Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is a 40-member American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1968 as an artistic outlet for the local film and record studios' most gifted musicians.
The orchestra's music director is the conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, who has led the group since 1997. Previous conductors include Sir Neville Marriner, Gerard Schwarz, Iona Brown, and Christof Perick. Its current Composer-in-Residence is Uri Caine. Many of the orchestra's musicians are also employed by local recording and film studios.
The LACO presents 15 concerts annually at two theaters: the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. Its repertoire ranges from the Baroque to newly commissioned works (the latter of which it presents through its patron commissioning club, Sound Investment). In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth (27 January 2006), the orchestra will perform all 23 of Mozart's piano concertos over the period of 15 months, something no other U.S. orchestra has ever attempted. Kahane will conduct all 23 from the keyboard, as was the practice during Mozart's time.
In April 2002, the orchestra made its Carnegie Hall debut, and in June 2005 the orchestra received the First Place Award for Programming of Contemporary Music, offered by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and the American Symphony Orchestra League.
The orchestra also performs for local elementary school students through its Meet the Music and Neighborhood Concerts programs.
According to its website, the mission of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is "to preserve and advance a living tradition of orchestral music through artistically excellent performances that energize and enrich the lives of players and listeners alike. We celebrate the personal connection among our musicians, audiences and community, as shaped by the intimacy of our unique chamber orchestra experience."[1]
The music critic Jim Svejda praised the LACO as "America's finest chamber orchestra."[2]
