Artes Vocales serves the diverse communities of greater Los Angeles as both audiences and participants, providing high-caliber, engaging vocal performances of varied musical repertoire; accessible opportunities for creative practice as an ensemble member; and, for emerging musical professionals, robust, supportive pathways for career advancement that help diversify the historically white, exclusive classical music world.

Our work includes:
– Multicultural choral programming that is virtuosic, wide-ranging, and reflects audience diversity. Performances range from major choral masterworks to works by contemporary local composers. Recent programs include “Let’s Tango!,” a choral/dance performance celebrating tango’s vibrant cultural roots and engaging artists/audiences from LA’s underserved Latinx communities (March 2025); “Shakespeare Sings!,” a celebration of Shakespeare’s words set to music by 16th–21st century composers (November 2024); and “Hollywood Sings!,” a collaboration with Angeles Chorale and Los Angeles Children’s Chorus Young Men’s Ensemble, featuring new arrangements of beloved movie music and the premiere of silent film music by composer Maria Newman (March 2024).

– Collaboration with local musicians and composers, including Artes Vocales Festival Orchestra; Los Angeles Children’s Chorus Young Men’s Ensemble; Angeles Chorale; Grammy-winning bandoneonist Hector Del Curto; female composer Maria Newman; organist Scott VanOrnum; renowned opera singers, including Eduardo Villa and Vladimir Chernov; and talented soloists from our choir and Mentorship Program. AV is committed to paying union rates, at minimum, for all artistic collaborators.

– Offering local early career singing teachers a unique opportunity to act as paid mentors to the choir in our Professional Mentorship Program for Teachers of Singing, which provides a professional core to support our community ensemble. Our model of an all-levels, full-access choir, where brand-new singers can train alongside professionals, fills an important niche by removing barriers to access for beginner-level adult singers, and offers a venue for early-career musicians looking for performance opportunities, a professional foothold, and musical community.