LA Chamber Orchestra Welcomes New Director of Operations and Artistic Administration

Daren Fuster has been appointed Director of Operations and Artistic Administration for the acclaimed Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), announced Executive Director Rachel Fine, who added that Fuster will oversee artistic administration, production, general operations, as well as education and community programs. Fuster replaces long-time LACO administrator Andrea Laguni, who is stepping down after 19 years at LACO to serve as an arts consultant.

"We are pleased to welcome Daren to the Orchestra's administrative staff," says Fine. "His broad expertise in production, operations and artistic administration of the classical music field will serve LACO well as he steps into this key position with the Orchestra. It is also with deep gratitude that we thank Andrea Laguni for his dedicated service, astute leadership and invaluable contributions to LACO during his long and fruitful tenure. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors."

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Fuster's impressive career in the music industry includes arts administration, violin and viola performance and entrepreneurial ventures. He joined the Columbus Symphony Orchestra as orchestra personnel manager and sold performance manager in 2012, managing full-time and per-service orchestra personnel and programming, producing and managing performances. Prior, he served as production manager, donor records manager and artistic and orchestra operations manager at Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. As an entrepreneur, Fuster is the founder and managing partner of the entertainment agency Pro Art Music LLC. Under his leadership, the business accumulated numerous awards and provided music and musicians for thousands of private events and large productions. Pro Art served as the orchestral tour contractor for Princeton Entertainment's concert production of Legend of Zelda in Columbus and Cincinnati and orchestra contractor for performing artist and composer A.R. Rahman's (Slumdog Millionaire) Unity of Light tour in Dallas, Houston, San Francisco and Vancouver. With his string quartet in Cincinnati, Fuster performed and recorded with k.d. lang on her 49th Parallel tour for NPR's Mountain Stage. His artist management agency has managed solo engagements for violinists Nicolas Kendall and Alexandre DaCosta, and cellist Joseph Johnson. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester (Bachelor of Music) and the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati (Master of Music and doctoral studies), Fuster has performed as auxiliary violist for Cincinnati Symphony and Pops, Cincinnati Opera and Cincinnati Chamber orchestras; an auxiliary member of Columbus Symphony Orchestra (violin and viola); and a member of Fundación Sinfonía, Dominican Republic. Fuster has also appeared at the Heidelberg (Germany), Lancaster Music (Ohio) and Grand Teton Music festivals; and as a concerto soloist with the 18th Century Music Ensemble in Italy.

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO), proclaimed "America's finest chamber orchestra" by Public Radio International and "resplendent" by the Los Angeles Times, has established itself among the world's top musical ensembles. Since 1997, LACO has performed under the baton of acclaimed conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, hailed by critics as "visionary" and "a conductor of uncommon intellect, insight and musical integrity" with "undeniable charisma," "effortless musicality and extraordinary communicative gifts." Under Kahane's leadership, the Orchestra maintains its status as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and a champion of contemporary composers. During its 46-year history, the Orchestra has made 31 recordings, toured Europe, South America and Japan, performed across North America and garnered eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, LACO presents its Orchestral Series on Saturdays at Glendale's Alex Theatre and on Sundays at UCLA's Royce Hall; Baroque Conversations at downtown Los Angeles' Zipper Concert Hall; Westside Connections chamber music series, designed to illustrate the relationship between music and other artistic disciplines, at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica; and an annual Discover concert, which features an in-depth examination that sheds new light on a single piece of music, at Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium. LACO also presents a Concert Gala, an annual Silent Film screening and several fundraising salons each year. Additionally, LACO outreach programs, Meet the Music, Community Partners, Campus to Concert Hall and the LACO/USC Thornton Strings Mentorship Program, reach thousands of young people annually, nurturing future musicians and composers as well as inspiring a love of classical music.

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