YOUTH GROUP AT PAPAL MASS

Joining the musical festivities surrounding Pope John Paul II’s first visit to Southern California will be the South Coast Symphony Youth Orchestra, conducted by music director John Larry Granger.

The celebration concert will precede the Pope’s Mass at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sept., 15.

“We’re very happy,” Granger said Monday. “We were invited to perform, and any time we have a conversation that says, ‘We’ve heard you’re a great group and we would like to use you,’ well, that’s the best kind of conversation you can have.”

Granger will lead the 40-member group, ages 16-25, in a 15-minute program of spirituals sung by a 1,250-member choir.