Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Adds Lee Chu and Anne-Marie Spataru to Board of Directors

Lee Chu (Brentwood), an investment analyst, and Anne-Marie Spataru (West L.A.) who enjoyed a 30-year-career in project management with the UCLA Capital Programs Department, have been appointed to three-year terms on the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), one of the nation's leading orchestras, announced Executive Director Scott Harrison. LACO is renowned for its wide-ranging repertoire, adventurous commissioning initiatives and commitment to the Los Angeles community.

“Lee Chu and Anne-Marie Spataru, both arts lovers and experienced strategic thinkers, bring great thoughtfulness, capacity building expertise and creativity to their new roles on the Board of Directors,” says Harrison. “We are honored that they have accepted this leadership role.”

Chu is Vice President and fixed income investment analyst for the Capital Group Companies. She began her career at Capital as a participant in The Associates Program, an international two-year series of assignments in various areas of the organization. Prior to joining Capital, she spent a year in South Korea on a Fulbright Scholarship, awarded by the U.S. Department of State. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with honors from Brown University, graduating magna cum laude. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Chu studied classical music intensively as a child, beginning with piano at age four, violin at age five and flute at age twelve. She played the flute in the Brown Orchestra. Lee and her husband, Jongmin, have a two-year-old daughter.

Spataru retired in June 2013 as Director of Special Projects at UCLA. During her 30-year project management career with the UCLA Capital Programs Department, she performed critical responsibilities in the planning, development and fiscal management of major capital improvement projects on the UCLA campus, including health care, teaching, medical research, student housing and parking and infrastructure, with an overall value in excess of $2 billion. Born and raised in Bordeaux, France, Spataru earned a BA in English and Political Science from the University of Bordeaux and an MBA from the UCLA Graduate School of Management, after which she made Los Angeles her permanent home. She recently served on the Governing Board of the Santa Monica–Westside YWCA, with a final term as Board President from 2014 to 2017, and previously served on the Governing Board of the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars from 2001 to 2011. Spataru also currently serves on the advisory boards for the following UCLA organizations: Women and Philanthropy, Design for Sharing, Friends of English, and CAP-UCLA, LACO’s valued partner that manages Royce Hall. Spataru and her husband, Alex, are long-time supporters and advocates of LACO.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), ranked among the world’s top musical ensembles, marks its 50th anniversary in the 2017-18 season. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, the Orchestra is known as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks as well as 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). LACO, which performs throughout greater Los Angeles, has garnered eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. Jaime Martín, praised as "a visionary conductor, discerning and meticulous" (Platea Magazine), is LACO’s Music Director Designate and takes the podium as Music Director in the 2019-20 season.