• 2018-05-07

Finding Our Anthem

How Pentatonix’s Sing became the rallying cry for Big Sing California.

Sing, sing, sing, sing 
Sing it out as hard as you can 
Make ‘em hear from L.A. to Japan…

Every big event needs a great theme song and when planning began for Big Sing California, Patrick Brown, the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s Director of Marketing, set his heart on Pentatonix’s Sing.  Brown felt that the fast-paced and infectiously fun song distilled the essence of Big Sing California — a vast and multi-faceted project — down to one simple and joyous word. And it had hand-claps!

The rights to use the song were secured but a new arrangement needed to be created for the event. Eric Whitacre, Big Sing California instigator and the Master Chorale’s Swan Family Artist-in-Residence, then connected the Master Chorale with Grammy Award-winning arranger, music director, and educator Ben Bram, extending the Big Sing California family even farther and reaching deep into the heart of the country’s a cappella scene. In addition to his work as an arranging collaborator, producer, and engineer for Pentatonix, Bram has extensive experience in film, TV, and commercial projects. He worked behind the scenes of Pitch Perfect 1 and 2, The Sing-Off, and Glee, providing expertise as an arranger, coach, vocal producer, on set music director, and studio vocalist.

Bram subsequently created a new arrangement of the song especially for Big Sing California, the version that participants will be singing with the Master Chorale on July 21^st. Impressed by the scale of the event, Bram — who graduated from the USC Thornton School of Music with a degree in music industry and vocal jazz — then suggested that the famed USC Trojan Marching Band might want to be involved in the concert, adding yet another exciting performance element to the day.

Sing will be the penultimate song on the concert program and is part of the music book that participants can order online now.