Four-time Oscar nominated, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Danny Elfman — whose musical contributions as a composer and musician have thrilled audiences for more than 30 years — was honored by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at its “2023 Gala Celebration,” Feb. 4, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Elfman, one of the industry’s most versatile composers and recording artists, is also noted for his significant body of orchestral concert works. The gala fundraiser, which included a virtual online auction, raised more than $500,000 to benefit LACO’s artistic and education initiatives.
LACO was founded in 1968 as an artistic outlet for the recording industry’s most gifted musicians, and its 2023 Gala Celebration reflected its longtime connection to Elfman.
“LACO is absolutely delighted to honor Danny. Many of our artists have worked closely with him in recording sessions and live concerts over the past three decades,” said LACO Executive Director Ben Cadwallader.
In addition to a tribute to Elfman, the evening featured a celebratory concert with violinist Joshua Bell and soprano Larisa Martínez in a program that included Bach and Mendelssohn and topped off by Elfman’s Piano Quartet and the third movement from his Violin Concerto (“Eleven Eleven”).
Film composer James Newton Howard, who was last year’s honoree, served as this year’s honorary chair.
“Of course, I knew that he had scored more than 100 movies, and that he’d written a really good violin concerto, but what I didn’t realize, was how much concert music Danny has written” Howard said.
Elfman began his remarks by explaining that “far greater than other fears is my fear of public speaking.” “I made a commitment to myself that I would do one concert piece per year and, so far, I’m on course — seven commissions in seven years. I should’ve entitled that last piece ‘Music for an Empty Stomach.’ On cue, dinner was served.
LACO also celebrated one of its own, Julia Gigante, who served in the LACO violin section for 37 years before retiring in December and is familiar to generations of Angelenos as “the Mother of the 110.”
An eight-story tall image of her holding a violin is featured in a mural of LACO that was painted next to the 110 freeway in downtown Los Angeles in 1991 by noted muralist, Kent Twitchell.
In recognition of his vast artistic contributions to the city, Gigante was presented with two framed studies of her drawn by Twitchell during the creation of the mural. Twitchell himself was on hand for the presentation. Carol Henry and James Mulally chaired the event committee, which included Clare Baren, Deborah Cussen, Jennifer Diener, Peggy Falcon, Anne Grausam, Diane Henderson, Molly Kirk, Terri Kohl, Shaheen Nanji, Amy Rabwin, Gene Shutler, Joyce Sommer, Anne-Marie Spataru, Mist Thorkelsdottir and Lauren Wing.
Figaro opens
For opera devotees, “The Marriage of Figaro” can be relied upon for a lot of cluck for our buck. Mozart’s beloved old warhorse — his greatest comedy — opened at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to a packed house on Feb. 4. I loved it!
This was my kind of opera, presented as the composer meant it to be. That means more than three hours of unabashed buffoonery with glorious voices, costumes by Parisian couturier Christian LaCroix, glistening chandeliers and just the right amount of schmaltz.
Unfortunately, my view of the stage was blocked by an attendee with a lofty bouffant hairdo bobbing over their cellphone through the entire performance. I finally gave up, closed my eyes and listened to the familiar music.
This production — funded, in part by the Carol and Warner Henry Production Fund for Mozart Opera and Terri and Jerry Kohl, all of Pasadena — marked filmmaker James Gray’s first venture into opera. It drew a well-earned standing ovation.
Coming up
TUESDAY >> Camerata Pacifica presents an-all Bach program. Rothenberg Hall, The Huntington Library, San Marino. 7:30 p.m. cameratapacifica.org.
THURSDAY >> USC Trojan Affiliates features Tarina Kang, Chief Medical Officer for USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, at the hospital, 1812 Verdugo Blvd., Glendale. 6:30 p.m. For more information, email wopschall@earthlink.net.
MARCH 3 >> The Sing for Hope production of “The Last Sorcerer Le Dernier Sorciere, 1867.” Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Beverly Hills. 7:30 p.m. For more information, go online to thewallis.org.
SATURDAY >> The USC Libraries present the 2023 Scripter Awards honoring the author and screenwriter of the year’s best adaptation of the printed word into film and television. The Edward L. Doheny Library on the USC campus. 6:30 p.m. scripter.usc.org.
MARCH 4 >> Pacific Chorale presents Monteverdi’s “Vespers of 1610.” Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Newport Beach. 8 p.m. Information: pacificchorale.org.
MARCH 7 >> Tuesday Musicale of Pasadena presents a free concert featuring works by Mozart, Grieg, Chopin and Verdi. Altadena Baptist Church, 791 E. Calaveras St., Altadena. 12:30 p.m.
MARCH 9 >> Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills presents cellist Seth Parker Woods with pianist Andrew Rosenblum in a program of contemporary and timeless works. The Wallis’ Bram Goldsmith Theater. 7:30 p.m. Info: thewallis.org.
MARCH 12 >> Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra presents “Kahane Plays Kahane” featuring LACO Conductor Laureate Jeffrey Kahane. Alex Theatre, Glendale. 7 p.m. laco.org.
MARCH 15 >> Center Theatre Group opens “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” by Anna Deavere Smith, based on the tensions that triggered the L.A. Riots following the acquittal of the men charged in the Rodney King police brutality case. The Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center. Performances continue through April 9. CenterTheatreGroup.org.
MARCH 16 >> American Women for International Understanding hosts its 16th Annual Women of Courage Celebration. The Jonathan Club, Downtown Los Angeles. 6 p.m. Info: awiu.org.
MARCH 16-18 >> Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, in collaboration with the University of Delaware Master Players Concert Series, presents the world premiere of Shanghai Sonatas: A New Musical in Concert. The Wallis’ Bram Goldsmith Theater, Beverly Hills. For more information, go to thewallis.org/shanghai.
MARCH 19 >> The Crown City Symphony presents a free concert featuring works by Schubert and Saint-Saens. First Baptist Church of Pasadena, 75 N. Marengo Ave., Pasadena. 2 p.m.
March 23 >> “An Evening at The Huntington,” the 2023 Spring Gala to benefit the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus. The Huntington Library, San Marino. 6 p.m. lachidrenschorus.org/spring-gala.
MARCH 23 >> “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” The Luminaires’annual benefit luncheon. The California Club, Downtown Los Angeles.
MARCH 26 >> The Los Angeles Master Chorale presents the world premiere of Reena Esmail and Gabriel Faure’s Requiem in D Minor. Walt Disney Concert Hall. lamasterchorale.org.
Patt Diroll writes a bi-weekly society column for the Pasadena Star-News. She can be reached at pattdiroll@gmail.com.