Marin Alsop Leads the LA Phil in Three Performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 11/2-4

Marin Alsop returns to the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in three performances, Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, at 8 pm, as well as Sunday, November 4, at 2 pm. All three evenings include Golijov's Azul, featuring rising young cellist Joshua Roman, as well as hyper-accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman, and percussionists Jamey Haddad and Keita Ogawa. The three evenings close with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique," what many consider to be the composer's most profound symphony. The Saturday and Sunday programs open with Barber's Essay No. 2.

The Friday concert is part of the LA Phil's Casual Fridays series, which features a shorter program, is presented without intermission and encourages audience members to attend in comfortable attire. These Casual Fridays concerts also feature a free TalkBack discussion with musicians held on stage after the performance and a chance to mingle with members of the orchestra in the Concert Hall Café.

Marin Alsop is recognized around the world for her innovative approach to programming, and for her deep commitment to the education and development of audiences of all ages. Her success as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was recognized when, in 2009, her tenure was extended to 2015. In Baltimore, Alsop has spearheaded educational initiatives that reach more than 60,000 school and pre-school students. In 2008, she launched 'OrchKids," which provides music education to the city's neediest young people, and in 2010, the BSO Academy, where local non-professional musicians work for a week with members of the orchestra. Alsop took up the post of chief conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra at the beginning of the 2012 season, and under her guidance the orchestra made its debut appearance at the BBC Proms – the first ever by a Brazilian orchestra.

Joshua Roman has been dubbed a "classical rock star" by the press and has earned a national reputation for performing a wide range of repertoire with an absolute commitment to communicating the essence of the music at its most organic level. The San Francisco Chronicle hailed him as "a cellist of extraordinary technical and musical gifts" following his 2010 debut with the San Francisco Symphony under Herbert Blomstedt. For his ongoing creative initiatives on behalf of classical music, Roman was named a 2011 TED Fellow, joining a select group of Next Generation innovators of unusual accomplishments with the potential to positively affect the world.

Michael Ward-Bergeman returns to Disney Hall following his self-curated GIG 365 project in 2011. The project saw him performing at least one gig on each day of the year. Performances took place at a diverse range of venues in over 35 states and nine countries. Highlights included performances at Gainesville Correctional Facility, Harvard Business School with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, FORTA 11 with Ken Babbs and the Merry Pranksters, and on the streets of New Orleans.

Jamey Haddad, regarded as one of the foremost world music and jazz percussionists in the U.S., is an associate professor at the Berklee School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and has published articles internationally relating to the experiences of the contemporary world musician. Haddad was voted one of the top four world-percussionists by the most largely read percussion periodical, Modern Drummer, in 2007, and has recently begun a collaboration with the Cleveland Orchestra called "Friday's at 7," which combines a short classical program with an after-concert performance by a world-music ensemble chosen by Haddad.

Keita Ogawa, originally from Nagasaki, Japan, began his music career at the age of 15, and today is one of the most versatile and sought-after percussionists and drummers in New York City. He studied with Jamey Haddad while at Berklee College of Music and has performed with some of the biggest names in modern music, including Yo-Yo Ma, Alisa Weilerstein, Benny Green and Jamey Haddad.