LACA’s 72nd Season opens with Metales M5, The Mexican Brass, at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8 at Ashley Pond. Courtesy/LACA
Wyndsync closes the season at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 3 at 4 p.m. at the Smith Auditorium. Courtesy/LACA
LACA News:
One highlight among many in the Los Alamos Concert Association’s 72nd season will be the unveiling of a renovation at the Association’s venue, the Duane Smith Auditorium.
Built for the community by the Atomic Energy Commission in the early 1950s, the Smith Auditorium is the second largest concert venue in New Mexico. Construction currently underway will provide patrons with a new lobby and dramatically expanded public restrooms.
“Concert intermissions will no longer be determined by the length of the line at the ladies room,” LACA Artistic Director Ann McLaughlin said. “We are excited about welcoming our audience back to the hall in January after construction is complete.”
As a gift to the community during the construction closure, LACA will present a free outdoor concert featuring Metales M5, Latin America’s premier brass quintet. The concert, presented in collaboration with the Los Alamos County Summer Concert Series will take place at Ashley Pond in downtown Los Alamos at 7 p.m. Sept. 8. Patrons may bring a folding chair or sit on the lawn to enjoy Metales M5’s non-stop showmanship, called “the best thing to come out of Mexico since tequila” by Martin Hackleman of the Canadian Brass.
To welcome its audience back to the hall Jan. 21st, LACA will present two rising stars, Hungarian cellist István Várdai and Israeli American pianist Shai Wosner. Winner of Munich’s ARD Cello Competition, and three-time winner of the Popper Competition, Várdai captured the 2015 Liszt Prize, Hungary’s highest classical music honor. Wosner is in much demand world-wide for both solo performances and exciting collaborations.
One of the world’s great period instrument ensembles, the Venice Baroque Orchestra, will continue LACA’s season March 9 bringing with them esteemed recorder virtuoso Anna Fusek. Renowned exponents of the Italian Baroque, the ensemble reflects the gritty yet elegant style of its home city.
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson, 1970 winner of Warsaw’s International Chopin Competition, has a distinguished career that takes him to great concert halls around the globe. His performance in Los Alamos May 6 will include sonatas by Beethoven and Schubert along with Brahms’ Fantasies, op. 116.
LACA closes its season June 3 with Wyndsync, a vibrant young wind quintet. Gold Medalists in the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the ensemble brings youthful charisma to its interpretations of the wind quintet repertoire. Tickets are available to a post-concert dinner with Windsync at the Blue Window Bistro.
A mail-in order form offering ticket discounts before Sept.r 1 is available for download on LACA’s website www.losalamosconcert.org. After Sept. 1, tickets can be ordered on-line through that website, at the Lensic box office in Santa Fe and at CB FOX and Smith’s in Los Alamos and White Rock. Continuing a long LACA tradition, students ages 6 through 18 will be admitted free to all performances.
VENUES
- The Duane Smith Auditorium: 1300 Diamond Dr. on the campus of Los Alamos High School
- Ashley Pond: Between 20th Street and Oppenheimer Drive in downtown Los Alamos.
CONCERT SCHEDULE
- Metales M5, The Mexican Brass, Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.
- István Várdi, cello & Shai Wosner, piano, Sunday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m.
- Venice Baroque Orchestra, Friday, March 9 at 7 p.m.
- Garrick Ohlsson, piano, Sunday, May 6 at 4 p.m.
- Wyndsync, Sunday, June 3 at 4 p.m.
Cellist István Várdi performs with pianist Shai Wosner at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21 at the Smith Auditorium. Courtesy/Pilvax Studio
Shai Wosner performs with cellist István Várdi at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21 at the Smith Auditorium. Courtesy photo
Venice Baroque Orchestra performs in Los Alamos at 7 p.m., March 9, 2018 as part of LACA’s 72nd Season. Photo by Matteo da Fina
Garrick Ohlsson performs at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 6 at the Smith Auditorium. Courtesy photo
