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2026 ACDA Western Region Conference March 4-7, 2026 San Jose, California

Choral Audacity Downey High School
EPIC Jazz Choir

Choral Audacity is a chamber choir that centers
stories of marginalized communities through the pro-
gramming of underrepresented composers with a ros-
ter of underrepresented singers. Founded in 2018 as a Downey High School’s EPIC Jazz Choir is located
project-based ensemble, we seek to cultivate excellence in the beautiful city of Downey, some thirteen miles
of underrepresented voices through performance, east of downtown Los Angeles, and has twelve to eigh-
mentorship, scholarship, and community. Together, we teen voices. They rehearse five to eight hours per week
have presented programs such as: “We All Live Here” learning songs from a variety of jazz styles. They per-
(American music through the eyes of BIPOC), “Free- form at various jazz festivals and events in the com-
dom Come” (music of Civil Rights Movement and the munity. They also sang at Carnegie Hall (2003, 2007);
apartheid), “Wildfire” (music in response to the Cali- the Lincoln Center’s Allen Room (2010, 2013); and at
fornia wildfires), and “Balikbayan” (stories of overseas the Apollo Theater (2016). They won the sweepstakes
Filipino workers). at the Folsom Jazz Festival (2008, 2020, 2024); Reno
(2018); and the gold medal at the inaugural Disney
Darita Seth is a Cambodian American World Celebration Jazz Festival (2009).
conductor, haute-contre, and composer
who serves as founder, president, and di- Cory Olariu was born in Romania and
rector of Choral Audacity. He is the di- studied piano and trumpet at Ion Vidu
rector of choral and vocal studies at San- School of Music in Timisoara, his home-
ta Rosa Junior College. Prior conducting affiliations town. He came to the United States in
include: interim director of choral studies and con- 1989 and graduated from CSU Long
ducting at University of the Pacific; Cantare Con Vivo Beach, CA, in 2001 with an MM in instrumental con-
in Oakland, CA; St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long ducting. That same year he began teaching all bands
Beach, CA; St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Dan- and choirs at Downey HS. He has performed at Car-
ville, CA; Danville Girls Chorus; Cantabella Children’s negie Hall with the Jazz Choir and at the 2006 Holly-
Chorus; and the Grammy Award-winning Pacific Boy- wood Bowl opening night with the Jazz Ensemble. His
choir Academy. Seth holds a BM in vocal performance Jazz Ensemble performed at the Disney Hall in 2008
from Capital University’s Conservatory of Music and and has won numerous local and nationwide jazz fes-
an MM in choral conducting from the Bob Cole Con- tivals. The ensemble is also a Downbeat winner twice in
servatory of Music at CSU Long Beach. its category.

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2026 Volume 66 Number 5 181