California Women’s Chorus, Inc. (CWC) is heading into the final stretch of preparations for its 48th annual concert, “California Dreamin,” which will be held at the Glendale Hilton Hotel, 100 W. Glenoaks on April 30 at 2 p.m. The concert is hosted by Verdugo Hills Women’s Chorus (VHWC) and Burbank Singers, two of the member choruses of CWC, a non-profit philanthropic organization whose goal is to further choral singing among women and raise funds for vocal music awards.

Music was chosen with the assistance of guest director Lauren Buckley-Schaer to highlight the many facets of California. Buckley-Schaer received a doctorate in choral conducting at USC Thornton School of Music. She is, among other positions, currently the artistic director of the Hollywood Master Chorale and associate director of the Pasadena Master Chorale.

Guest accompanist is Naomi Sumitani, who earned her bachelor and master degrees in piano performance and a doctorate degree in keyboard collaborative arts while studying at USC Thornton School of Music. John Musker, La Cañada resident and recent Oscar nominee, will emcee the CWC concert. Musker celebrated his 40th anniversary at the Walt Disney Animation Studio in Burbank this month. He and Ron Clements have written and directed many Disney classics including “The Great Mouse Detective,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Hercules” and “Treasure Planet.”

Musker has been the recipient of many awards for his film work, including ASIFA’s “Annie” award for best film and best director. His wife, Gale, has been a member of Verdugo Hills Women’s Chorus for eight years.

CWC’s goal of providing scholarships to young, talented vocal music students was realized when auditions held Feb. 25 yielded three exceptional singers, Elizabeth Queen of Montrose, Kali Hardwick and Niko Murakami. Each will perform at the concert and will receive a $2,000 award to further their singing careers. Emma Ujifusa and Avery Roberts will be honorably mentioned at the concert. Ujifusa, soprano and freshman at Pepperdine University, is a music education major. She plans to pursue a career as an educator in high schools and, hopefully, one day at a collegiate level. Roberts, a freshman at Chapman University, is drawn to vocal music both old and new. He enjoys composing and arranging music but for now is devoting himself to further discovering his voice.

On April 30, the public will be treated to a program by the combined voices of 175 CWC members. Tickets are available by contacting Marianne Jennings at (818) 398-7323. Tickets prices are $15 pre-sale or $20 at the door.

CWC is a non-profit organization that promotes choral singing among women and has almost 300 members in 10 choruses in California. CWC also wants to further the education of vocal music students by raising funds for scholarships.