Jeffrey Kahane to Lead LA Chamber Orchestra in Haydn, Prokofiev & Norman's Gran Turismo, 3/14-15

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), led by Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, presents Prokofiev's virtuosic Violin Concerto No. 2, featuring special guest violinist Joseph Swensen, and Mozart's resplendent Flute Concerto No. 1, highlighting LACO Principal Flute David Shostac, on Saturday, March 14, 2015, 8 pm, at Glendale's Alex Theatre, and Sunday, March 15, 2015, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. Kahane also conducts Haydn's Symphony No. 64 in A major, "Times Change," and LACO Composer-in-Residence Andrew Norman's Gran Turismo for eight solo violins, which the composer describes as a "creative joyride" named for "an addictive car racing video game."

Swensen, a "gripping" violinist (Herald Scotland), is active as both a soloist and conductor. He is also a passionate chamber musician who performs in recital with pianist Jeffrey Kahane as well as in the recently formed KahaneSwensenBrey Trio with cellist Carter Brey, which has appeared at the Ravinia, La Jolla, Chamber Music Northwest, Music@Menlo and Orcas Island festivals, among many others.

"Extraordinary, dazzling, world class" and "a musician of the highest order" are words critics have used to describe Shostac's artistry. This season, the "stalwart of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra" (Orange County Register), is celebrating his 40th anniversary as the Orchestra's Principal Flute.

Concert Preludes, pre-concert talks held one hour before curtain and free for ticket holders, provide insights into the program's music and artists. Following the performance, ticket holders are invited to mingle with LACO musicians at an after-party featuring complimentary appetizers and drinks in the lobby.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is considered one of the world's premier chamber orchestras as well as a pacesetter in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions. Its 2014-15 season, the Orchestra's 46th, features a compelling mix of beloved masterpieces and genre-defying premieres from firmly established as well as notable up-and-coming composers programmed by Jeffrey Kahane, one of the world's foremost conductors and pianists, who marks his 18th season as LACO's music director.

Tickets, starting at $26, are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and groups of 12 or more. College students may purchase student rush tickets ($12), based on availability, at the box office the day of the concert. Also available for college students is the $30 "Campus to Concert Hall All Access Pass" - good for all seven of LACO's Orchestral series concerts, Discover Mozart's Requiem and three Westside Connections concerts.

Equally at home at the keyboard or on the podium, JEFFREY KAHANE has established an international reputation as a truly versatile artist, recognized around the world for his mastery of diverse repertoire ranging from Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to Gershwin, Golijov and John Adams. Now in his 18th season as music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, he previously served as music director of the Colorado and Santa Rosa symphonies. He has garnered tremendous critical acclaim for his innovative programming and commitment to education and community involvement and received multiple ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming for his work in both Los Angeles and Denver.

DAVID SHOSTAC was appointed principal flute of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in 1975. 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 Hol¬lywood Bowl and has taken part in the Ojai, Mostly Mozart, Aspen and Oregon Bach festivals, and has appeared with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has worked with such prominent conductors as Eugene Ormandy, Zubin Mehta, Leopold Stokowski, Seiji Ozawa, Karl Richter, Helmuth Rilling and Christopher Hogwood, among others. His solo recording, Chamber Music Classics for Flute, features the Grammy-winning Angeles String Quartet and Pacific Trio. Shostoc is active in the motion picture recording industry and can be heard on hundreds of motion picture soundtracks, among them Despicable Me, Avatar, Life of Pi, Godzilla and The Karate Kid. An alumnus of The Juilliard School and Tanglewood, he is the recipient of two Rockefeller performance grants. He is a faculty member of CSU Northridge and has also taught at USC, UCLA, California Institute of the Arts, the Aspen Music School and the Idyllwild Arts Academy.

Acclaimed violinist and conductor JOSEPH SWENSEN was born in Hoboken, New Jersey and raised in Harlem by a Japanese-American mother and Norwegian-American father, both of whom are musicians. He attended Juilliard as a student of the renowned pedagogue Dorothy Delay and studied chamber music with Robert Mann, Leonard Rose and Felix Galimir. His composition teachers include David Diamond and Vincent Persechetti, and he also studied privately with renowned violinist Isaac Stern over a ten-year period. A passionate chamber musician, Swensen performs in recital with pianist Jeffrey Kahane and with his newly formed trio also featuring Kahane and cellist Carter Brey, which has appeared at the Ravinia, La Jolla, Chamber Music Northwest, Music@Menlo and Orcas Island festivals. A conductor as well, he is principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, which has toured extensively in the US, UK, Europe and the Far East, appearing at such prestigious events as Mostly Mozart, Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals, the BBC Proms, the Barbican and the Concertgebouw. Swensen is featured as violin soloist and conductor on a highly-regarded series of CDs for Linn Records that he recorded with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He is a Visiting Professor of Violin at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO), proclaimed "America's finest chamber orchestra" by Public Radio International and "resplendent" by the Los Angeles Times, 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," "effortless musicality and extraordinary communicative gifts." Under Kahane's leadership, the Orchestra maintains its status as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and a champion of contemporary composers. During its 46-year history, the Orchestra has made 31 recordings, toured Europe, South America and Japan, performed across North America and garnered eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, LACO presents its Orchestral Series on Saturdays at Glendale's Alex Theatre and on Sundays at UCLA's Royce Hall; Baroque Conversations at downtown Los Angeles' Zipper Concert Hall; Westside Connections chamber music series, designed to illustrate the relationship between music and other artistic disciplines, at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica; and an annual Discover concert, which features an in-depth examination that sheds new light on a single piece of music, at Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium. LACO also presents a Concert Gala, an annual film event, featuring the Orchestra performing the score live, and several fundraising salons each year. Additionally, LACO 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, nurturing future musicians and composers as well as inspiring a love of classical music.