courtesy of the LA County Arts Commission except where noted
