Opera California Youth Choir
Opera California Youth Choir is comprised of 75 students between the ages of six and eighteen who present Christian and Gospel music to their communities through workshops, seminars, concerts and recordings. The choir has performed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Choral Festival and the Children’s Concert of Praise. They have collaborated with the Santa Ana Orchestra and the Crossroad Chamber Orchestra and have performed in such operas as La Traviata and Amahl and the Night Visitors. The Wilshire Ebell Theatre of Los Angeles has hosted the choir’s annual musical production for over 15 years.
The choir serves its surrounding communities by participating in many benefit concerts and charity fundraisers, such as the fundraising concert for the Koreatown Reconstruction Project and a concert at the Nanoom Christian Center. In 2002, the choir released its first album, entitled For God So Loved the World, featuring songs sung in both English and Rwandan. The choir recently recorded a Gospel album in Swahili.
Philip Roh, founder of the Opera California Youth Choir,does not simply teach young musicians how to sing beautifully, he also works to inspire them to use music to transcend cultural differences and promote mutual understanding and respect within society. Roh leads the choir along with his wife and music director, Sung Roh. They strive to bring cultural enrichment to their communities and promote learning opportunities and the education of the Korean culture. Philip is a Hope Ambassador of World Vision, an organization that helps and sponsors poor children around the world.
