LA Chamber Orchestra Launches Season with World Premiere by Derrick Spiva and Violinist Michael Barenboim's LACO Debut

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) launches its 2015-16 season with celebrated Music Director Jeffrey Kahane conducting a program of works seminal and new, featuring the world premiere of Prisms, Cycles, Leaps, a joyous percussive work by rising Los Angeles-based composer Derrick Spiva, and the highly anticipated West Coast debut of violinist Michael Barenboim, son of legendary conductor Daniel Barenboim, on Saturday, September 19, 8 pm, at Glendale’s Alex Theatre, and Sunday, September 20, 7 pm, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Barenboim, a “superb” violinist (Chicago Tribune) hailed for his “technical precision and a breezy sweetness” (The Guardian), performs Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, considered one of the supreme achievements in classical music. Spiva, whose work is influenced by Ghanaian polyrhythms and traditional West African drumming, is Music Alive: New Partnerships Composer-in-Residence. Rounding out the program is Schubert’s iconic Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759, “Unfinished.”

Barenboim, among the most versatile and exciting artists of his generation, has earned accolades from critics and audiences around the globe for his commanding performances. He has performed with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and conductors, including the Wiener Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Pierre Boulez and Münchner Philharmoniker conducted by the late Lorin Maazel.

Spiva’s conducting, composing and teaching style reflect the multicultural atmosphere of Los Angeles, where he lives and works. While earning a B.A. and M.F.A at UCLA and California Institute of the Arts, respectively, he began integrating world music across many cultures into his musical vocabulary. His musical compositions aim to break down the boundaries between musical genres, using integrative composition techniques that seek common ground between different musical traditions. Spiva is a teaching artist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, instructor for the Community Arts Partnership program at CalArts and conductor for the Santa Clarita Valley Youth Orchestra.

The residency of Derrick Spiva is made possible through Music Alive: New Partnerships, a residency program of New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. This national program is designed to establish new relationships between composers and orchestras, and to help orchestras present new music to the public and build support for new music within their institutions. Leadership funding for Music Alive is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund.

Concert Preludes, pre-concert talks held one hour before curtain and free for ticket holders, provide insights into the program’s music and artists. Kahane discusses with Spiva the inspiration and creation of Spiva’s Prisms, Cycles, Leaps and features a short demonstration by the Zadonu African Music & Dance Company. Following the performance, ticket holders are invited to mingle with LACO musicians in the lobby at an after-party, which includes complimentary drinks and appetizers as well as entertainment by the Zadonu African Music & Dance Company.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is considered one of the world’s premier chamber orchestras as well as a pacesetter in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions. Its 2015-16 season, features a compelling mix of beloved masterpieces and genre-defying premieres from firmly established as well as notable up-and-coming composers programmed by Jeffrey Kahane, one of the world’s foremost conductors and pianists, who marks his 19th season as LACO’s music director.

Tickets, starting at $27, are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and groups of 12 or more. College students may purchase student rush tickets ($12), based on availability, at the box office the day of the concert. Also available for college students is the $30 “Campus to Concert Hall All Access Pass” – good for all seven of LACO’s Orchestral series concerts, Discover Bach’s Cantata “Sleepers Awake” and three Westside Connections concerts.