Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's Baroque Conversations series features the highly anticipated US premiere of a newly-discovered setting of Pergolesi's Salve Regina, led by guest conductor Riccardo Minasi, hailed as "an outstanding musician" (Guardian), on Thursday, March 1, 2018, at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The program also includes Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, a setting of a 13th-century meditation considered among the composer's most notable sacred works, with rising artists soprano Elizabeth Sutphen and mezzo-soprano Sofia Selowsky. The all-string program includes 16 members of LACO's critically acclaimed string section headed by Tereza Stanislav as acting concertmaster. A complimentary wine reception for all ticket holders begins at 6 pm.
Minasi, a violinist and conductor, has quickly established a reputation as one of the most exciting talents on the European scene in recent years. Co-founder of the ensemble il Pomo d'oro and director from 2012 to 2015, he has been the Chief Conductor of the Mozarteumorchester in Salzburg since 2017 and Artist in Residence of the Resonanz Ensemble at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. His recent orchestral conducting/directing engagements include appearances with the Orchestre National de Lyon, London Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo
Metropolitan Orchestra, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Zürcher Philarmonia, NDR Radiophilarmonie Hamburg, Konzerthausorchester
Berlin and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. His numerous recordings have received prestigious BBC Music Magazine, Grammophone Choice and International Opera awards and a Grammy nomination, among many other accolades.
Sutphen, an "impressive coloratura soprano" (The New York Times), has garnered praise for her sparkling voice and her ability to "soar deftly through stratospheric trills and arpeggios" (Financial Times). A recent graduate of the Juilliard School, she has already appeared with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Milwaukee
Symphony and Opera Studio at Oper Frankfurt, among others. Sutphen's numerous awards include The George London Foundation Encouragement Award and The Novick Career Grant from The Juilliard School as well as being named a finalist at the Dallas Opera Guild National Vocal Competition and receiving First Prize at
The National Society of Arts and Letters. She received additional training as a resident artist at the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie in Neumarkt, Germany.
Selowsky, praised as a "silvery-luminescent mezzo-soprano of power and poise" (Opera News), continues to make significant debuts after graduating from the prestigious Houston Grand Opera Studio. She has performed with the Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, Lexington Philharmonic, Da Camera of Houston, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, North Carolina
Symphony and
Minnesota and Sarasota orchestras. A multi-year participant at the Aspen Music Festival, she also appeared as a Young Artist at the Glimmerglass Festival. Selowsky - who received an Artist Development Fellowship from Harvard University, the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshanna Foundation and an Emerging Talent Award from the Kurt Weill Foundation's Lotte Lenya Competition - was a National Semifinalist in the
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
The enlightening five-concert
Baroque Conversations series provides insight into the genesis of orchestral repertoire from early
Baroque schools through the pre-classical period. Generously sponsored by Carol & Warner Henry, a Friend of LACO and the Ronus Foundation,
Baroque Conversations continues during LACO's 50th anniversary 2017-18 season with programs on March 22 and April 26, 2018.
Los
Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), ranked among the world's top musical ensembles, marks its 50th anniversary in the 2017-18 season. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, the Orchestra is known as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks as well as a champion of contemporary composers. Headquartered in the heart of the country's cultural capital, LACO has been proclaimed "America's finest chamber orchestra" (Public Radio International), "LA's most unintimidating chamber music experience" (Los
Angeles Magazine), "resplendent" (Los
Angeles Times), and "one of the world's great chamber orchestras"(KUSC Classical FM). LACO, which performs throughout greater Los Angeles, has garnered eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Jaime Martín, praised as "a visionary conductor, discerning and meticulous" (Platea Magazine), is LACO's Music Director Designate and takes the podium as Music Director in the 2019-20 season.
Tickets, starting at $45, are available online at laco.org, or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001. Single tickets can also be purchased at the venue box office on the night of the concert, if tickets remain. Discounted tickets are available by phone for groups of 12 or more. College students with valid student ID may purchase tickets for $8, subject to availability.
PHOTO CREDIT: Harrison Parrott
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