Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) enlightening five-concert "Baroque Conversations" series showcasing exceptional Baroque music, which this season explores the legacy of JS Bach and his sons, launches its seventh year with a program of four Bach sonatas on Thursday, January 17, 2013, 7 pm, at Zipper Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.
LACO's Principal Oboe Allan Vogel hosts the concert and is joined by Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, Principal Flute David Shostac, Associate Principal Cello Armen Ksajikian, Principal Keyboard Patricia Mabee, Flute Sandy Hughes, PrincipAl Viola Roland Kato and Principal Bassoon Kenneth Munday. The program spotlights works by Johann Sebastian Bach, master of the High Baroque style, including Trio Sonata in C major for Oboe and Violin (orig. for Two Violins), BWV 1037, not published until more than a decade after the composer's death; the stunning Trio Sonata in G major for Two Flutes, BWV 1039; Trio Sonata in C minor for Flute and Violin from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079, considered among his most challenging and elaborate in the genre; and Trio Sonata in C major for Oboe and Viola (orig. Organ Sonata), BWV 529, brilliantly contrasting the different "voices" of the instruments. During the evening, LACO artists share their insights into the music and invite questions from the audience. A complimentary wine reception for all ticket holders begins at 6 pm.
Four additional concerts in the Baroque Conversations series take place on Thursday, February 14, Thursday, March 21, Thurday, April 11 and Thursday, May 9, 2013.
Subscriptions to all five concerts ($235) are available by calling LACO at 213 622 7001. Tickets for individual concerts ($55) are available online at
laco.org, by calling LACO at
213 622 7001, 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.
Proclaimed as "an aristocrat of his instrument" (Los Angeles Times) and "undoubtedly one of a few world masters" (San Diego Union), ALLAN VOGEL is one of America's leading wind soloists and chamber musicians. He joined the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in 1972 and became principal oboe in 1974. Vogel has been guest principal oboe with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for concerts in the major European capitals,
Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and Boston Symphony Hall. He has also performed with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Berlin and Los Angeles philharmonic orchestras. He also performed at the White House during the last state dinner of the Clinton presidency. His discography includes a solo recording on the Delos label, Oboe Obsession (virtuoso romantic works), which has been called "the single finest disc of oboe music ever recorded" (American Record Guide). In 2003, he recorded the Bach Concerto for Oboe and Violin with Hilary Hahn and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under music director Jeffrey Kahane. Renowned for his performances of the Baroque literature, Vogel serves on the advisory board of the American Bach Society and is a member of Bach's Circle Baroque Ensemble. He is on the faculty of California Institute of the Arts, University of Southern California and Colburn Conservatory of Music. He graduated from Harvard with a BA in literature, won a Fulbright Grant to study in Germany and received a DMA from Yale.
MARGARET BATJER has served as concertmaster of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 1998. Throughout her successful career as soloist, chamber musician, teacher and concertmaster, she has established herself as a versatile and respected artist worldwide. Batjer made her first solo appearance at the age of 15 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). She has since returned to the CSO and soloed with a succession of major orchestras, including Philadelphia Orchestra and the St. Louis, Seattle and Dallas symphony orchestras. Batjer has performed with such European ensembles as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Prague Chamber Orchestra and Berlin Symphony Orchestra. As an esteemed chamber musician, she appears regularly at the Marlboro Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Salzburg Festival, and Italy's Naples and Cremona festivals. In 2008, she developed LACO's acclaimed chamber music series, Westside Connections. Among Batjer's most noteworthy recordings are two of the Bach Concerto for Two Violins - with Salvatore Accardo and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe for the Philips label, and paired with Hilary Hahn for Deutsche Grammophon in 2003 with Jeffrey Kahane conducting the LA Chamber Orchestra. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Ivan Galamian and David Cerone. She joined the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music in 2005.
Cellist ARMEN KSAJIKIAN, who joined LACO in 1998, has performed as principal and soloist with the Los Angeles and Opus chamber orchestras and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He toured New York and Europe with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Japan and Brazil with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and has appeared at the Colorado, Banff, Venice Film and Oregon Bach music festivals. In 2003, he performed Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional de Brasília at the Rio International Cello Encounter. As a scoring musician, Ksajikian has over 900 motion picture soundtracks to his credit and first performed in the Academy Awards orchestra in 2004. He is a member of the adventurous Armadillo String Quartet, voted Best String Quartet in 2004 by Los Angeles magazine, and the California String Quartet. In addition to performing in master classes with Jascha Heifetz, Ksajikian has worked with such notables as
John Cage,
John Adams,
John Williams,
Chick Corea,
Randy Newman, Counting Crows, Incubus and System of a Down.
DAVID SHOSTAC was appointed principal flute of LACO in 1975. An alumnus of The Juilliard School and Tanglewood and recipient of two Rockefeller performance grants, he has also served as principal flute of the St. Louis, Milwaukee and New Orleans symphony orchestras. Shostac has performed as a solo and orchestral player at the Hollywood Bowl and has taken part in the Ojai, Mostly Mozart, Aspen and Oregon Bach festivals. He has appeared with the American Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductors he has worked with include
Eugene Ormandy, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa and Helmuth Rilling. Shostac is active in the recording industry and can be heard on hundreds of motion picture soundtracks. He is a faculty member of California State University at Northridge.
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.
Internationally acclaimed viola recitalist and soloist ROLAND KATO joined LACO in 1978 and was appointed princip
Al Viola 1987. He has also held principal positions with LA Opera and the Pasadena Symphony. Kato performs with the Santa Clarita Chamber Players and has performed with Pacific Serenades and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and joined
Yo-Yo Ma in a chamber music concert benefiting cancer research. Kato journeyed twice to Europe for performances under the sponsorship of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and has performed in Paris and Berlin to benefit orphans of the war in Bosnia. His festival appearances include the Oregon Bach and Carmel Bach festivals; the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego; Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon; and internationally, at the Festival Casals in Puerto Rico; Festival Internacional de Música in Costa Rica and the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Bonefro, Italy. Kato produced the first-ever recording of Telemann's Quatrième livre de quatuors, which was nominated for a GRAMMY and recently re-released. His recording of Mark Carlson's Hall of Mirrors was awarded the Chamber Music America/WQXR Record Award in 2001
Appointed to the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in 1976, KENNETH MUNDAY serves as principal bassoon and has toured with the Orchestra throughout the world. He has collaborated as a soloist with all five LACO music directors and gave the world premiere of John Steinmetz's Bassoon Concerto. Munday has worked as principal bassoon for many composers including
Danny Elfman,
John Williams, and
Hans Zimmer, appearing on hundreds of film scores. Munday recorded
Richard Strauss's Duet Concertino with David Shifrin (Nonesuch Records), received international recogni¬tion for his performance of Luciano Berio's Sequenza XII (Naxos) and was principal bassoon on the Grammy-winning recording of Penderecki's Credo with the Oregon Bach Festival con¬ducted by Helmuth Rilling. He founded the Strawberry Creek Music Festival and has participated in the Marlboro Music and Mostly Mozart festivals. A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, he has served on the faculties of California State University Northridge and Fullerton, San Diego State University, UCLA and the University of Redlands.
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 acclaimed conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, hailed by critics as "visionary" and "a conductor of uncommon intellect, insight and musical integrity." 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 and garnered seven ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. LACO presents its Orchestral Series at both the Alex Theatre and Royce Hall, Baroque Conversations at Zipper Hall, Westside Connections chamber music series at The Broad Stage, and an annual Discover concert at Ambassador Auditorium. LACO also presents a Concert Gala, an annual Silent Film screening and several fundraising salons each year. Additionally, LACO's outreach programs Meet the Music, Community Partners, Campus to Concert Hall and the LACO/USC Thornton Strings Mentorship Program reach thousands of young people annually.
