Baroque Violinist Monica Huggett Leads LA Chamber Orch Baroque Conversations, 3/15

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) spotlights the distinctive qualities of the Baroque violin at the season's third "Baroque Conversations" concert led by Baroque violinist Monica Huggett and featuring LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer on Thursday, March 15, 2012, 7 pm, at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Huggett is the Portland Baroque Orchestra's artistic director and is the first artistic director of The Juilliard School's Historical Performance program.

The concert's repertoire includes Locatelli's Introduzione teatrale in G major, Op. 4, No. 4 and Sinfonia in F minor, "Sinfonia Funebre" ("Funeral Sinfonia"); Van Wassenaer's Concerto Armonico No. 6 in E-flat major; Leclair's Violin Concerto in A major, Op. 7, No. 6; and Vivaldi's Concerto in D minor for Two Violins Op. 3, No. 11, RV 565 from "L'Estro Armonico" ("Harmonic Inspiration"). In signature LACO style, Huggett shares her insights into the music from the stage and invites questions from the audience. A complimentary pre-concert wine reception for ticket-holders begins at 6 pm.

LACO's "Baroque Conversations" series explores the genesis of orchestral repertoire from early Baroque schools through the pre-classical period.

Tickets ($50) are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org, by calling LACO at 213 622 7001 x 1, or at the venue box office on the night of the concert, if tickets remain. Student rush tickets ($10), based on availability, may be purchased at the box office the day of the concert with appropriate college ID.

MARGARET BATJER, who curates LACO's Westside Connections series, joined the Orchestra as concertmaster in 1998. She made her first solo appearance at the age of 15 with the Chicago Symphony in Gian Carlo Menotti's Violin Concerto. Since then, she has been re-engaged by the Chicago Symphony, as well as a succession of other major orchestras. Batjer has also appeared as a soloist throughout Europe with orchestras including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. Equally respected as a chamber musician, Batjer has performed regularly at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest, the La Jolla Summerfest, the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, and the Naples and Cremona festivals in Italy. She has recorded the Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor for Philips with Salvatore Accardo and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and more recently for Deutsche Grammophon with Hilary Hahn and LACO. Batjer has won numerous prizes, including the G.B. Dealey Award in Dallas. She joined the faculty of the Thornton School of Music at USC in 2005.

MONICA HUGGETT was born in London, the fifth of seven children. In order to differentiate herself from her piano-playing siblings, she took up the violin at age six.By the age of 12, it had been decided that she would become a violinist. At age 16, she entered the Royal Academy of Music as a student of Manoug Parikian. Although she did well and won several prizes, she was not entirely comfortable with her instrument until she was given a baroque violin to try. She was immediately won over by the mellow quality of the gut strings and became a fervent champion of the baroque violin. From then on, Huggett has earned her living solely as a violinist and arts administrator, currently serving as the first artistic director of The Juilliard School's Historical Performance program. Huggett continues as artistic director of both the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the Portland Baroque Orchestra. She has given master classes in Banff, Dartington, Vicenza, Dublin and Medellin, and has been Professor of Baroque Violin at the University of the Arts Bremen in Germany and the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. Among her recent prizes are the Vantaa Baroque Energy Prize (Finland) (2005), Gramophone's Best Instrumental Recording Award, for Heinrich Biber's Violin Sonatas (2002), and the Diapason d'Or for early versions of the JS Bach Four Orchestral Suites in the CD release from Sonnerie Music for a Young Prince (2009).

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