Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Baroque Program Features Vocal and Trumpet Works by Handel, Purcell, Vivaldi, Others

GRAMMY-nominated Countertenor Reginald Mobley, who sang at the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023, interprets Vivaldi's rendition of the 13th century poem Stabat Mater, a meditation on sorrow, forgiveness, and the divine, on the first of two programs on Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's engaging Baroque Series on Saturday, January 11, 7:30 pm, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, and Sunday, January 12, 2025, 4 pm, at The Huntington's Rothenberg Hall in San Marino.

Led by LACO Concertmaster and Director of Chamber Music Margaret Batjer, the repertoire also includes songs by Purcell and Dowland as well as Handel's Eternal Source of Light Divine, written for Queen Anne's birthday in 1713. Paul Merkelo, who has served as solo trumpeter with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal since 1995, and LACO Principal Trumpet David Washburn display their considerable skills on a selection of regal Baroque trumpet gems by Handel and Tartini as well as the world premiere of Jeff Beal's LACO-commissioned End of Empire, a concerto for two trumpets.

The soloists join LACO violinists Misha Vayman, Jacqueline Brand, Josefina Vergara, Jason Issokson, and Tamara Hatway; violists Jonathan Moerschel and Colleen Sugata; cellists Andrew Shulman and Trevor Handy; bassist David Grossman; oboists Claire Brazeau and Adrienne Malley; bassoonist Jonathan Stehney; keyboardist Patricia Mabee; and lutist Kevin Cooper.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9390 N Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. The Huntington's Rothenberg Hall is located at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108 For tickets ($47-$84) and information, please visit www.laco.org or call 213 221 3920.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jeff Beal (composer) is a five-time Emmy-winning composer whose improvisatory method, sense of timing, and sophistication have made him a favorite of directors including Ed Harris (Pollock), David Fincher (House of Cards), Oliver Stone (JFK Revisited), Lauren Greenfeld (The Queen of Versailles, Generation Wealth), and Rob Reisner (Shock and Awe). His work on documentaries Blackfish, The Biggest Little Farm, Al Gore's An Inconvenient Sequel, Athlete A, and Frank Marshall's Rather and dramatic scores for HBO's Rome, Carnivale, USA's Monk, ABC's Ugly Betty, and AppleTV+'s Raymond & Ray have shown him to be one of the most distinctive and recognizable composers working today. In addition to his distinguished scoring career, Jeff is a prolific composer of concert music. His commissioned works have been performed by the St. Louis, Rochester, Minnesota, and Detroit, symphony orchestras, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Smuin Ballet, and GRAMMY winners Hila Plitmann and Jason Vieaux.

Margaret Batjer (violin)has served as LACO Concertmaster since 1998. She is also renowned as a violin soloist, chamber musician and teacher, and has established herself as a versatile and respected artist worldwide. Batjer has appeared as a soloist with America's leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Batjer has also performed with leading European ensembles such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the RT. National Symphony Orchestra (of Ireland), and Berlin Symphony Orchestra. An esteemed chamber musician, Batjer has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, and Sarasota Music as well as the Naples and Salzburg Festivals in Europe. In 2020, she formed the Los Angeles Piano Trio with colleagues Fabio Bidini and Andrew Shulman. Batjer has had an extensive recording career over the last several decades. Her most recent recording with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra includes the live premiere of the Pierre Jalbert Violin Concerto, and works by Bach, Pärt and Vasks released on the BIS label. She recorded the Bach Concerto for Two Violins with Salvatore Accardo and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe for the Philips label and is also featured on a 2003 Deutsche Grammophon recording pairing Batjer and Hilary Hahn as soloists with Jeffrey Kahane conducting Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. She has also made numerous chamber music recordings on the EMI, Nuova Era, and BMG labels. In July 2024, Batjer was appointed Director of Colburn School's Music Academy, a program dedicated to training exceptional pre-college classical musicians from around the world for careers in music. Batjer, a member of Colburn's Music Academy faculty since 2015, also joined the School's Conservatory of Music faculty. She has held the position of Adjunct Full Professor of Violin at the USC Thornton School of Music for 20 years and will be resigning in 2026.

Reginald Mobley (countertenor) is globally renowned for his interpretation of baroque, classical and modern repertoire, and leads a prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic. After starting his classical music career as a member of twice GRAMMY-nominated ensemble Seraphic Fire, Mobley has since appeared with Academy of Ancient Music, Agave Baroque, Bach Collegium San Diego, Calgary Symphony, Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists, Pacific Music Works, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, TENET, and The Handel + Haydn Society (H&H). An advocate for diversity in music and its programming, Mobley became the first ever Programming Consultant for H&H following several years of leading its community-engaging Every Voice concerts. He holds the position of Visiting Artist for Diversity Outreach with Apollo's Fire and has recently been appointed as Artistic Advisor at the Portland Baroque Orchestra. Mobley is also leading a research project in the UK funded by the AHRC to uncover music by composers from diverse backgrounds.

Paul Merkelo (trumpet) is a JUNO-nominated recording artist with six solo recordings, including releases for the SONY and NAXOS labels. Merkelo is featured in a visionary project entitled Gershwin's World on MediciTV, which combines groundbreaking jazz and classical arrangements. He has been the solo trumpeter with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) since 1995 and is the first soloist chosen to record a feature album with the orchestra. He has also served as a guest principal trumpeter with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Merkelo was appointed Canadian Musical Ambassador to China for the inauguration of Montreal Park in Shanghai and performed as a soloist with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in a national telecast. Merkelo made his New York debut at Lincoln Center with the New World Symphony Orchestra and Michael Tilson Thomas in 1998. He has collaborated with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, and Valery Gergiev.

David Washburn (trumpet) serves as LACO Principal Trumpet and holds the position of associate principal trumpet of the LA Opera Orchestra and Principal Trumpet of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. He has also served as principal trumpet and soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.  Active in the recording studios, Washburn has a number of motion picture soundtracks to his credit. He played principal trumpet for Rogue One, American Pickle, Spiderman Far From Home, Incredibles 2, Coco, A Quiet Place, Spiderman Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes,  xx The Return of Xander Cage, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Independence Day – Resurgence, Godzilla, The Amazing Spiderman, Karate Kid, Avatar, The Legend of Zorro, Troy, A Beautiful Mind, Windtalkers, The Perfect Storm, Titanic and Deep Impact, among many others. He has also been a part of the John Williams Trumpet Section for over 20 years including Star Wars,The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra ranks among the world's top musical ensembles. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, the Orchestra is a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and, with eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, a champion of contemporary composers. Performing throughout greater Los Angeles, the Orchestra has made 32 recordings, including, most recently, a 2019 BIS Records release of works for violin and chamber orchestra that features Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and the world premiere recording of Pierre Jalbert's Violin Concerto (a LACO co-commission). LACO, with offices located in downtown Los Angeles, has toured Europe, South America and Japan, and performed across North America. www.laco.org. 

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