SESSION is the brainchild of Andrew Norman, LACO’s creative advisor and composer-in-residence. Andrew lives in Los Angeles, teaches at the USC Thornton School of Music and is a lifelong enthusiast for all things architectural. The Companion Guide to Rome (2010), one of Andrew’s most well-known works, is a collection of nine pieces for violin, viola, and cello inspired by churches in Rome.
Set in out of the ordinary locales, SESSION is a unique experience where LACO musicians join forces with compelling composers. Each program is designed to fit the unique properties of a space and test ideas about the relationship between performers and audience.
“As the curator of LACO’s first SESSION, Andrew offers compelling insights into his creative vision unhindered by the barriers of ‘traditional’ norms and venues,” says LACO Executive Director Scott Harrison. “SESSION is designed to appeal to those culturally curious souls who may be unfamiliar with classical music as well as concertgoers intrigued by the ways in which the genre can defy expectations.”
Andrew kicks off the inaugural SESSION at Angel City Brewery. The brewery, located in the Downtown Arts District, is headquartered at the historic John A. Roebling Building.
The eclectic program is a provocative blend of past and present. The evening begins with Andrew’s arrangement of Nuper Rosarum Flores, originally composed for the consecration of Florence’s famed Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in 1436. The music of Franz Joseph Haydn provides the inspiration for Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte. Nina C. Young’s Momento Mori offers a meditation on life and the perception of time, with musical material drawn from The Art of the Fugue. Also featured are Sky Macklay’s adrenaline-infused Many Many Cadences and Andrew’s string trio The Companion Guide to Rome, which is expanded to 12 strings.
SESSION continues in Fall 2018 with composer and LACO artist-educator Derrick Spiva Jr., in Winter 2019 with composer Matthias Pintscher and in Spring 2019 with conductor/composer Christopher Rountree.