Internationally Acclaimed Conductor Jenny Wong Joins GMCLA As New Interim Artistic Director

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 10, 2019) – Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA), one of the country’s longest-running and largest LGBTQ arts organizations, announced today that internationally acclaimed conductor Jenny Wong will serve as Interim Artistic Director and Conductor beginning in September and will conduct the upcoming concerts in December. 

Wong, a two-time international Choral champion, is the Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, a post she has held since 2017 after first becoming Assistant Conductor in 2016. She made her solo conducting debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall leading the Master Chorale in six Bach Motets BWV 225-230, and has conducted on the Master Chorale’s various programs, including the premiere of Moira Smiley’s five-movement Time in Our Voices. 

A native of Hong Kong, Jenny Wong was one of the youngest conductors to win two consecutive World Champion titles at the World Choir Games (China, 2010) and the International Johannes Brahms Choral Competition (Germany, 2011), conducting the Diocesan Girls’ School Choir from Hong Kong. Wong has conducted and performed in Germany, Austria, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, China and across the United States.

Current Interim Artistic Director and Assistant Conductor, Gavin Thrasher will conduct GMCLA’s upcoming Gala Concert GMCLA 40 / STONEWALL 50 at Walt Disney Concert Hall in August before he joins the team of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. The concert will celebrate the Chorus’s 40th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The evening will feature over 500 singers as GMCLA’s 270 members will be joined by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and others from around the country to perform the Los Angeles premiere of Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall. This original work, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, was co-commissioned by GMCLA and NYCGMC. Last month, both choruses performed Quiet No More together at Carnegie Hall and received a standing ovation from the sold-out house.

“I am delighted that Jenny Wong has agreed to join us this fall and lead us through the holiday concerts,” stated Lou Spisto, GMCLA Executive Director. “She is well known to the entire choral community here in Southern California, nationally, and internationally, as an inspiring musician, leader, and creative force. The members of GMCLA are looking forward to her direction and vision for us in the coming months as we conduct our search for the next permanent musical leader.”

GMCLA, now under the leadership of Executive Director Lou Spisto, has garnered international acclaim for artistic excellence while remaining deeply rooted in service to the Los Angeles community and beyond by promoting civil rights, tolerance and acceptance through music. Founded in 1979 during the emergence of the gay civil rights movement, critics have proclaimed the chorus “inspired,” “expressive, innovative, and utterly moving,” and hailed it for presenting “meaningful entertainment.”

For more information, visit JennyWong-Conductor.com and GMCLA.org. Single Tickets for GMCLA 40 / STONEWALL 50, presented by Hyundai, at Walt Disney Concert Hall in August are available at GMCLA.ORG/WDCH.

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