Los Angelos Chamber Orchestra Presents Current Heartbeat

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

PRESENTS CURRENT: HEARTBEAT,

AN EVENING OF NEW CLASSICAL MUSIC
CURATED BY SHELLEY WASHINGTON,
FEATURING INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTISTS
IN AN INTIMATE AND RELAXED SETTING DURING L.A. PRIDE

(Los Angeles, CA, May 26, 2022) Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) caps its season with Current: Heartbeat curated by noted interdisciplinary composer Shelley Washington (she/her) and featuring a range of compelling new classical music in an intimate and relaxed setting during L.A. Pride, taking place Saturday, June 11, 2022, 8 pm, at Boomtown Brewery in Downtown Los Angeles. Featuring Experience Design by Boss Witch Productions and Projection Design by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh, the program features a coterie of leading-edge composers and production artists, and includes six dynamic and introspective works by five living composers. It is open to adults 21 years and older; all advanced ticket purchases include a drink ticket.

“The event was specifically set on June 11 to coincide with pride and is designed to complement the larger pride celebration,” says Washington. “It's queer-friendly; the cohort of participating composers and production artists is strongly aligned with the queer community. The artwork being presented is at the intersection of gender and identity.” 

Washington, who regularly incorporates poetry into her work, contributes a multi-movement piece, Uniforms, that explores the ways in which clothes can shape our perceptions of ourselves and others.

Also showcased are two pieces by Aeryn Santillan (she/her/they), a composer, guitarist and bassist whose music is heavily influenced by the DIY punk scene: Reconnect for string quartet, electric guitar and drum machine, and Makeshift Memorials, a string quartet dedicated to the victims of mass shootings and their surviving loved ones.

Sugar Vendil (she/her), a composer, pianist, choreographer and interdisciplinary artist whose work ooh wo aa oo wa o,scored for a vocalizing ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, is being presented as well, does double duty as the pianist for the program. She began her artistic life as a classical pianist, and after spending nearly a decade searching for her own voice, her practice evolved into writing her own music and making performances that integrate sound, movement, and unconventional approaches to the piano.

Additionally, LACO performs the first movement of Darian Donovan Thomas’ (they/them) Fluid Suite, a violin suite in three movements orchestrated for violin and electronics that the composer describes as a meditation “on the idea of a body of water interacting with vastly different civilizations over millennia.” The multi-instrumentalist and interdisciplinary artist is noted for combining genres and mediums in unexpected ways.

The other piece on the program is Susanna Hancock’s (she/her) platforms, inspired by the late evenings she has spent on New York City subway platforms. She says, “I could never escape the anxiousness of being on a platform where nearly nothing was happening; when there was no train coming or going, not another person in sight, and nothing to give me any tangible perception of time. (The work’s) tension is not derived from any sort of overstimulation, but rather not enough.”

The concert begins with a roundtable discussion featuring the composers, collaborators, and guest artists in conversation about representation and authenticity in classical music. Washington, Vendil, Hancock, and Carmina Escobar and Madeline Falcone from Boss Witch Productions, appear in person, with pre-recorded comments by Santillan and Thomas.

LACO recognizes the generous support of the Colburn Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. Steinway is the official piano of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. The Orchestra also receives public funding via grants from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. LACO gratefully acknowledges Hogan Lovells US LLP for generous pro bono support.

General admission tickets are $35 and may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001 x1. All advance purchases include a free drink ticket. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and for students.

PROGRAM:

SHELLEY WASHINGTON    Uniforms

AERYN SANTILLAN     Reconnect

AERYN SANTILLAN     Makeshift Memorials

SUSANNA HANCOCK     Platforms

SUGAR VENDIL     ooh wo aa oo wa o

DARIAN DONOVAN THOMAS     Fluid Suite (first movement)

COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS
LACO is committed to the health and safety of its patrons, artists and staff and will require proof of full vaccination for everyone attending in-person LACO events. Under current Los Angeles County guidelines, masks are optional but audience members are encouraged to wear face masks while inside the venue. LACO will continue to exceed state and local guidelines, recommendations and requirements for indoor activities. For the most current information on LACO’s COVID safety protocols, visit LACO.org/covid-19. LACO’s vaccine requirement for all eligible audience members includes a COVID-19 booster obtained no later than the date of performance. Eligibility for the COVID-19 booster is as follows: for all Moderna recipients and Pfizer recipients ages 12 , boosters are eligible five months after their second vaccine dose. Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients are eligible for a booster dose two months after their initial vaccine.

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO) ranks among the world’s top musical ensembles. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, the Orchestra is 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 has been proclaimed “America’s finest chamber orchestra” (Public Radio International), “LA’s most unintimidating chamber music experience” (Los Angeles magazine), “resplendent” (Los Angeles Times), and “one of the world's great chamber orchestras"(KUSC Classical FM). Performing throughout greater Los Angeles, 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). In 2020, due to the global pandemic, LACO pivoted from presenting live performances to producing the groundbreaking CLOSE QUARTERS interdisciplinary digital series melding musical and visual arts, which has garnered more than 1.8 million views across social media platforms since its debut in November 2020. The “digitally native” programs, created specifically for streaming and applauded as “musically and artistically compelling” (Los Angeles Times) have “redefined how classical music can be presented in the 21st century (Cultural Attaché). LACO, with offices located in downtown Los Angeles, has toured Europe, South America and Japan, and performed across North America. www.laco.org.