This week and next week we are introducing you to the newest members of LACO’s staff. As we progress into the season, you will see their faces at LACO concerts and events. Today, I am delighted to have you meet Mira Weller, our new development & promotions associate, who is busily at work on LACO’s upcoming Gala on February 2 at The California Club. In her first blog, Mira talks about the road that brought her to LACO.

In Beethoven’s Op. 135 String Quartet lies a question of fate, written in the manuscript under a dominant theme in the composition – “Muß es sein?” Must it be?

Fate has played a big role in bringing me to my new position with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. I’ve been attending their concerts, as well as those of other Los Angeles classical music groups, all my life. I can still recall my mother’s speech during her years volunteering as a tour guide at The Music Center. The active youth outreach of the Los Angeles classical music community played a big role in my upbringing.

I grew up with my instrument. Sibling rivalry at the Weller house took form in practice time, orchestra seating, success at competitions and more. My values are shaped by the virtues of my LA based music teachers: practice hard, practice well and never hold back.

Thanks to this rich background, classical music has been there for me when others could not. Only Liszt could touch certain degrees of emphatic emotional overload experienced by listeners like myself. I turn to Brahms to recollect the beauty and power of collective performance. I thank Bach for creating the richest forms of simplicity a human could ever make. Above all, it is the community of musicians and music lovers like myself that have pushed me to strive for my best and value contributing high-quality work – like a dedicated violist, playing a supportive role in a Beethoven string quartet.

There is something incredible about the opportunity to give those musicians and composers the support they need to continue creating this rich palette of emotional experiences and human values. There is something even more incredible about doing so with an orchestra that strives to heighten the intimate side of music that shapes what I love most in this world.

I admit, I am taking Beethoven’s question out of context. He labels the slow transition to the fast-paced finale “Der schwer gefasste Entschluss” – something along the lines of “A difficult decision.” My decision to join LACO was far from difficult. From the beginning, I was amazed that such a perfect match could be made in my professional life. As a stereotypical violist – intimate, collaborative but unique – I’m so perfectly cut out for this place that it must be. Or as Beethoven says, “Es muß sein!”