Allan Vogel Leads LA Chamber Orch Baroque Conversations Concert

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) five-concert "Baroque Conversations" series showcasing exceptional Baroque music launches its sixth year with a program of Bach and Biber on Thursday, January 26, 7 pm, at Zipper Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Special guest Elissa Johnston, soprano, joins LACO Principal Oboe Allan Vogel, who leads the program in celebration of his 40th anniversary with LACO, Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, Principal Cello Andrew Shulman, Principal Flute David Shostac, Flute and Soprano Janice Tipton and Principal Keyboard Patricia Mabee. The concert opens with Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's Courente from Mystery Sonata No. 12, "The Ascension," and also features pieces by Bach, ranging from Toccata in D minor, BWV 913, and Trio Sonata in G major, BWV 1038, to such arias as "Schafe können sicher weiden" ("Sheep may safely graze") from Cantata No. 208 and "Bist du bei mir" ("If you are with me"), BWV 508, a work lost in the Second World War and rediscovered in the Kiev Conservatory in 2000. In signature LACO style, the artists share their insights into the music from the stage and invite questions from the audience. LACO's "Baroque Conversations" explores the genesis of orchestral repertoire from early Baroque schools through the pre-classical period. A pre-concert reception, beginning at 6 pm, is free to all ticket holders.

Tickets ($50) are on sale now and may be purchased 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.

Hailed by Musical America for "her voice pure and ethereal, her expression embracing and heartfelt," ELISSA JOHNSTON has appeared in a wide range of repertoire. Her orchestral engagements include appearances with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Oregon Bach Festival, San Francisco Contemporary Players, and the Atlanta, Colorado, Fort Worth and Pasadena symphonies. Johnston's performances in the 2010-11 season included Ives songs, Barber's Knoxville, Summer of 1916 and David Lang's Little Matchgirl Passion with Jacaranda Music; Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Handel's Messiah with the Telemann Chamber Orchestra in Tokyo and Osaka; the American premiere of Him Sophy's The Fall of Angkor with Southwest Chamber Music; Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock and Britten's The Poet's Echo with Dilijan Music; Schumann songs with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; and Haydn's Creation with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Other recent highlights include Bach's B minor Mass with Helmuth Rilling, Messiaen's Harawi, LACO Baroque Conversations concerts led by Monica Huggett, music of Couperín with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Society led by Thomas Adès and Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. She has also appeared in Handel's Radamisto with Musica Angelica, Berg's Lyric Suite with the Denali String Quartet and the acclaimed world premiere of Chinary Ung's SPIRAL XII with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. She premiered, and subsequently recorded, Ung's Aura with the Grammy®-award-winning Southwest Chamber Music, and toured with that ensemble in Vietnam and Cambodia. Johnston made her Lincoln Center debut singing Brahms's Liebeslieder Waltzes with the New York City Ballet and has appeared in the New York Philharmonic's Copland Festival and Lincoln Center's Stravinsky Festival. She can also be heard on dozens of film soundtracks.

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.

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO), 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. Under Kahane's leadership, the Orchestra maintains its status as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and a champion of contemporary composers. During its 43-year history, the Orchestra has made 30 recordings, toured Europe, South America and Japan, performed across North America, earning adulation from audiences and critics alike, and garnered seven ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, LACO presents seven Orchestral Series concerts at both Glendale's Alex Theatre and UCLA's Royce Hall, five Baroque Conversations concerts at downtown Los Angeles' Zipper Concert Hall, three Westside Connections chamber music concerts at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, three Family Concerts at the Alex Theatre and an annual Discover concert at Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium. In addition, LACO presents a Concert Gala, an annual Silent Film screening at Royce Hall and several fundraising salons each year. LACO was founded in 1968.

PROGRAM:

BIBER Courente from Mystery Sonata No. 12, "The Ascension"

BACH Toccata in D minor, BWV 913
"Stumme Seufzer, stille Klagen" ("Mute sighs, silent cries"), from Cantata No. 199
"Schafe können sicher weiden" ("Sheep may safely graze"), from Cantata No. 208
"Bist du bei mir" ("If you are with me"), BWV 508,
from Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (formerly attributed to Bach, actually composed by Stölzel)
Trio Sonata in G major, BWV 1038
"Bete aber auch dabei" ("Pray nevertheless also"), from Cantata No. 115
"Echo" Aria from Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, "Flösst, mein Heiland, flösst dein Namen" ("O my
Savior, does your name")
"Mein gläubiges Herze" ("My faithful heart"), from Cantata No. 68
Canons from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079
"Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit" ("Before your Throne I now appear"), BWV 668a

TICKET PRICES:
$50;
Student rush tickets ($10), based on availability, may be purchased at the box office the day of the concert

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets available online at laco.org, by phone 213 622 7001 or by fax 213 626 2157
Tickets also on sale at the theatre box office the night of the concert, if available

PRE-CONCERT RECEPTION
A pre-concert reception, beginning at 6 pm, is free to all ticket holders.