Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Presents Dimensions: Hadelich Mendelssohn

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) launches its 2023/24 Orchestral Series with Music Director Jaime Martín conducting the highly anticipated West Coast premiere of Dai Wei’s poignant Invisible Portals, a co-commission by LACO and the American Composer’s Orchestra, on Saturday, October 21, 2023, 8 pm, at Glendale’s Alex Theatre, and Sunday, October 22, 2023, 7 pm, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. The Chinese-born composer filters musical traditions through her experimental lens, inspired by her recent collaborations with local performers and musicians in Tibet and Yunnan province. Wei says of Invisible Portals, “The work involves musical elements such as throat singing, traditional ethnic dance music, contemporary resonance, and the propulsive rhythms of pop music. I want to create a multicultural and multidimensional conversation that goes beyond time and space, which ultimately takes me to the sanctuary I carry inside.”

The program continues with Grammy-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich, whose performances reveal “something from a plane beyond ours” (The Washington Post), playing Mendelssohn’s transportive Violin Concerto in E minor, and concludes with Mozart’s eternal Symphony No. 41 in C major, “Jupiter.”  

Hadelich, one of the great violinists of our time, is known for his phenomenal technique, insightful and persuasive interpretations and ravishing tone. He tours extensively around the world and has performed with all the major American orchestras as well as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre National de France, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, and many others. The German-born violinist, now an American and German citizen, won the 2016 GRAMMY Award for “Best Classical Instrumental Solo.” He studied with Joel Smirnoff at New York’s Juilliard School and made a significant career leap in 2006 when he won the International Violin Competition in Indianapolis. Other distinctions include an Avery Fisher Career Grant (2009); a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in the UK (2011); an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter in the UK (2017); and being voted “Instrumentalist of the Year” by the influential magazine Musical America (2018). Hadelich is on the violin faculty of the Yale School of Music at Yale University. He plays violin from 1744 by Giuseppe Guarneri del Ges., known as “Leduc, ex Szeryng”, on loan from the Tarisio Trust.

The featured performance of Augustin Hadelich is made possible, in part, with the generous support from Terri Jerry Kohl.  Hadelich Mendelssohn is made possible, in part, with the generous support from Dr. Diane Henderson. 

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

The Alex Theatre is located at 216 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91203. Royce Hall is located at 340 Royce Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095. For tickets ($32 - $142) and information, please visit www.laco.org or call 213 221 3920.

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). LACO, with offices located in downtown Los Angeles, has toured Europe, South America and Japan, and performed across North America. www.laco.org. 

JAIME MARTÍN assumed his LACO post and also became Chief Conductor of Ireland’s RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in September 2019. In LACO concert reviews, the Los Angeles Times has hailed Martín’s “infectious music making,” noting “the musicians seem to be having a blast. The audience is invited to the party.” 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.” He has been Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Gävle Symphony Orchestra since 2013 and is the Artistic Advisor of the Santander Festival.  He was also a founding member of the Orquestra de Cadaqués, where he was Chief Conductor from 2012 to 2019. Having spent many years as a highly regarded flautist, Martín turned to conducting full-time in 2013, and very quickly became sought after at the highest level.  Recent engagements include appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony and Gulbenkian orchestras, as well as a nine-city European tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Martín has recorded a series of highly acclaimed Brahms discs for Ondine Records with the Gävle Symphony and various discs with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra for Tritó Records. He has also commissioned multiple world and regional premieres of works by composers, including Ellen Reid, Andrew Norman, Missy Mazzoli, Derrick Skye, Albert Schnelzer and Juan Pablo Contreras. As a flautist, Martín was principal flute of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English National Opera, Academy of St Martin in the Fields and London Philharmonic Orchestra. Jaime Martín is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music, London, where he was a flute professor.