LA Chamber Orchestra Presents Silent Film Gala 5/31

 The comic genius of Harold Lloyd meets the musical genius of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra as LACO presents the 19th Annual Silent Film Gala, with co-chairs Hanna Kennedy and Roger Mayer as well as seven-time Honorary Chairman Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman.  The evening will feature Harold Lloyd's 1928 film entitled Speedy, with an extended cameo by Babe Ruth. Joel McNeely conducts the score by Carl Davis.

When:   Saturday, May 31st at 8:00 p.m.
Where:  UCLA's Royce Hall (on the UCLA campus)
Tickets:        213-622-7001 x 215- Gala $300 (includes reception);
       $75 (priority seating) and $35

The exquisite sound of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra complements the silent genius of Harold Lloyd at the 19th Annual Silent Film Gala. Following the film, the Chamber Orchestra will host a supper party under the stars on the Ahmanson Terrace outside Royce Hall for gala patrons.

The evening will feature Lloyd's brilliant comedy, Speedy (1928), with an extended cameo by baseball legend Babe Ruth.  Shot in Manhattan, Harold Lloyd stars as Speedy who loses his job as a soda-jerk, then spends the day with his girl at Coney Island. Becoming a cab driver, he delivers Babe Ruth to Yankee Stadium, where he stays to see the game. When the railroad tries to run the last horse-drawn trolley (operated by his girl's grandfather) out of business, Speedy organizes the neighborhood old-timers to thwart their scheme.

Speedy features a rare film appearance by Babe Ruth who Lloyd takes on a wild ride through the streets of Manhattan. The film, courtesy of UCLA's Film & Television Archive, is presented with the help of Sony Studios and the support of Suzanne Lloyd, Harold Lloyd's grand-daughter. Joel McNeely will lead the Orchestra in a live performance of Carl Davis' film score.

Former Turner Entertainment Co. president Roger Mayer-the Chairman of the National Film Preservation Foundation and the 2005 recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy Awards-serves as co-chair of the Silent Film Gala, along with longtime LACO board member Hanna Kennedy, who pioneered the Silent Film Gala in 1990. Mayer has been integral to the success of every Silent Film Gala since 1994.

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, established in 1968, is one of the most widely respected chamber orchestras in the country. Under the guidance of music director Jeffrey Kahane and the leadership of executive director Andrea Laguni, LACO has broadened its audience base with extensive community outreach and educational programs, several family concerts each year, an East Coast tour in 2002 that culminated in two performances at Carnegie Hall and by special invitation, a European tour in February and March 2008 to Vienna, Austria; Hamburg, Hanover and Berlin in Germany; Italy's Ferrara and Treviso; Spain's  San Sebastián and Paris, France. Each spring, the Silent Film Gala attracts new fans to the Orchestra.