Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), led by Music Director Jaime Martín, wraps the season with the LACO-commissioned world premiere of Floodplain by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid, LACO's Creative Advisor and 2017-18 Sound Investment Composer. This marks her first collaboration with Martín. The program also includes Brahms’ Double Concerto for Violin and Violoncello in A minor, highlighting Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and Principal Cello Andrew Shulman; and Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 5 in C minor, a cornerstone of classical music. LACO presents the compelling season finale at three Southland locations: Thursday, May 12, 8 pm, at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa; Saturday, May 14, 8 pm, at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena; and Sunday, May 15, 7 pm, at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
Reid says of her new work that the title Floodplain “implies both rich fertility and possible danger” and that the work includes “rhythmic motifs that echo throughout the piece and transform in a variety of ways.” Reid began the piece before the pandemic, since it was originally slated to be premiered in May 2020, explains that she subsequently “broke it to pieces and reshaped it so it felt resonant to me in this moment.”
Martín states, “For a number of years, LACO has enjoyed a very special association with Ellen Reid, who is one of the foremost composers of her generation. I am so pleased to be able to bring her new work Floodplain to life and share it with audiences across Southern California. It is also a distinct pleasure for LACO to showcase two of its own exceptional principal artists – Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and Principal Cello Andrew Shulman – on Brahms’ Double Concerto for Violin and Violoncello in which the two solo instruments share a musical conversation like old friends.”
LACO recognizes the generous support of the Colburn Foundation and the 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. LACO gratefully acknowledges Hogan Lovells US LLP for generous pro bono support. REID, BRAHMS + BEETHOVEN is generously underwritten by LACO’s longest-serving Board Member, Gene Shutler. Additional support for Andrew Shulman in this concert comes from Anna Rosicka & H. Allen Evans.