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A chat with Raynor Carroll (Part 2 of 2): post-retirement plans and stories...
Here’s Part Two of my interview with Raynor Carroll, the Principal Percussionist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic who’ll retire after tonight’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl. (Part One can be found...
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My $0.02 on the (sad) 2017/18 LA Opera season, plus some straight talk from...
Folks, I’m generally an optimistic, positive-thinking kinda guy. I try to find the bright side of things and give people the benefit of the doubt, even when most others wouldn’t dream of it. So leave...
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The End of the Kahane Era: Five LACO musicians look back on the Music...
Twenty years is a long time to hold any job, especially in the 21st Century, and particularly when that job is Music Director of a professional orchestra. Which makes it all the more remarkable that...
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Chatting with the LA Phil woodwind principals Whitney Crockett, Denis...
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has made some rather impressive hires during the Gustavo Dudamel era, but perhaps none more intriguing than the three stellar principal woodwinds. They’re tough to miss,...
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A chat with Scott Harrison (part 1 of 2): LACO’s top exec describes...
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is celebrating its 50th Anniversary season, and normally, such occasions see Music Directors standing front and center to lead the festivities. But not this year....
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A chat with Scott Harrison (part 2 of 2): on his relationship with LACO...
Yesterday, I shared part 1 of my conversation with Scott Harrison, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In part 2 below, we discuss how he built a relationship with the LACO...
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A chat with Arturo Sandoval: the legendary musician talks about the state of...
The multi-talented Arturo Sandoval, best known as a jazz trumpeter, is in the middle of a four-day residency at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. He plays a...
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A chat with Grant Gershon: his thoughts as the LA Master Chorale tackles...
The Los Angeles Master Chorale opened their 2016-17 season with staged performances of Orlando di Lassos’s Lagrime di San Pietro (Tears of St. Peter), a Renaissance-era work unknown to most singers...
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A chat with Ramón Ortega: the new LA Phil Principal Oboe and Colburn...
This evening, Ramón Ortega headlines a chamber music concert at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall featuring oboe-centric works by Mozart, Koechlin, and Gounod. It marks the first official public...
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How and why Jaime Martin became LA Chamber Orchestra’s next Music Director:...
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra begins its 2018-19 season in earnest with performances at the Alex Theatre on Saturday and UCLA’s Royce Hall on Sunday featuring violinist Hillary Hahn. While guest...
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A chat with Simon Woods: the LA Phil’s CEO talks about his first 18 months in...
When Simon Woods arrived in Los Angeles, he had a very tough act to follow. Deborah Borda announced in March of 2017 that she would leave her position as CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic to return...
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A chat with Jaime Martin: LACO’s new chief discusses his approach to...
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra begins its 2019-2020 season this coming weekend with two concerts featuring a world premiere from Andrew Norman and works by Beethoven and Berlioz. The weekend also...
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A 2020 chat with Norman Pearson: the tuba player talks about his career &...
Norman Pearson played his first concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1982 as a substitute on 2nd tuba. Simon Rattle conducted The Rite of Spring. Not a bad start. He’d go on to spend most of...
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A chat with Tom Hooten: LA Phil’s Principal Trumpet talks about the world...
Tom Hooten, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s distinguished Principal Trumpet, was thrilled to learn that the orchestra had commissioned a new work featuring him as soloist. His excitement grew when he...
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A chat with Arturo Sandoval about tonight’s holiday concert at Walt Disney...
Arturo Sandoval returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall tonight to help everyone get into the holiday spirit in his own Latin-infused jazz style. Last week, funk/jazz musician Matt TC Lucas and I had the...
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A chat with Whitney Crockett: the LA Phil’s Principal Bassoon talks about his...
The Rite of Spring can be frightening for some bassoonists, but Whitney Crockett doesn’t really get scared by it. At least not anymore. The famously high opening solo of Stravinsky’s ballet is...
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Inside info about LA Phil auditions from Nathan Cole, First Associate...
On the heels of all the talk about various auditions in Part 1 and Part 2 of the Spring 2022 edition of “Comings and Goings at the LA Phil” published earlier this week, I thought All is Yar readers...
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A chat with Joseph Young: the conductor discusses his LA Phil debut, his...
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has a reputation for giving their audiences exposure to young conductors, particularly at the Hollywood Bowl. Gustavo Dudamel, the orchestra’s current Music and Artistic...
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A Zoom chat with Jaime Martin: LA Chamber Orchestra’s Music Director talks...
When last I had the chance to talk to Jaime Martin, he was about to begin the 2019/2020 season, his first as Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. That year started well, but then this...
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