CONCERT IS FIRST IN THIS YEAR’S TARGET AROUND TOWN CONCERT SERIES

Joana Carneiro Conducts Los Angeles Philharmonic, Soprano Jessica Rivera, and Gwen Wyatt Chorale in Music by Bach and Excerpts from Handel’s Messiah

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2005, AT 7:30 PM

This performance is made possible, in part, by a generous gift from Target. Additional funding for Neighborhood concerts is provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Los Angeles Philharmonic Affiliates, MetLife Foundation, David and Linda Shaheen Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and the Wilshire Ministry of Wilshire United Methodist Church present a free Neighborhood Concert as part of the Target Around Town Concert Series. Conducting Fellow Joana Carneiro leads members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a holiday presentation of excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, featuring soprano Jessica Rivera, and the Gwen Wyatt Chorale, Dr. Gwen Wyatt, director, on Thursday, December 15, at 7:30 p.m., at Wilshire United Methodist Church, located three blocks west of Crenshaw Blvd., at 4350 Wilshire Blvd., in Los Angeles.

Admission to the concert is free; tickets are required. Priority seating is given to those who arrange tickets in advance and arrive early. Ticket information is available by calling 323.931.1085.

Composed by George Frideric Handel, Messiah is a presentation of the life of Jesus and is considered his most famous work. The performance includes the excerpts “And the Glory of the Lord,” “Rejoice Greatly,” “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth,” and “Hallelujah,” among others. The program also includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, which contains the famous “Air on the G String.”

At the age of 27, JOANA CARNEIRO has already attracted considerable attention as an outstanding young conductor. She is the recipient of the Young Musicians Foundation Conducting Grant and the BMI Foundation, Inc. Lionel Newman Conducting Study Grant. She serves as Music Director of the YMF Debut Orchestra, having won the Young Musicians Foundation's 2002 National Conductor Search. She continues in the footsteps of such YMF alumni as André Previn, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Myung-Whun Chung. As Conducting Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carneiro is a member of the American Conducting Fellows Program, a national conductor training program developed and managed by the American Symphony Orchestra League. A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Carneiro began her musical studies as a violist before receiving her conducting degree from the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Lisbon, where she studied with Jean-Marc Burfin. Carneiro received her master's degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, where she studied with Victor Yampolsky and Mallory Thompson. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Michigan, where she studies conducting with Kenneth Kiesler and has served as Music Director of the Campus Philharmonia Orchestra. Carneiro's great promise has been recognized with awards and scholarships at the world's most important conducting institutes. In 2003/04 Carneiro participates in the International Conductors' Academy of the Allianz Cultural Foundation with Kurt Masur and Christoph von Dohnányi in London. As a 2002 finalist of the prestigious Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition at Carnegie Hall, Carneiro was invited by the jury to conduct the Prelude to Act III of Richard Wagner's Lohengrin. She was a Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival in 2003. She received Third Prize in the Oriental Foundation Young Conductor's Competition in 2000, and the "Prix de l'orchestre" from the Orchestre de Bienne in Switzerland in 1997. In past seasons Carneiro has conducted the Toledo Symphony Orchestra; the Macau Chamber Orchestra and Beijing Orchestra at the International Musica Festival of Macau (China); and the Metropolitan Orchestra of Lisbon. Carneiro has been an active participant in masterclasses hosted by Michael Tilson Thomas, Larry Rachleff, Jean-Sebastien Bereau, Roberto Benzi, and Pascal Rophé. She has also studied privately with John Farrer and Jorge Mester.

Hailed as a shining young soprano whose voice possesses shimmering clarity, JESSICA RIVERA has been lauded by the Los Angeles Times for being “highly accomplished, fully equipped and most promising.” Her most recent successes include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro with Los Angeles Opera and Despina in Cosí fan tutte with Opera Santa Barbara. She was also a finalist of Plácido Domingo’s 2004 Operalia World Opera Contest. A regular guest with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she was heard during the inaugural season of Walt Disney Concert Hall as Eve in Haydn’s The Creation under Esa-Pekka Salonen. Upcoming engagements include Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica with Opera Santa Barbara in 2006. As a member of the prestigious Los Angeles Opera Resident Artist Program, Rivera created the role of Anastasia in the world premiere of Nicholas and Alexandra. She also sang Rosina in II barbiere di Siviglia, as well as roles in The Queen of Spades, Lohengrin, La traviata, The Merry Widow, Die Zauberflöte, Gianni Schicchi, and Nabucco, under the batons of Maestros Domingo, Rostropovich, Nagano, Gergiev, DeMain and Ferro. Concert appearances have included Poulenc’s Gloria with the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Grant Gershon, Annina in La traviata at the Hollywood Bowl under John Mauceri, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Fort Worth Symphony under Miguel Harth-Bedoya. She has also appeared in numerous recitals throughout the U.S., including her New York Recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.

Bringing joy wherever it performs, the GWEN WYATT CHORALE is a multigenerational, multiethnic choral group. It has performed at the Mormon Tabernacle, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, in the projects of South Central, and on a boat in the Sea of Galilee. The Chorale was founded in 1988 by Dr. Gwen Wyatt, a conductor, soprano, and music educator active throughout the Los Angeles area. Wyatt has conducted the Chorale to critical acclaim in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. The Chorale has released a CD of spirituals, Rock My Soul: Remembering Jester Hairston, which also features Wyatt as soloist.

Minneapolis-based Target serves guests at 1,400 stores in 47 states nationwide by delivering today’s best retail trends at affordable prices. Target is committed to providing guests with great design through innovative products, in-store experiences and community partnerships. Whether visiting a Target store or shopping online at Target.com, guests enjoy a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to thousands of unique and highly differentiated items. Target (NYSE:TGT) gives back more than $2 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association’s Neighborhood Concert series, created in 1991, encourages involvement in the classical arts within the increasingly diverse communities of greater Los Angeles. The events, many of them free of charge, take place in churches, schools, and other venues throughout Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable places anywhere to experience music — Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association’s involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational programs, community concerts and children's programming, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2005, AT 7:30 PM

WILSHIRE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 4350 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles

Target Around Town Free Neighborhood Concert

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

JOANA CARNEIRO, conductor

JESSICA RIVERA, soprano

GWEN WYATT CHORALE, Dr. Gwen Wyatt, director

BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068

HANDEL Messiah (excerpts):

Symphony

"And the Glory of the Lord"

Pifa

"There were shepherds abiding in the fields

"Glory to God"

"Rejoice greatly"

"Lift up your heads"

"How beautiful are the feet"

"I know that my redeemer liveth"

"Hallelujah"

This performance is made possible, in part, by a generous gift from Target. Additional funding for Neighborhood concerts is provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Los Angeles Philharmonic Affiliates, MetLife Foundation, David and Linda Shaheen Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Admission is free, and advance tickets are available by calling 323.931.1085. Priority seating is given to ticket holders who arrive early; doors open at 6:45 p.m. for ticket holders. Seating is also available without advance tickets beginning at 7:15 p.m. Limited parking is available in the Church lot on Wilshire Blvd. Additional parking will be available in nearby lots for $5 per car. Parking attendants will direct you. Los Angeles Philharmonic information is available by calling 323.850.2000 or visiting the website at LAPhil.com.

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