Listening to Angel City Chorale's 100 brilliant voices is a rich experience.

A unique choir, known as much for its philanthropic efforts as for its immense size and amazing sound, it has fused teachers, therapists, chiropractors and carpenters into an accomplished musical group which performs classical and pop, gospel, spirituals, folk and jazz concerts twice a year for its loyal following.

The group is closely-knit and draws members from diverse backgrounds and orientations. A shared passion for making music, enthusiastic dedication to serving the community and a deep affection for one another are cornerstones of this choir. The group's most celebrated and honored achievement is their Tour of Hope, a one-day event every December devoted to performing at Los Angeles missions and shelters.

Originating as a weekly choir class at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, the group has continued to grow since it began in the fall of 1993. Conductor Sue Fink, who taught the class and founded the Chorale, is also a performer, composer, and voice teacher.

Angel City Chorale members speak enthusiastically of Fink's outgoing personality and quick wit and have great respect for her musical taste and talent. Known for encouraging creative freedom, the conductor generously applauds and employs the many talents of individual choir members, giving songwriters the opportunity to perform their own compositions as well as generously allowing soloists to take center stage. Fink will apparently do whatever it takes to get a laugh and the choir seems to be driven by humor as well as music.

The eclectic musical taste of both Fink and the members is partially responsible for Angel City's success The administrative committee meets monthly to consider additions to the repertoire. Members submit songs, attend the committee meetings and participate in the selection process. Sometimes, several meetings are required to select the season's concert program.

The December Holiday Show is followed annually by Angel City's one-day Tour of Hope -- during which the group travels around Los Angeles in two yellow school buses, performing and giving gifts at shelters and missions.

David Steinberg, a tenor in the choir, devised the Tour because he wanted to "sing to people who needed a song."

The Tour costs approximately $5,000. which is raised by donations and financial contributions. The Chorale collects clothes, toys, videos, umbrellas and hygiene items. Every item is gift wrapped and distributed to needy individuals and families. Last year it distributed over 1,000 gift bags.

Lora Jerugim, a Westside social worker and soprano with the Chorale says of the Tour, "We perform in the same way as for any of our performances and bring to this day the same love, caring and enthusiasm. The Tour of Hope gives something very special to people who can't otherwise access anything like this. It's very spiritual Some members of the choir who usually have little or no contact with the disenfranchised in the community, have been overwhelmed with the emotion of the experience." The day is so intense, she said "We stay together as a group after the tour and have dinner together because it is so hard emotionally to go home. We talk and process what the day has been. We make a point of connecting."

Jerugim, who has been singing all her life, joined the group in the fall of 1994 and remembers when it was a 25-member ensemble, but says that as it has grown in size, its standards have risen, too.

Emily Sanders, who coordinates Angel City Chorale's publicity, was loooking for a purely creative outlet when she joined the group in the spring of 1999 but has gotten much more out of it. Not only has she made many new friends in the group, but it has had a great impact on her work. A music specialist in the Manhattan Beach School District. teaching Third, Fourth and Fifth grades, she said, "...a huge benefit of being part of the choir is that my teaching has improved tremendously. I'm more creative as a teacher and I've been inspired by Sue to do more conducting."

She believes that Fink's lack of inhibition as a conductor has encouraged all the members to take greater risks and challenges.

She goes on to say that the choir members' devotion to the community also manifests itself in their dedication to one another. When one member was recently hospitalized, the choir called on a cell phone the night of a rehearsal and sang to her. When the associate conductor's husband died of cancer, the choir sang at his funeral.

Almost a decade old now, the choir continues to evolve. They now sing everything from classical music to R&B and sing in African, Gaelic, French and Hebrew, in addition to English. The first Angel City Chorale, "Why Walk When You Can Fly," was released last December and its sales have been impressive.

It continues to actively look for additional singers and holds auditions twice a year.

The Angel City Chorale will perform at the Wilshire Methodist Church, 4330 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, on Friday, December 8, at 8 p.m., and on Saturday, December 9, at 7 p.m.

For more info please visit Santa Monica Mirror's page