Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Lauded Close Quarters Digital Series Features Beethoven’s “Serioso” (Arr. Mahler) Led by Concertmaster Margaret Batjer

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra CLOSE QUARTERS interdisciplinary digital series melding musical and visual arts continues with Concertmaster Margaret Batjer leading a performance of Beethoven’s “Serioso” String Quartet in F minor, arranged for string ensemble by Mahler. CLOSE QUARTERS cinematographer Michael Elias Thomas films the orchestra with direction by LACO Creative Director of Digital Content James Darrah and audio production by Robert Wolff. Thanks to the generosity of individual donors, the new episode is available to the public at no cost and can be streamed on demand following its premiere on Friday, April 9, 2021, at 6:30 pm (PT), at https://www.laco.org/close-quarters/, LACO’s YouTube and Facebook live channels. A digital pre-concert conversation begins at 5:30 pm (PT).

“This episode is bursting at the seams with the brilliance of Beethoven,” says LACO Executive Director Ben Cadwallader. “Margaret Batjer’s extensive experience as a chamber musician shines through as she leads her LACO colleagues in a taut, fiery interpretation of Mahler’s elegant transcription of Beethoven’s masterpiece.”

Batjer, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 1998, has soloed with such major orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the St. Louis, Seattle and Dallas symphony orchestras, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Prague Chamber Orchestra and Berlin Symphony Orchestra.  She appears regularly at the Marlboro Music Festival, La Jolla Summer­fest, Salzburg Festival, and Italy’s Naples and Cremona festivals.

CLOSE QUARTERS’ “digitally native” programs, created specifically for streaming and hailed as “musically and artistically compelling” (Los Angeles Times), have drawn more than one million views to date since debuting in November 2020. Between 30 and 40 minutes in length, they are safely filmed at The Colburn School’s Olive Rehearsal Hall. Additionally, Darrah has established a creative hub for developing artistic media content with L.A.-based artists and filmmakers at a first-of-its-kind LACO digital studio at Wilhardt & Naud: a film studio and multidisciplinary arts campus located in Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles. The artists, inspired by the Orchestra’s musical programming, will create new visual works in a variety of mediums that will factor into the broadcasts and endure long after the season concludes. CLOSE QUARTERS builds upon the highly successful LACO SummerFest series, the Orchestra’s first foray into streaming that concluded in September and featured five digital chamber music concerts that have attracted nearly 250,000 views to date.

Subsequent CLOSE QUARTERS episodes premiere on Fridays, April 23, May 7 and 21, and June 4, 2021, at 6:30 pm (PT).

LACO recognizes the generous support of the Colburn Foundation and the Andrew W. 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. James Darrah at LACO is generously underwritten by Ruth Eliel and Bill Cooney. Gil Shaham’s debut performances with LACO are generously supported by Terri & Jerry Kohl. LACO: Close Quarters series sponsors include Hilda Herrera Adler, Steve & Evelyn Block, Al Evans & Anna Rosicka, Peggy & Jack Falcon, Anne & Jeffrey Grausam, Diane Henderson, William & Priscilla Kennedy, Dana & Ned Newman, Dr. Hervey & Doris Segall, and Anne-Marie & Alex Spataru.

Additional support for episode 10 comes from Jennifer Diener. To support LACO, its stellar artists and digital programming, please visit LACO.org/donate or call (213) 622-7001, EXT. 4.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), led by Music Director Jaime Martín, ranks among the world’s top musical ensembles. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, LACO 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). Martín, who builds upon LACO's rich legacy, made his first appearance as LACO's Music Director Designate in early 2019 in a concert described by the Los Angeles Times, as "a thrilling performance, and the orchestra played like it was having the time of its life," adding, "he will make fans very quickly." 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.” Performing throughout greater Los Angeles, the Orchestra presents orchestral, Baroque and chamber concerts as well as salon evenings in private spaces and unique experiences that explore classical music's cutting-edge sounds. 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.