The Angel City Chorale has gone where no choir has gone before.
"Golden Buzzer...a choir? Come on!" Sue Fink, artistic director for the choir, says in reference to the honor her group received on NBC's "America's Got Talent" with the buzzer that automatically qualified the group for the live show. "That's so cool!"
The Angel City Chorale is a group that has collectively harmonized its way into the hearts of America.
But this is no ordinary choir. The Angel City Chorale is fueled by charity, as it has been for the past quarter century.
"That's the exciting part of it is reaching certain level of recognition to able to carry on our work," says Jimmer Bolden, a singer.
That work and the spirit that goes with it always involves a song, whether belted out on a stage, on the streets or on another continent.
"The purpose of our group is to bring people together, like ordinary folks like me that when we're together, we create something better than any of us could alone," Fink says.
Alone, they are not. This is a choir consisting of 160 strong voices working in harmony.
"We're back, white, rich poor, gay straight," Fink says proudly.
She adds, "Even our democrats and republicans can sit next to each other and sing, which is a far better job than they're doing in congress."
They call themselves the "model of America," reconnecting via harmony and heart.
"Music is the language that everyone can understand," Leena Mathew, who is the president and on the board of the directors, says. "It really unites people."
The Angel City Chorale stands for unity, inclusion and strength in numbers. It prides itself on giving back without expecting a pay back.
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"One of our members needed glaucoma surgery and he didn't have the money to pay for it," Fink says. "We put on a concert for him and raised $10,000 in one night so he could have his surgery."
And this is not a group intimidated by boundaries.
In 2011, the group even traveled to South Africa and did concerts that raised money for underprivileged youth after school programs. Seven years later, the choir fundraised and collaborated to bring those same kids to LA to sing, an experience that struck a chord.
"Each one of them went back saying, 'I want to go to college,' 'I want to see more of the world,'" Fink says with pride.
The one blessed with the voices of angels are truly doing the work of angels on earth and using music to connect, unite, stand up and speak up for the many without a voice.
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