LA Master Chorale 2023 Gala
Danny Duran was thrilled to be making his debut as a soloist at the spectacular evening of music and songs by GRAMMY Award-winning and Academy Award nominated composer Germaine Franco at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with a 17-member orchestra conducted by Grant Gershon and Jenny Wong from the LA Master Chorale.
The Los Angeles Master Chorale Gala Concert honoring composer Germaine Franco held at Disney Concert Hall raised more than $487,000.
Franco is the Chorale’s first female Artistic Honoree and is one of the most unique award-winning composers working in Hollywood today. She is the first Latina, and only the sixth woman, to be an Oscar nominee and a Grammy winner.
This year’s Philanthropic Honoree was the LA Arts Recovery Fund. A collaboration of local and national philanthropy, and the largest-ever pooled private investment for arts in Los Angeles County, the Fund distributed $36.1 million to 90 art organizations for post-pandemic rebuilding.
The grant recipients span visual arts, theater, music, dance, literary arts, and arts education The Chorale received a two-year grant of $1.5 million, a milestone in its 58-year history.
The evening, attended by more than 300 Chorale devotees, highlighted Franco’s distinctive musical influences with new arrangements heard for the first time. Franco joined the Chorale on stage to perform on percussion, with a 17-member orchestra conducted by Grant Gershon and Jenny Wong. Special guest soloists included vocalist Toni Scruggs and young talent Danny Duran.