Matthew Halls Guest Conducts Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra (LACO), continuing a long-established relationship with the Oregon
Bach Festival, welcomes the Festival’s new Artistic Director Matthew Halls as
guest conductor in his California debut, leading a program that spans the
centuries and spotlights LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, Principal Cello
Andrew Shulman, Principal Oboe Allan Vogel and Principal Bassoon Kenneth
Munday, on Saturday, January
25, 8 pm, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, and Sunday, January 26, 2014, 7 pm,
at UCLA’s Royce Hall.  Halls,
“a fresh and forceful talent” whose “music-making is strongly and clearly
sculpted” (The Times, London), leads
Mozart’s Ballet Music from Idomeneo,
K. 367, Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major, and Beethoven’s playful
Symphony No. 1 in C major, which was instantly hailed as a masterpiece.  Providing a dramatic counterpoint to the
program is Aaron Jay Kernis’ solemn Musica
Celestis, a string-orchestra transcription of one of his string quartets
that has been likened to Barber’s famous Adagio. 

Halls, known for his dynamic work with both major
symphony orchestras and opera companies and for his probing and vibrant
interpretations of music of all periods, has been lauded by the Irish Times for his “discerning energy.” 
Based on the tremendous
impact of his performances when he appeared for the first time at the Oregon
Bach Festival in 2011, he was asked to succeed Helmuth Rilling as artistic
director.  He has since returned annually
and assumed the post in July at the conclusion of the 2013 festival.

Concert Preludes, pre-concert
talks held one hour before curtain and free for ticket holders, provide
insights into the music and artists. 
LACO General Manager Andrea Laguni interviews Halls. 

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is considered one of the world’s premier
chamber orchestras as well as a leader in presenting wide-ranging repertoire
and adventurous commissions.  Its 2013-14
season, the Orchestra's 45th, 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 17th season as LACO’s music
director. 

Tickets, starting at
$25, are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org, 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 ($10), based on availability, at the box office the day of
the concert.  Also
available for college students is the $25 “Campus to Concert Hall All Access
Pass” – good for all seven of LACO’s Orchestral series concerts, Discover
Beethoven’s Eroica and three Westside
Connections concerts.