Culver City High School and the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts will present “Music for the Holidays,” at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 16, in the Robert Frost Auditorium (4401 Elenda St.). Admission is free with a suggested $5 donation. Refreshments will be available for purchase.
Under the direction of AVPA Creative Director of Music Dr. Tony Spano, the Culver City High School Concert Band will perform holiday favorites, including a jazzy concert band arrangement of familiar tunes and an original band composition entitled “Christmas Bells are Ringing.” The Concert Band is also the school’s Marching Band, and has performed at 14 football games this season, helping support the football team’s successful playoff run.
The AVPA Chamber Singers, String Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, and Jazz Combos will also be featured. The Chamber Singers have recently performed at both holiday tree lighting events in Culver City. They have also been invited to perform for the second year at the Culver City celebration of Martin Luther King Day on Sunday, January 15 at the Culver City Senior Center. The Chamber Singers will also be joined at this special event by the AVPA Jazz Combos. The Chamber Singers have been working with Assistant Director Aaron Sim since he joined the AVPA faculty last year. An alumnus of Culver City High School, Aaron received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from USC. He is also nearing completion of the master arts in teaching degree from USC.
The AVPA String Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Tania Fleischer, LMU faculty member, will perform classic works, including a movement of Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, Fantasia on Greensleeves by Vaughn-Williams, and Bugler’s Holiday by Leroy Anderson.
The String Orchestra, which includes student musicians from both the Culver City Middle School and High School, will also be performing throughout the community this month. On December 8, they will perform at the Sunrise Senior Living Facility in Playa Vista at 7 p.m., and on December 14, they will perform at the Culver City Senior Center at 1 p.m. A quartet of musicians will also perform at the Culver City Education Foundation fundraiser at the Marina Del Rey Barnes and Noble on December 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Members of the AVPA Percussion Ensemble and Drumline are also getting in the holiday spirit by marching in the Westchester, Playa Del Rey, Marina Del Rey, and Playa Vista 13th Annual Holiday Street Parade on Sunday, December 11. This is the second year in a row the Drumline has made an appearance in the parade. The parade starts at Loyola Blvd and Manchester and heads east on Manchester to Emerson Ave. The parade will begin at 2 p.m.
About the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts
The Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA) at Culver City High School has been inspiring and empowering students to build a compassionate, creative community through innovative and challenging arts education since 1996. AVPA enjoys tremendous support from Sony Pictures Entertainment and other area businesses as well as from the Culver City community. For more information about the Academy, go to http://avpa.org or contact Tony Spano at 310-842-4200 x6094 or Kristine Hatanaka at 310-842-4200 x6001.
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