Some good news for the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Grant Gershon has agreed a contract extension that sees him consolidate his leadership by stepping up from Music Director to Artistic Director. The new contract will keep him at the choir until the 2019-2020 season.
Few will dispute that this is a good step. Gershon is widely respected. He has done well to carve out a reputation for the LAMC that stands alongside yet separate to that of its headline-grabbing (in a good way) colleagues in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has reinforced its musical values but also made the exploration of alternative venues and ways of presentation where appropriate to the work a priority.
His new role will presumably give him more freedom to explore that side of things even further. He has said that he would like to commission more new works, and to delve more into innovative ideas such as video installations.
A press statement says that the Los Angeles Master Chorale performs to more than 30,000 audience members per year, and provides education outreach to around 6,000 students annually.
