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2008-09 40th Anniversary Season Guest Artist Bios

March 28, 2008

Margaret Batjer, violin
Margaret Batjer has served as concertmaster of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 1998. She made her first solo appearance at the age of 15 with the Chicago Symphony in Gian Carlo Menotti’s Violin Concerto. Since then, she has been re-engaged by the Chicago Symphony, as well as a succession of other major orchestras. Batjer has also appeared as a soloist throughout Europe with orchestras including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra.
Equally respected as a chamber musician, Batjer has performed regularly at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest, the La Jolla Summerfest, the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, and the Naples and Cremona festivals in Italy.
She has recorded the Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor for Philips with Salvatore Accardo and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and more recently for Deutsche Grammophon with Hilary Hahn and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Batjer has won numerous prizes, including the G.B. Dealey Award in Dallas. She joined the faculty of the Thornton School of Music at USC in 2005.

Jonathan Biss, piano
Twenty-six-year-old American pianist Jonathan Biss represents the third generation in a family of professional musicians. Biss began his piano studies at age six and studied at Indiana University and at The Curtis Institute of Music with Leon Fleisher.
Highlights of Biss’s 2007-08 season included debuts with five North American orchestras, including the Cleveland and Dallas symphonies, and as many European orchestras, including the Birmingham City Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic. He also made return appearances with the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, among others. In April 2006, EMI Classics signed Biss to a two-year exclusive contract. His first CD under this contract—an all-Schumann recital—was released to widespread praise and reached No. 5 on the classical charts.
Biss, named the winner of the Leonard Bernstein Award at the 2005 Schleswig-Holstein Festival, has won numerous other awards, including the 2002 Gilmore Young Artist Award, Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award and an Avery Fisher Career Grant. He was an artist-in-residence on NPR’s Performance Today and is the first American chosen to participate in the BBC’s New Generation Artist program.

Joana Carneiro, conductor
A previous assistant conductor for LACO, Joana Carneiro currently serves as assistant conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Orchestra of Lisbon and official guest conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra. A native of Lisbon, Carneiro began her musical studies as a violist before receiving her conducting degree from the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Lisbon.
Carneiro received her Master’s in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University and pursued Doctoral studies at the University of Michigan. One of three conductors chosen to participate in the newly founded Allianz Cultural Foundation International Conductors Academy in London during 2003-04, she also won the Young Musicians Foundation’s 2002 National Conductor Search. In 2004, Carneiro was decorated by the President of the Portuguese Republic.
Carneiro made her subscription debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2006-07 and served as the assistant conductor for John Adams’ opera, A Flowering Tree, in Vienna, which she debuted with the Chicago Opera Theater in the 2007-08 season.

Ingrid Fliter, piano
In January 2006, Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter was named the recipient of the 2006 Gilmore Artist Award and later that same year, she replaced Martha Argerich for concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1973, she began playing public recitals at the age of 11 and made her professional orchestra debut at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires at the age of 16. Fliter went on to win first prize at the Ferruccio Busoni Competition in Italy and in 2000, she was awarded the silver medal at the Frederic Chopin Competition in Warsaw.
performed with orchestras and in recital at many of the major concert halls worldwide and has participated in several of “The World Pianist Series” in Tokyo with such renowned pianists as Brendel, Pollini and Argerich. She was chosen to participate in the BBC’s New Generation Artists project, a program for young musicians who are beginning to make an impact on the international music scene. She recently signed to record exclusively for EMI Classics.

David Fung, piano
David Fung was on his way to becoming a medical doctor after accepting a scholarship to study medicine at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Later that year, Fung won the prestigious Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year Award, which culminated in the concerto finals with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall after four rounds of competition.
Since then, he has performed with the Melbourne Symphony, the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa of Japan, the Queensland Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and has engagements with the China National Symphony and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. In recent seasons, he has appeared in numerous international music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the International Franz Liszt Festival, the Holland Music Sessions and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Society.
Fung has recorded with ABC Classics and Yarlung Records and is the recipient of the Premier’s Award, the Lord Florey Student Prize (formerly the Australian Students Prize), the Lane Cove Council Citizenship Award and the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

Osvaldo Golijov, composer
Osvaldo Golijov grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in La Plata, Argentina. Born to a piano teacher mother and physician father, Golijov was raised surrounded by classical music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the new tango of Astor Piazzolla.
In 2000, Golijov was commissioned by the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart to write a piece for the Passion 2000 project in commemoration of Johann Sebastian Bach. His contribution was La Pasión según San Marcos (_The Passion according to St. Mark_). It established him as one of the leading international composers of our time.
Golijov’s subsequent successes include events devoted to his work, including a sold-out festival at Lincoln Center called The Passion of Osvaldo Golijov and events with leading international organizations, including London’s Barbican Centre.
Recently completed projects include Azul, a cello concerto for Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony, and the composition of the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola’s film Youth Without Youth. He was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to compose Rose of the Winds, which premieres April 2008. Future works include a new opera, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera.

Jamey Haddad, percussion
Since 1991, percussionist Jamey Haddad has performed in the working bands of Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Alan Farnham, The Paul Winter Consort, Carly Simon and Betty Buckley. Most recently Haddad performed for a duet concert with long-time musical associate, saxophonist Joe Lovano, followed by a trip to the Mideast with oud player and violinist Simon Shaheen. In 1992, Haddad was invited by composer Richard Horowitz and the Moroccan government to help develop and perform compositions with Berber and Ganawan groups for a performance at the 1992 World’s Fair in Spain.
Haddad is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and four NEA Fellowships. In demand for his seminars, he has developed popular courses in world music and teaches at Berklee College of Music and the New School in New York.
In the jazz and contemporary music scene Haddad has appeared on over 75 recordings. In addition, he has hundreds of performance credits as leader and sideman world wide.

Pierre Jalbert, composer
Pierre Jalbert previously served as composer-in-residence with LACO and is currently on the faculty at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
He has received numerous awards for his compositions, including the 2007 Stoeger Award from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Rome Prize, the BBC Masterprize, a Guggenheim fellowship, BMI and ASCAP Awards, and the Bearns Prize in Composition. Performances of his work include the world premiere of big sky with the Houston Symphony and In Aeternam with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London as part of the BBC’s Masterprize Competition in 2001, in which he received first prize. His works have also been performed at Carnegie Hall.
Current projects include a new work for the Maia String Quartet and an orchestral work commissioned through Meet the Composer’s Magnum Opus Project for three California orchestras which will each perform the work over the next three years.

Jeffrey Kahane, conductor & piano
Renowned as a pianist and conductor, Jeffrey Kahane is recognized by audiences around the world for his mastery of diverse repertoire from Bach to Gershwin. He has established a reputation as a truly versatile artist equally sought after as soloist, conductor and chamber musician.
This year, Kahane enters his 12th season as music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and continues his successful tenure as music director of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Under his leadership, both ensembles received 2007 ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming. He also continues as artistic director of the Green Music Festival in Sonoma County.
Jeffrey Kahane’s belief in the educational and inspirational power of music led him to found the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Family Concert series. His interest in musical enrichment is also evidenced in his personal commitment to LACO’s Meet the Music program, which serves approximately 2,700 Los Angeles elementary students annually. In May 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by Sonoma State University for his services to Arts and Education.

Cho-Liang Lin, violin
Born in Taiwan in 1960, Taiwanese-American violinist Cho-Liang Lin is lauded the world over for the eloquence of his playing and for the superb musicianship that marks his performances. Musical America named Lin its Instrumentalist of the Year in 2000.
In his capacity as music director of La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, he has helped commission works by Chen Yi, Chick Corea, Philip Glass, John Harbison, Mark O’Connor and Esa-Pekka Salonen, among others. As a solo artist, he has premiered concertos by Tan Dun, Joel Hoffman, Christopher Rouse, Bright Sheng and Chen Yi.
Apart from conventional repertoire, Lin continues his advocacy for contemporary music. Ventures in this arena include presenting the world premiere of Taiwanese composer Gordon Chin’s Double Concerto with cellist Felix Fan with the San Diego Symphony, as well as Chinese composer Bright Sheng’s Three Fantasies at the Library of Congress with pianist Andre-Michel Schub.
Cho-Liang Lin has recorded for Sony Classical, Decca, Ondine, Naxos and BIS. His albums have won awards including Gramophone’s Record of the Year, as well as two Grammy Award nominations.

Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 and began to study the cello with his father at age four. After attending the Juilliard School, he pursued a degree from Harvard University, graduating in 1976.
In 1998, Ma established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of the cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient trade route that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Through the Silk Road Project, as throughout his career, Yo-Yo Ma seeks to expand the cello repertoire, frequently performing lesser-known music of the 20th century and commissions of new concertos and recital pieces.
Ma is an exclusive Sony Classical artist and his discography of over 75 albums (including more than 15 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. Across this full range of releases, Ma remains one of the best-selling recording artists in the classical field.
He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), the Glenn Gould Prize (1999) and the National Medal of the Arts (2001).

Sir Neville Marriner, conductor
Sir Neville Marriner began his professional life as a violinist. While playing as principal in the London Symphony Orchestra, he founded the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with a small group of friends in 1959. At first, he directed the ensemble from the concertmaster’s seat until the repertoire demanded larger forces. Then, on the encouragement of his mentor, Pierre Monteux, to “stand up and be a man,” he relinquished his violin and took up the baton.
In 1969, he left the London Symphony Orchestra and founded the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, at the same time extending the repertoire of the Academy and guest conducting symphony orchestras around the world.
Sir Marriner is one of the most prolific classical music recording artists in the world. He was music director and conductor of the motion picture Amadeus.
He tours regularly with the Academy to the Far East, South America and Europe. He has twice been honored for services to music in his own country and in Germany, France and Sweden, and holds many honorary degrees in America, the Far East and at home.

Damian Montano, composer & bassoon
Damian Montano enjoys an active musical career as both bassoonist and composer. As an instrumentalist, he has performed with numerous Southern California orchestras, including the Pasadena, New West, Long Beach and Santa Barbara symphonies, and the Mozart Classical Orchestra. He has been featured as soloist with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra and the USC Wind Symphony, and won each ensemble’s Concerto Competition with a work that he composed. Montano joined the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra during the 2005-06 season.
As a composer, Montano has been funded by a grant from the NEA and has received numerous commissions from ensembles throughout the country, including the Houston Symphony, Chamber Music Palisades, Calico Winds, Wild Ginger Philharmonic and the Albuquerque Youth Symphony. He also works extensively as a television and film composer. He was the composer for NBC’s Emmy-winning daytime reality drama, Starting Over.
Montano graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree from Rice University and received his Master of Music degree at USC.

Makoto Nakura, marimba
Born in Kobe, Japan, Makoto Nakura began to play the marimba at the age of eight. In 1994, Nakura moved from his native Japan to New York City, becoming the first marimbist to win First Prize in the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions. In the US, he has performed with orchestras such as the New York Chamber Symphony and appeared in recital at prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and the Kennedy Center. He has been a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Spoleto USA Festival and the Green Music Festival, among others.
Nakura has developed collaborative works with institutions such as the American Ballet Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera. He also produced a concert called The Encounter of Art and Music with the Hyogo Prefectural Art Museum in Japan, and created The Story of Aoyagi, a Japanese ghost story, with story-telling image projection. His newest CD, Bach Beat, is to be released by Kleos in 2008.

Lalo Schifrin, composer
As a young man in his native Argentina, Lalo Schifrin received classical training in music and also studied law. He continued his formal music education at the Paris Conservatory during the early 1950’s. Simultaneously, he became a professional jazz pianist, composer and arranger, playing and recording in Europe. After he returned to Buenos Aires in the mid 1950s, he formed his own concert band. It was during a performance of this band that Dizzy Gillespie heard Schifrin play and asked him to become his pianist and arranger.
He has written more than 100 scores for films and television. Among the classic scores are Mission: Impossible, Mannix, The Fox, Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt, Dirty Harry, The Cincinnati Kid and Amityville Horror. He has also written concert music for such orchestras as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Symphony and the London Philharmonic.
To date, Schifrin has won four Grammy Awards, one Cable ACE Award, and received six Oscar nominations. He is a recipient of the 1988 BMI Lifetime Achievement Award and was recently honored at the Cannes Film Festival in recognition of his significant contributions. He has been appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

David Shostac, composer & flute
“Extraordinary, dazzling, world class,” are words critics have used to describe David Shostac’s artistry. An alumnus of the Juilliard School and Tanglewood and recipient of two Rockefeller performance grants, he has served as principal flutist of the St. Louis, Milwaukee and New Orleans symphony orchestras. He was appointed principal flute of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in 1975.
Shostac is active in the motion picture recording industry and can be heard on hundreds of motion picture soundtracks. His expanding list of credits includes X-Men: The Last Stand, Monster House, The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, The Devil Wears Prada, All the King’s Men and The Good Shepherd.
Recent solo recordings include Chamber Music Classics for Flute, featuring the 2002 Grammy-winning Angeles String Quartet and Pacific Trio. The 2003 release by the Bel Arts Trio, of which Shostac is a member, features the music of Gershwin, Bizet, Fauré, Rimsky-Korsakov, and others.
Shostac is a faculty member of California State University at Northridge. His book, Super Warmups for the Flute, is popular with students, teachers and professionals.

Christopher Theofanidis, composer
Christopher Theofanidis’ music has been performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the National, London, Atlanta and Houston symphonies, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and the Moscow Soloists. He has also served as composer-in-residence for the California Symphony and as composer-of-the-year for the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Theofanidis holds degrees from Yale, the Eastman School of Music and the University of Houston, and has been the recipient of the Masterprize, the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Barlow Prize, six ASCAP Gould Prizes, a Fulbright Fellowship to France, a Tanglewood Fellowship and the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Charles Ives Fellowship.
Recent projects include an opera for the Houston Grand Opera, a ballet for the American Ballet Theatre and a work for the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus based on the poetry of Rumi. He currently teaches at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and the Juilliard School.

Richard Todd, composer & horn
Richard Todd has achieved success as a concert, jazz and recording artist and has over 1,000 motion picture soundtracks to his credit. Gold medal winner of the 1980 Concours Internationale Toulon, Todd is a Pro Musicis International Foundation Award winner and is continually expanding the boundaries of the horn world. He joined LACO in 1980 and was appointed principal horn in 1982.
He made two CDs with André Previn and recorded Gunther Schuller’s Concerto No. 1 for Horn and Orchestra with the Saarbrucken Radio Orchestra. Todd’s solo albums, New Ideas and Rickterscale, saw him to step into the spotlight as a “star among jazz hornists.” More recently, he recorded Craig Russell’s Rhapsody for Horn and Orchestra with the San Luis Obispo Symphony, an album entitled Horn Sonatas of Three Centuries, and a jazz album, With A Twist.
Deeply committed to music education, Todd is on the faculty of USC. He serves as a spokesperson and consultant for Hans Hoyer Horns.

Michael Ward-Bergeman, hyper-accordion
Michael Ward-Bergeman is a passionate performer, songwriter and composer.
Ward-Bergeman’s work has been featured in compositions by the composer Osvaldo Golijov, including 2004’s Grammy-nominated Ayre. Recent highlights have been performances with the cellist Yo-Yo Ma and working with Golijov and Francis Ford Coppola on the soundtrack to the recent movie, Youth Without Youth. In April 2007, Ward-Bergeman premiered his composition Three Roads at Carnegie Hall. He has recently been awarded the first commission ever given by the Terezín Chamber Music Foundation for a work to be written for the soprano Dawn Upshaw in 2008.
He has brought his music-making to many venues around the globe, from local pubs to the Sydney Opera House. He has performed on numerous recordings, on television and on several major motion picture soundtracks. Ward-Bergeman is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.