Southwest Chamber Music
Encyclopedia
Southwest Chamber Music is an ensemble of 15 musicians based in Los Angeles County, California
. The organization was founded in 1987 by Artistic Director Jeff von der Schmidt and Executive Director Jan Karlin. One of the most active chamber music
ensembles in the United States
, the ensemble performs year round, provides educational programs, tours internationally, and has recorded 25 compact discs.
, providing concert and educational programming that combines traditional European classics, contemporary work by diverse American composers, and modern music from Latin America
and Asia
. It presents a Fall/Winter/Spring concert series in Los Angeles and Pasadena
, and, in the summer, the popular Summer Festival at The Huntington in San Marino, California
.
Highlights during the past 25 seasons include numerous world and local premieres each season, collaborative Los Angeles festivals (Radical PAST, Universe), cycles of the complete string quartets and complete piano sonatas of Beethoven, presentation of all of the chamber music by Mexican composer Carlos Chávez
in Los Angeles and Mexico City
, a three-year centennial celebration of Los Angeles-born composer John Cage
, and performances of the Los Angeles-composed chamber music of Arnold Schoenberg
at Cooper Union
in New York
and at the Arnold Schönberg Center
in Vienna
, Austria
.
The ensemble has made 25 critically acclaimed recordings for which it has also received two Grammy Awards and seven nominations, including its most recent nomination for a 2010 Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album.
, Alhambra
, and Pasadena Unified School Districts
with in-depth programming that engages students through multiple visits by musicians and composers.
, Mexico
, and Asia. In 2010, Southwest Chamber Music completed a major U.S. State Department-sponsored program with Vietnam
– the Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange – which was the largest cultural exchange in the history of the two countries and received worldwide media coverage. The project consisted of six weeks of programming, three weeks in Vietnam and three weeks in Southern California
.
In December 2009, Southwest Chamber Music toured to Mexico, representing the United States at the Guadalajara FIL Arts Festival, an arts festival produced alongside the world’s largest Spanish book fair. Guadalajara
invites one host country each year, which in 2009 featured 16 arts organizations from Los Angeles. The ensemble reunited with the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
of Mexico City for the performances.
In December 2006 the ensemble produced cultural exchange programs with Cambodia
’s Royal University of Fine Arts
in Phnom Penh
, the 2006 World Culture Expo at the temples of Angkor Wat
, and the Vietnam National Academy of Music. These were the first residencies by an American ensemble since the end of the Vietnam War
and Khmer Rouge
era in Southeast Asia
.
In May 2007 Southwest Chamber Music performed at the UNAM Center in Mexico City with a cycle of five concerts of the complete chamber works of Carlos Chávez, joined by the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble. This was the first complete retrospective of Chávez’s output in Mexico.
The ensemble has also been presented by the Library of Congress
in Washington D.C., Cooper Union in New York City
, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
, Getty Center
, Orange County Performing Arts Center
, Ojai Festival, and Luckman Fine Arts Center. Guest conductors appearing with the ensemble have included Oliver Knussen
, Stephen L. Mosko, and Charles Wuorinen
. In March 2003 Southwest Chamber Music became the first American ensemble to perform at the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna.
. The ensemble has received six GRAMMY nominations for its four volume cycle of the Complete Chamber Works of Carlos Chávez on Cambria Master Recordings. This recognition from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
includes 2003 and 2004 Grammy Awards in the Best Small Ensemble
category for Volumes 1 and 2. Three further nominations for Volume 3 are shared with the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble of Mexico City, including Best Classical Album
and Best Small Ensemble nominations in 2005, and a Latin Grammy Best Classical Album nomination in 2006. Finally, Volume 4 was honored with a 2007 Latin Grammy Best Classical Album nomination.
Southwest Chamber Music’s Composer Portrait Series on Cambria Master Recordings received a 2002 ASCAP-Chamber Music America Award for a “landmark set of 12 compact discs featuring American music of our time.” The ensemble has also recorded works of Prokofiev and Poulenc
on Cambria, as well as the late works of Krenek
for Orfeo Records in Munich
. The ensemble’s 25 recordings are available from Cambria Master Recordings, with world-wide distribution by Naxos
(Classics Online).
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The organization was founded in 1987 by Artistic Director Jeff von der Schmidt and Executive Director Jan Karlin. One of the most active chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
ensembles in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the ensemble performs year round, provides educational programs, tours internationally, and has recorded 25 compact discs.
About the Organization
Southwest Chamber Music is an innovative and influential cultural force in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, providing concert and educational programming that combines traditional European classics, contemporary work by diverse American composers, and modern music from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It presents a Fall/Winter/Spring concert series in Los Angeles and Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, and, in the summer, the popular Summer Festival at The Huntington in San Marino, California
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
.
Highlights during the past 25 seasons include numerous world and local premieres each season, collaborative Los Angeles festivals (Radical PAST, Universe), cycles of the complete string quartets and complete piano sonatas of Beethoven, presentation of all of the chamber music by Mexican composer Carlos Chávez
Carlos Chávez
Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by native Mexican cultures. Of his six Symphonies, his Symphony No...
in Los Angeles and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, a three-year centennial celebration of Los Angeles-born composer John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, and performances of the Los Angeles-composed chamber music of Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
at Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and at the Arnold Schönberg Center
Arnold Schönberg Center
The Arnold Schönberg Center, established in 1998 in Vienna, is a unique repository of Arnold Schönberg's archival legacy and a cultural center that is open to the public.-Activities:...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
The ensemble has made 25 critically acclaimed recordings for which it has also received two Grammy Awards and seven nominations, including its most recent nomination for a 2010 Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album.
Educational Programs
Project Muse in-school concerts and the Mentorship Program for student musicians continue to serve low- and moderate-income students at schools in the Los AngelesLos Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...
, Alhambra
Alhambra School District
Alhambra School District was a K-8 school district headquartered in the Scanlon Center in Alhambra, California, United States.In 2005 it merged with the Alhambra High School District to form the Alhambra Unified School District.-External links:*...
, and Pasadena Unified School Districts
Pasadena Unified School District
The Pasadena Unified School District is a unified school district that is responsible for the schools of Pasadena, California. , it has 4 high schools, 3 middle schools, 2 K-8 schools and 16 elementary schools...
with in-depth programming that engages students through multiple visits by musicians and composers.
International Activities
Southwest Chamber Music has had extensive international activity in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and Asia. In 2010, Southwest Chamber Music completed a major U.S. State Department-sponsored program with Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
– the Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange – which was the largest cultural exchange in the history of the two countries and received worldwide media coverage. The project consisted of six weeks of programming, three weeks in Vietnam and three weeks in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
In December 2009, Southwest Chamber Music toured to Mexico, representing the United States at the Guadalajara FIL Arts Festival, an arts festival produced alongside the world’s largest Spanish book fair. Guadalajara
Guadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
invites one host country each year, which in 2009 featured 16 arts organizations from Los Angeles. The ensemble reunited with the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
Tambuco
Tambuco is a Mexican contemporary classical percussion group which has been nominated three times for awards including Best Classical Album. It was founded in 1993. The group consists of four percussionists: Ricardo Gallardo, Alfredo Bringas, Raúl Tudón and Miguel González...
of Mexico City for the performances.
In December 2006 the ensemble produced cultural exchange programs with Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
’s Royal University of Fine Arts
Royal University of Fine Arts
The Royal University of Fine Arts is a university in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Its origins date to the establishment of the École des Arts Cambodgiens in Phnom Penh in 1918...
in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
, the 2006 World Culture Expo at the temples of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
, and the Vietnam National Academy of Music. These were the first residencies by an American ensemble since the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
era in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
In May 2007 Southwest Chamber Music performed at the UNAM Center in Mexico City with a cycle of five concerts of the complete chamber works of Carlos Chávez, joined by the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble. This was the first complete retrospective of Chávez’s output in Mexico.
The ensemble has also been presented by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in Washington D.C., Cooper Union in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival is a six week long summer Festival of chamber music held annually in July and August and located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was founded in 1972 and presented its first series of concerts in 1973. Well-known musicians and young performers appear each season in...
, Getty Center
Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
, Orange County Performing Arts Center
Orange County Performing Arts Center
The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a performing arts complex located in Costa Mesa, California, United States.The Center offers the world’s leading dance companies, Broadway shows, award-winning classical, jazz and cabaret artists, family entertainment, special events and year-round...
, Ojai Festival, and Luckman Fine Arts Center. Guest conductors appearing with the ensemble have included Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
, Stephen L. Mosko, and Charles Wuorinen
Charles Wuorinen
Charles Peter Wuorinen is a prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. His catalog of more than 250 compositions includes works for orchestra, opera, chamber music, as well as solo instrumental and vocal works...
. In March 2003 Southwest Chamber Music became the first American ensemble to perform at the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna.
Recordings
A two-time Grammy Award-winner, Southwest Chamber Music released their 25th recording in 2009, a 3 CD set surveying the world of percussion with the Encounters by William KraftWilliam Kraft
William Kraft is a composer, conductor, teacher, and percussionist.-Undergrad and Graduate School Years :...
. The ensemble has received six GRAMMY nominations for its four volume cycle of the Complete Chamber Works of Carlos Chávez on Cambria Master Recordings. This recognition from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
includes 2003 and 2004 Grammy Awards in the Best Small Ensemble
Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance has been awarded since 1997. In its early years, its title included the addition ""....
category for Volumes 1 and 2. Three further nominations for Volume 3 are shared with the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble of Mexico City, including Best Classical Album
Grammy Award for Best Classical Album
The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes:*From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year - Classical...
and Best Small Ensemble nominations in 2005, and a Latin Grammy Best Classical Album nomination in 2006. Finally, Volume 4 was honored with a 2007 Latin Grammy Best Classical Album nomination.
Southwest Chamber Music’s Composer Portrait Series on Cambria Master Recordings received a 2002 ASCAP-Chamber Music America Award for a “landmark set of 12 compact discs featuring American music of our time.” The ensemble has also recorded works of Prokofiev and Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
on Cambria, as well as the late works of Krenek
Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
for Orfeo Records in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. The ensemble’s 25 recordings are available from Cambria Master Recordings, with world-wide distribution by Naxos
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
(Classics Online).