LA Chamber Orchestra Names Four Musicians to Roster

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) Music Director Jeffrey Kahane announces the appointments of Robert Brophy, viola (Los Angeles 90042); Sandy Hughes, flute (Portland, OR); Carrie Kennedy, violin II (Pasadena); and Joel Pargman, violin II (Pasadena) to LACO's roster, one of the nation's leading orchestras renowned for its wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissioning initiatives. The 2012-13 season marks the first full season with the Orchestra for Brophy, Kennedy and Pargman; and the first time that Hughes has performed with LACO. Kennedy and Pargman are husband and wife.

"We are delighted to welcome these four fine musicians to the Orchestra's ranks," says Kahane. "Their superb artistry and outstanding technical skills blend beautifully with LACO's unique musical profile."

LACO's 44th season launches with a dynamic program of works both familiar and new on October 6 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, repeating October 7 at Royce Hall. The repertoire includes Ravel's jazz-infused Piano Concerto in G major, Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, and two West Coast premieres – The Great Swiftness by LACO Composer-in-Residence and Pulitzer Prize-finalist Andrew Norman, and True South by James Matheson, recipient of the prestigious $200,000 Charles Ives Living award.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), proclaimed "America's finest chamber orchestra" by Public Radio International, 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." Under Kahane's leadership, the Orchestra maintains its status as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and a champion of contemporary composers. During its 44-year history, the Orchestra has made 30 recordings, toured Europe, South America and Japan, performed across North America, earning adulation from audiences and critics alike, and garnered seven ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, LACO presents seven Orchestral Series concerts at both Glendale's Alex Theatre and UCLA's Royce Hall, five Baroque Conversations concerts at downtown Los Angeles' Zipper Concert Hall, three Westside Connections chamber music concerts at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica and an annual Discover concert at Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium. In addition, LACO presents two major fundraisers, a Concert Gala and an annual Silent Film screening at Royce Hall, as well as several fundraising salons each year. LACO was founded in 1968.

ROBERT BROPHY, viola, can be seen and heard playing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera and many West Coast chamber music series. He is featured with Nigel Kennedy in a quartet on Kennedy's new release Greatest Hits on the EMI label and has performed alongside Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Michel Dalberto and Dmitri Sitkovetsky. He won the viola audition with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in December 2011. An advocate for new music and former member of the Ens? Quartet, Brophy has worked with many leading composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Joan Tower, William Bolcom, Tan Dun and Bernard Rands. Of the Ens? Quartet's concerts, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted, "It was standing room only," while The Strad applauded their "totally committed, imaginative interpretation." The quartet earned its place in the ensemble world with multiple honors at the 2004 Banff International String Quartet Competition, including best performance of the pièce de concert, for the quartet's riveting performance of Stewart Grant's String Quartet No. 2. It also won awards at the 2003 Concert Artists Guild International, the Fischoff National Chamber Music and the Chamber Music Yellow Springs competitions. Featured on two recordings with the Ens? Quartet on the Naxos label, Brophy continues his quartet life as a member of the New Hollywood String Quartet, which has performed throughout the Southland for the last five years and recently became quartet-in-residence at South Pasadena Library's Restoration Concert Series. Brophy holds degrees from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England and Rice University, where he studied with James Dunham, formerly of the Cleveland Quartet.

SANDY HUGHES, flute, a native of Portland, Oregon, joins the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, beginning in the 2012-13 season. Called "one of the best young American flutists I've heard" by Sir James Galway, Hughes has received critical acclaim for her "eloquent playing" and "detailed attention to the musical phrase." She performs second flute with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, is a member of The Hollywood Soloists and also appears frequently with the New York Philharmonic. An avid chamber musician and soloist, Hughes has collaborated with the Miami String Quartet, the Alturas Duo and the Wallingford and Hartt Symphony orchestras. A Fulbright Grant recipient and New World Symphony finalist, Hughes earned her Master of Music in Orchestral Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Robert Langevin. She also received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Hartford and a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from the Hartt School of Music, where she studied with John Wion.

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