April 07, 2008
On Saturday, March 29, my husband and I attended LACO’s London Triumph concert at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. The music was spectacular as always. But what I enjoyed even more than the music was observing just how close all of the musicians, staff, and directors are at LACO.
This concert marked two important events for the orchestra. First, it was LACO’s first concert since returning from its European Tour. Associate Executive Director Ruth Eliel told the audience that the tour was a success and that the LACO musicians were hailed for their musicianship as well as their smiles. I have no doubt that that is true. Smiling faces is one of the aspects of LACO that I have enjoyed the most. It is always apparent that the musicians are having fun performing and in turn the audience always seems to be entertained. LACO is no “stuffy” orchestra only for those with musical knowledge and experience! Instead, all kinds of people can and do enjoy the concerts. I have had so much fun attending LACO over the past two years and I hope that more and more people will come to the orchestra and find out how great it can be!
The other event was Principal Cellist Douglas Davis’s performance in CPE Bach’s Cello Concerto in A major. This marked his last solo piece for LACO as he will be retiring this year. As the Newbie here, it was especially remarkable to see how much Mr. Davis is loved and how much he will be missed. We heard emotional words from the Executive and Associate Executive Directors as well as a letter from Jeffrey Kahane about how wonderful the time with Mr. Davis has been. It was wonderful to see how cohesive the orchestra is and how well they work together. Congratulations, Mr. Davis!
Well, there will be one more LACO concert for me as LACO’s Newbie, May’s Pastoral & World Premiere. I greatly look forward to Beethoven’s “Pastoral” —it’s one of my favorite pieces!