Handel's Water Music Launches LA Chamber Orchestra's 3-Program Baroque Conversations Series

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, one of the nation's premier music ensembles and a leader in presenting wide-ranging repertoire, offers three Baroque Conversations programs curated and led by LACO artists during the 2019-20 season, each with back-to-back performances on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm. LACO Music Director Jaime Martín conducts Handel's spirited Water Music, as well as works by Telemann and R. Strauss on November 21 and 22, 2019; Principal Trumpet David Washburn and Principal Horn Michael Thornton co-lead an all-brass program, including works by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and Purcell on January 16 and 17, 2020; and Principal Keyboard Patricia Mabee, featured on harpsichord, leads a diverse range of work for harpsichord, theorbo and baroque guitar by a range of contemporary and Baroque-era Hispanic and Latin American composers on a program entitled "Border Crossings," on March 12 and 13, 2020. The enlightening Baroque Conversations series provides insight into the genesis of orchestral repertoire from early Baroque schools through the pre-Classical period and is generously sponsored by Carol & Warner Henry.

Handel's Water Music Nov. 21/22, 2019

Baroque Conversations opens with LACO's new Music Director Jaime Martín conducting Handel's spirited Water Music, composed in 1717 for England's King George I to help bolster his royal stature, on Thursday, November 21, 7:30 pm, at First Presbyterian of Santa Monica, and Friday, November 22, 2019, 7:30 pm, at The Huntington in San Marino. The program, featuring Principal Clarinet Joshua Ranz and Principal Bassoon Kenneth Munday, also includes R. Strauss's charming Duet-Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon, featuring "a gentle-spirited conversation and interplay between clarinet and bassoon" (Herald-Tribune), and selections from Telemann's Overture in F major, a suite of dances.

Baroque Brass III January 16/17, 2020

Baroque Brass III spotlights Principal Trumpet David Washburn and Principal Horn Michael Thornton co-leading an all-brass program, including Bach's Fugue in B minor, Vivaldi's Concerto in F major and Purcell's "Sound the Trumpet" from Come ye Sons of Art, on Thursday, January 16, 7:30 pm, at First Presbyterian of Santa Monica, and Friday, January 17, 2020, 7:30 pm, at The Huntington in San Marino. Also featured are Handel's Eternal Souce of Light Divine, "Va tacito" from Julius Caesar, Molter's Symphony in C major, A. Gabrieli's Ricercar del duodecimo tuono, and A. Scarlatti's Mio tesoro per te moro. Washburn and Thornton are joined by special guest Elissa Johnston, soprano, and LACO Trumpet Erick Jovel, Horn Kristy McArthur Morrell and Principal Keyboard Patricia Mabee.

Border Crossings March 12/13, 2020

LACO's Baroque Conversations series concludes with "Border Crossings," led by Mabee, featuring works for harpsichord, theorbo and baroque guitar by a range of contemporary and Baroque-era Hispanic and Latin American composers on Thursday, March 12, 2020, 7:30 pm, at Santa Monica's First Presbyterian, and Friday, March 13, 2020, 7:30 pm, at San Marino's The Huntington. Performing with Mabee are special guest Jason Yoshida on theorbo and Baroque guitar, LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, Principal Flute Joachim Becerra Thomsen, Principal Violin II Josefina Vergara, Principal Cello Andrew Shulman and Principal Percussion Wade Culbreath. Program highlights include Mexican composer Enrique González-Medina's Concierto barroco, composed in 2002 for flute, violin, cello and harpsichord and inspired by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier's novella "Baroque Concerto" about a fictional meeting between Scarlatti, Handel and Vivaldi. Also featured are Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos' Assobio a Jato (The Jet Whistle), a colorful fantasy piece for flute and cello written in 1950; and several works by Baroque-era Spanish composers, among them de Murcia's Gaitas and Danzas, both considered Baroque guitar gems; Sonata A Solo Flauta e Basson by Misón; Canarios-Jacaras by Sanz, an influential guitarist and composer whose works are among the most popular in the Spanish Baroque guitar canon; and Sonata IV by Josep Pla, the youngest brother in a noted Catalan family of baroque composers. Completing the program are two anonymous works, Sonata Chiquitana IV and Pastoreta Ychepe Flauta.

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO), ranked among the world's top musical ensembles, marks an exciting new era in Southern California as it welcomes Jaime Martín in his debut year as Music Director. Martín builds upon LACO's rich legacy as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and, with eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, a champion of contemporary composers. Headquartered in the heart of the country's cultural capital, LACO is "more important with each passing year," (Los Angeles Times), "America's finest chamber orchestra" (Public Radio International) and "one of the world's great chamber orchestras" (KUSC Classical FM). Martín's appearance as LACO's Music Director Designate in early 2019 was described by the Los Angeles Times, as "a thrilling performance, and the orchestra played like it was having the time of its life," adding, "he will make fans very quickly." Overseas, he has been praised as "a visionary conductor, discerning and meticulous" (Platea Magazine), and London's The Telegraph said, "his infectious enjoyment of the music communicated to the orchestra and audience alike." The Orchestra has made 32 recordings, including, most recently, a 2019 BIS Records release of works for violin and chamber orchestra that features Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and the world premiere recording of Pierre Jalbert's Violin Concerto (a LACO co-commission). LACO, with offices located in downtown Los Angeles, has toured Europe, South America and Japan, and performed across North America.

Steinway is the official piano of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Tickets start at $52 and may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001 x1. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for groups of 12 or more. Students with valid student ID may purchase discounted tickets ($8), based on availability.