“On Oct. 1, 2016, for 12 continuous hours, a succession of wide-ranging contemporary music concerts ebbed, flowed, and overlapped throughout Walt Disney Concert Hall,” writes Jim Farber in last Thursday’s (2/16) San Francisco Classical Voice. The “Noon to Midnight” marathon, presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, included “performances by the L.A. Phil. Bass Quintet, the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, wild Up, Piano Spheres, gnarwhallaby, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, wasteland, the USC Percussion Ensemble, Monday Evening Concerts, the USC Percussion Ensemble, Jacaranda, and The Industry … Those 12 hours were a vibrant demonstration of how active the new music scene has become in Los Angeles…. But there is also a downside…. In 2016, [independent presenter] Jacaranda’s anticipated year-end donations declined, not because of any lack of performance quality or even attendance, but because the organization’s donor base was being asked to support any number of equally worthy organizations.” Says Deborah Borda, the LA Phil’s president and CEO, “In many cities, I find, there is an antagonistic relationship between the smaller groups and the symphony orchestra…. Here in Los Angeles, we have tried to form a real working relationship.”
Posted February 23, 2017
Pictured: “Nimbus,” an installation at L.A.’s Disney Concert Hall by The Factory with music by Rand Steiger, greeted “From Noon to Midnight’ festival visitors arriving from the parking garage, October 2016. Photo by Craig T. Mathew / Mathew Imaging
