Paul Chihara News

Soka Performing Arts Center presents the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) with world-renowned pianist Olga Kern on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, at 8 PM. Founded in 1981, the RSNO is Scotland's national symphonic ensemble and one of the country's five National Performing Companies. The orchestra will perform the US premiere of Paul Chihara's A Matter of Honor, inspired by the words and actions leading up to the forced relocation of Japanese-American citizens during WWII; Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; and Prokofiev - Symphony No. 5.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents concerts with violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill, its artist in residence.  On Sunday, March 3, O'Neill performs a program of British composers -- Britten, Bowen, Bridge, Carter and Clarke with pianist Steven Lin; he closes on Sunday, May 26 with a program called L.A. Masters with works by Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Brahms with Jennifer Frautschi (violin), Jesse Mills (violin), Fred Sherry (cello), and Orion Weiss (piano).

En el marco del programa Noche de Museos y después de presentarse en el Anfiteatro Simón Bolívar del Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso con una gran respuesta por parte del público, Solistas Ensamble de Bellas Artes, dirigido por Christian Gohmer, ofrecerá un concierto en el Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola, Vizcaínas, el miércoles 30 de enero a las 19:00 horas

Solistas Ensamble del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL), agrupación fundada en 1984 por el maestro Rufino Montero, inició su temporada 2019 el día de ayer en el Anfiteatro Simón Bolívar, y lo hizo frente a un público atento que ansiaba escuchar las melodías.

Distinguidos tanto por sus interpretaciones de música antigua como contemporánea, la agrupación Solistas Ensamble del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL), bajo la dirección de Christian Gohmer, arrancará su primera temporada 2019.

Four Corners Ensemble is proud to share three upcoming concerts this month in New York City.

Four Corners Ensemble presents four dynamic mini-concertos from its 'World Map Concerti Series.' Composed by award-winning composer Shying Li, 'World Map Concerti' is a multi-cultural and multi-national collection with virtuosic soloists and a soloist-level 'orchestra'. These concertos focus on each soloist's unique geographical, cultural and personal identities.

On Saturday, November 10, 2018 at 7:00pm, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra presents Stars Aligned, an exploration of classical works by composers who revolutionized America's collective imagination and cultural heritage through film scoring, at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. Stars Aligned features works by composers with deep cinematic roots - Nino Rota, Miklos Rozsa, and Franz Waxman.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), in collaboration with Four Larks, presents SESSION, an innovative performance experience curated by composer and LACO Artist Educator Derrick Spiva Jr and designed to explore classical music's cutting-edge sounds and challenge traditional concert-going expectations, on Thursday, October 4, 2018, 8 pm (doors open at 7:30 pm), at Hauser & Wirth in Downtown LA's Arts District. The evening of music, linked by sonic metaphors, composed by an array of national and international composers, and performed by LACO musicians and others, also offers a 'hang' with the artists and a drink ticket for ticketholders, plus food available for purchase.

Derrick Spiva Jr, an esteemed music educator and composer noted for his music influences that reflect Southern California's multicultural fabric, has been named Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) first Artist Educator, it was announced by LACO Executive Director Scott Harrison. Spiva, previously associated with the Orchestra as 2015-16 Composer In Residence, brings enhanced creative vigor to LACO's educational and music programs. The three-year appointment, beginning in this season, runs through the 2020-21 season.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents three concerts with violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill, its artist in residence.  O'Neill will lead three programs - on Saturday September 8, he performs Schubert and Beethoven in a program title Homage with the Ehnes Quartet; on Sunday, March 3 he performs a program of British composers -- Britten, Bowen, Bridge, Carter and Clarke with pianist Steven Lin; and he closes with a program called L.A. Masters with works by Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Brahms with Jennifer Frautschi (violin), Jesse Mills (violin), Fred Sherry (cello), and Orion Weiss (piano).

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) 50th Anniversary season concludes with guest conductor Grant Gershon leading the world premiere of Derrick Spiva Jr.'s From Here A Path, the second part of a trilogy for chamber orchestra, and Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, featuring noted cellist and classical music innovator Joshua Roman, today, May 19, 8 pm, at Glendale's Alex Theatre, and Sunday, May 20, 2018, 7 pm, at Royce Hall.  In addition, Concertmaster Margaret Batjer leads from the first chair both Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in D Minor, the first work ever performed when LACO launched 50 years ago, and Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E-Flat Major, which wraps the Orchestra's exploration this season of the composer's final three symphonies.  Spiva, describing his work, says, "From Here A Path draws inspiration from Husago, a West African piece from Ghana's Ewe people that includes drumming, dancing and singing, kaval flute playing from Eastern Europe and elements of Hindustani classical music.  The title references the momentum and resistance one gathers to reach a point."

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) 50th Anniversary season concludes with guest conductor Grant Gershon leading the world premiere of Derrick Spiva Jr.'s From Here A Path, the second part of a trilogy for chamber orchestra, and Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, featuring noted cellist and classical music innovator Joshua Roman, on Saturday, May 19, 8 pm, at Glendale's Alex Theatre, and Sunday, May 20, 2018, 7 pm, at Royce Hall.  In addition, Concertmaster Margaret Batjer leads from the first chair both Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in D Minor, the first work ever performed when LACO launched 50 years ago, and Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E-Flat Major, which wraps the Orchestra's exploration this season of the composer's final three symphonies.  Spiva, describing his work, says, "From Here A Path draws inspiration from Husago, a West African piece from Ghana's Ewe people that includes drumming, dancing and singing, kaval flute playing from Eastern Europe and elements of Hindustani classical music.  The title references the momentum and resistance one gathers to reach a point."

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) 50th Anniversary season concludes with guest conductor Sameer Patel leading the world premiere of Derrick Spiva Jr.'s From Here A Path, the second part of a trilogy for chamber orchestra, and Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, featuring noted cellist and classical music innovator Joshua Roman, on Saturday, May 19, 8 pm, at Glendale's Alex Theatre, and Sunday, May 20, 2018, 7 pm, at Royce Hall.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and violinist Lisa Batiasvhili presented a concert of Schubert and Prokofiev riches on March 24,2018.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra presents The Courage to Create on Saturday, March 24, 2018 at 7pm in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, featuring internationally-acclaimed Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili in her Orpheus debut. Batiashvili is highlighted in Prokofiev's elegant Second Violin Concerto, a work steeped in the crosscurrents between Russia and the West. The evening also includes the Entr'acte No. 1 to Schubert's Rosamunde, Prokofiev's Schubert Waltzes Suite arranged by Paul Chihara, and Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B Minor “Unfinished.”

The Colburn Orchestra makes its triumphant return to the Broad Stage on Thursday, March 1, for a program of classical greats: Rossini, Nielsen and Beethoven. Founded in 2003, the Colburn Orchestra is the flagship ensemble of the Colburn Conservatory of Music.

Now in its 46th year of innovative concerts in New York, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra today announces programming for its 2018-19 season, driven by the concept of Now Hear This, canonical repertoire reimagined in the context of here and now. Orpheus reimagines the past, present, and future of the chamber orchestra with three concerts presented in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall and two concerts presented by the 92nd Street Y. Orpheus is joined this season by an illustrious group of international soloists including pianists Nobuyuki Tsujii and Javier Perianes and the Avi Avital and Ksenija Sidorova Duo at Carnegie Hall, as well as cellist Steven Isserlis and harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani at 92nd Street Y. As part of Orpheus' ongoing American Notes commissioning initiative, two new pieces Benjamin Wallfisch's Concerto for Mandolin and Accordion and a work by James Matheson receive their world premieres next season.

Now in its 46th year of innovative concerts in New York, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra today announces programming for its 2018-19 season, driven by the concept of Now Hear This, canonical repertoire reimagined in the context of here and now. Orpheus reimagines the past, present, and future of the chamber orchestra with three concerts presented in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall and two concerts presented by the 92nd Street Y. Orpheus is joined this season by an illustrious group of international soloists including pianists Nobuyuki Tsujii and Javier Perianes and the Avi Avital and Ksenija Sidorova Duo at Carnegie Hall, as well as cellist Steven Isserlis and harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani at 92nd Street Y. As part of Orpheus' ongoing American Notes commissioning initiative, two new pieces Benjamin Wallfisch's Concerto for Mandolin and Accordion and a work by James Matheson receive their world premieres next season.

One of Russia's most formidable pianists, Alexander Romanovsky, makes his Pacific Symphony debut in a thrilling performance of Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto, one of the most technically demanding piano concertos in the repertoire. Declared the latest pianist to be hailed as the true heir to the great Russian tradition by The Guardian, Romanovsky, according to Gramophone, can produce the thunderous sound and sharp-edged, ringing bass that sends a tingle down the spine. Rounding out the program is Brahms' Third Symphony, its tranquil beauty contrasting with Prokofiev's tour de force, plus, a newer, uplifting work makes its West Coast premiere Wild Wood, by living composer Paul Chihara.