Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Wraps Season With FLOODPLAIN

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), led by Music Director Jaime Martín, wraps the season with the LACO-commissioned world premiere of Floodplain by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid, LACO's Creative Advisor and 2017-18 Sound Investment Composer. This marks her first collaboration with Martín.

The program also includes Brahms' Double Concerto for Violin and Violoncello in A minor, highlighting Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and Principal Cello Andrew Shulman; and Beethoven's monumental Symphony No. 5 in C minor, a cornerstone of classical music. LACO presents the compelling season finale at three Southland locations: Thursday, May 12, 8 pm, at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa; Saturday, May 14, 8 pm, at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena; and Sunday, May 15, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall.

Reid says of her new work that the title Floodplain "implies both rich fertility and possible danger" and that the work includes "rhythmic motifs that echo throughout the piece and transform in a variety of ways." Reid began the piece before the pandemic, since it was originally slated to be premiered in May 2020, explains that she subsequently "broke it to pieces and reshaped it so it felt resonant to me in this moment."

Martín states, "For a number of years, LACO has enjoyed a very special association with Ellen Reid, who is one of the foremost composers of her generation. I am so pleased to be able to bring her new work Floodplain to life and share it with audiences across Southern California. It is also a distinct pleasure for LACO to showcase two of its own exceptional principal artists - Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and Principal Cello Andrew Shulman - on Brahms' Double Concerto for Violin and Violoncello in which the two solo instruments share a musical conversation like old friends."

LACO recognizes the generous support of the Colburn Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. Steinway is the official piano of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. The Orchestra also receives public funding via grants from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. LACO gratefully acknowledges Hogan Lovells US LLP for generous pro bono support. REID, BRAHMS + BEETHOVEN is generously underwritten by LACO's longest-serving Board Member, Gene Shutler. Additional support for Andrew Shulman in this concert comes from Anna Rosicka & H. Allen Evans.

Tickets start at $29 and may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001 x1. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and for students.

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO) 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. 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). 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). In 2020, due to the global pandemic, LACO pivoted from presenting live performances to producing the groundbreaking CLOSE QUARTERS interdisciplinary digital series melding musical and visual arts, which has garnered more than 1.8 million views across social media platforms since its debut in November 2020. The "digitally native" programs, created specifically for streaming and applauded as "musically and artistically compelling" (Los Angeles Times) have "redefined how classical music can be presented in the 21st century (Cultural Attaché). LACO, with offices located in downtown Los Angeles, has toured Europe, South America and Japan, and performed across North America. www.laco.org.

JAIME MARTÍN assumed his LACO post and also became Chief Conductor of Ireland's RTE National Symphony Orchestra in September 2019. In LACO concert reviews, the Los Angeles Times has hailed Martín's "infectious music making," noting "the musicians seem to be having a blast. The audience is invited to the party." Overseas, he has been praised as "a visionary conductor, discerning and meticulous" (Platea Magazine), and London's The Telegraph said, "his infectious enjoyment of the music communicated to the orchestra and audience alike." He has been Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Gävle Symphony Orchestra since 2013 and is the Artistic Advisor of the Santander Festival. He was also a founding member of the Orquestra de Cadaqués, where he was Chief Conductor from 2012 to 2019. Having spent many years as a highly regarded flautist, Martín turned to conducting full-time in 2013, and very quickly became sought after at the highest level. Recent engagements include appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony and Gulbenkian orchestras, as well as a nine-city European tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Martín has recorded a series of highly acclaimed Brahms discs for Ondine Records with the Gävle Symphony and various discs with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra for Tritó Records. He has also commissioned multiple world and regional premieres of works by composers including Ellen Reid, Andrew Norman, Missy Mazzoli, Derrick Skye, Albert Schnelzer and Juan Pablo Contreras. As a flautist, Martín was principal flute of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English National Opera, Academy of St Martin the Fields and London Philharmonic Orchestra. Jaime Martín is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music, London, where he was a flute professor.

To post a comment, you must register and login.