LACO's Jeffrey Kahane to Conduct World Premiere of Hannah Lash's THIS EASY, 4/26-27

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) Music Director Jeffrey Kahane conducts the world premiere of This Ease by composer Hannah Lash as well as the LACO debut of Natasha Paremski, proclaimed a "spectacular pianist" (American Record Guide), performing Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, on Saturday, April 26, 8 pm, at Glendale's Alex Theatre, and Sunday, April 27, 2014, 7 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. Also on the program is Haydn's buoyant Symphony No. 102 in B-flat major. USC Thornton School of Music violin performance major Kenneth Liao, winner of the annual LACO-Thornton Strings Mentorship Audition, joins LACO's violin section for these concerts.

Lash, whose work is hailed as "striking" and "handsomely brooding" (The New York Times), says, "This Ease is meant to suggest the feeling of familiarity with what we are hearing, yet invoke the underlying unease that allows for the piece's forward motion and unique fingerprint. The musical material at its most elemental is comprised of major and minor thirds chained and stacked together in various ways, which gradually mutate to highlight different harmonic colors and create the piece's dramatic formal shape."

This Ease is presented as part of the LACO's unique "Sound Investment" commissioning program, initiated 13 years ago to engage audiences in developing new works. The program gives members the rare opportunity to create a legacy in music and to observe first-hand the development of a new work from the composer's earliest ideas to the finished composition. Participants invest $150 or more for a membership, which includes intimate salons throughout the season featuring in-depth discussions with the composer about his or her creative process and previews of the final work.

Paremski, praised for her "beautifully atmospheric interpretations" (The New York Times) is a 26-year-old Russian-born virtuoso who made her Los Angeles Philharmonic debut at age 15. Critics have hailed dynamic performances and flawless technique.

As part of the LACO-Thornton Strings Mentorship Program in a 2013 mock orchestral audition for strings, Thornton School strings undergraduate Kenneth Liao, a violinist, won the opportunity to play alongside LACO veterans at LACO's April concerts. He will perform as part of LACO's first violin section and is being mentored for this opportunity by LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer. The program, a unique collaboration now in its fourth year between USC's Thornton School of Music and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, underscores the importance of preparedness of strings students for professional auditions. Liao competed against violists, cellists, double bass players and fellow violinists before an esteemed panel of judges including LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, LACO Principal Viola Roland Kato and LACO Associate Principal Cello Armen Ksajikian.

Concert Preludes, pre-concert talks held one hour before curtain and free for ticket holders, provide insights into the music and artists with Kahane interviewing Lash about her new piece.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is considered one of the world's premier chamber orchestras as well as a leader in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions. Its 2013-14 season, the Orchestra's 45th, 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 17th season as LACO's music director.

Tickets, starting at $25, are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org, 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 ($10), based on availability, at the box office the day of the concert. Also available for college students is the $25 "Campus to Concert Hall All Access Pass" - good for all seven of LACO's Orchestral series concerts, Discover Beethoven's Eroica and three Westside Connections concerts.

With her consistently dynamic performances, 24-year-old pianist NATASHA PAREMSKI reveals astounding virtuosity and voracious interpretive abilities. Paremski has performed with major orchestras in North America, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco and San Diego symphonies. She also tours extensively in Europe. In the 2010-11 season, she premiered a sonata written for her by Gabriel Kahane, which is also included on her solo album. She has been featured in a major two-part film for BBC Television on the life and work of Tchaikovsky, performing excerpts from Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto and other works.

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. The 2013-14 season marks Kahane's 17th season as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's music director. 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. In addition to his programs and projects with LACO, recent and upcoming engagements include appearances at the Aspen, Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, Blossom, Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Northwest and Oregon Bach festivals; recitals in Salt Lake City, Scottsdale, Carmel and at the Laguna Beach Festival; concerto performances with the Toronto, Indianapolis, Houston, Oregon and Colorado symphonies and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; play/conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco, National, Vancouver, Seattle and New Jersey symphonies; and conducting the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra in Boston and the Juilliard Orchestra at Lincoln Center. Kahane's recent and upcoming European engagements include play/conduct programs with the Camerata Salzburg, Hamburg Symphony and the Real Filharmonía de Galicia in Spain as well as appearances at the Meck-Pomm Chamber Music Festival in Germany.

KENNETH LIAO is an undergraduate violin performance major at the USC Thornton School of Music, studying with Midori Goto, on a full scholarship from the Starling Foundation. A prizewinner at numerous competitions, he made his solo debut with the National Philharmonic Orchestra at The Music Center at Strathmore under the direction of Piotr Gajewski. He subsequently made his Kennedy Center Concert Hall debut playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto, and has also performed with such orchestras as the Landon Symphonette and Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra (MCYO). In the summer of 2013, Liao gave performances of Chausson's Poème and Mozart's Fourth Violin Concerto in the concert hall at the Royal College of Music as a scholarship participant of the prestigious London Masterclasses. The winner of the Thornton Performance and Presentation Award, he also gave a series of solo recitals throughout Southern California. Liao recently won first prize in the Thornton Bach Competition, and third place at the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra National Competition. He is a co-concertmaster for both the Thornton Symphony and Thornton Chamber Orchestra. He served concertmaster of the 2012 National Orchestral Institute, where he was also a featured soloist with the Festival Orchestra. Additionally, Liao attended the New York String Orchestra Seminar on full scholarship and has performed as a member of the Aspen Chamber Symphony and American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, where he was a fellowship recipient for several years.

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 45-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 at Glendale's Alex Theatre and 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 Silent Film screening 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.

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrea Joynt