Photo Ben Jenken

Photo Nick Ruechel

The Opening Night Benefit celebrates the coming season and our new 3-CD release of the monumental Encounters series of William Kraft on Cambria Master Recordings, with international distribution by Naxos. Against the background of the exciting 20th anniversary Armory Center art exhibition Inside/Out, featuring works by such luminaries including Ed Ruscha, and Betye Saar, the Opening Night Benefit will include delicious treats from El Portal, Green Street, Europane, and wonderful wines. We will offer an opportunity for the audience to have composer William Kraft and our musicians autograph our newest recording. Proceeds from the Benefit will provide an important funding match for our U.S. State Department sponsored cultural exchange with Vietnam. We will also be joined by composers Alexandra du Bois from New York City and Kurt Rohde from San Francisco.

Photo Margaretta Mitchell

Grammy® Award-winning Southwest Chamber Music is the voice of New Classical Music, our 21st century vision for concerts combining the wisdom of tradition with the color of diversity. This concert previews Southwest Chamber Music's tour to Guadalajara, Mexico in December, sponsored by the NEA and the Cultural Affairs Department of the City of L.A. at the prestigious and largest Spanish Book Fair Arts Festival (FIL) in Guadalajara, Mexico. The ensemble will reunite with beloved soprano Suzanna Guzmán.

Photo Betty Freeman

These concerts are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear the music of Cage in a perfect environment of 50 pieces created by Cage’s friend Robert Rauschenberg at the Gemini G.E.L. studio here in Los Angeles. The Rauschenberg works are from the Stone Moon Series, Samarkand Series and Cardbird Series, and feature the first poster for Earth Day. The first concert will include a performance of Cage’s landmark silent piece, 4’33”, a perfect finale to the Zen intent of his music. Possibly the most beautiful and peaceful concert one can experience, Litany for a Whale and Postcard from Heaven will provide a moving portrait of this iconic American composer as we begin Cage 2012, a three year series culminating in his centennial year.

Photo Betty Freeman

These concerts are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear the music of Cage in a perfect environment of 50 pieces created by Cage’s friend Robert Rauschenberg at the Gemini G.E.L. studio here in Los Angeles. The Rauschenberg works are from the Stone Moon Series, Samarkand Series and Cardbird Series, and feature the first poster for Earth Day. The first concert will include a performance of Cage’s landmark silent piece, 4’33”, a perfect finale to the Zen intent of his music. Possibly the most beautiful and peaceful concert one can experience, Litany for a Whale and Postcard from Heaven will provide a moving portrait of this iconic American composer as we begin Cage 2012, a three year series culminating in his centennial year.

The largest cultural exchange in the history of Vietnam and the United States comes to Los Angeles in April and May! The Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange will take Southwest Chamber Music to Vietnam in March, and bring 19 Vietnamese composers and musicians to L.A. in April/May. Concerts, public events, and educational activities will feature these wonderful guest artists alongside our Grammy Award-winning ensemble. Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in this historic exchange, hear premieres of exciting new works from U.S. and Vietnamese composers, and get to know these exciting young artists.

The largest cultural exchange in the history of Vietnam and the United States comes to Los Angeles in April and May! The Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange will take Southwest Chamber Music to Vietnam in March, and bring 19 Vietnamese composers and musicians to L.A. in April/May. Concerts, public events, and educational activities will feature these wonderful guest artists alongside our Grammy Award-winning ensemble. Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in this historic exchange, hear premieres of exciting new works from U.S. and Vietnamese composers, and get to know these exciting young artists.

Photo Nick Ruechel

The largest cultural exchange in the history of Vietnam and the United States comes to Los Angeles in April and May! The Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange will take Southwest Chamber Music to Vietnam in March, and bring 19 Vietnamese composers and musicians to L.A. in April/May. Concerts, public events, and educational activities will feature these wonderful guest artists alongside our Grammy Award-winning ensemble. Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in this historic exchange, hear premieres of exciting new works from U.S. and Vietnamese composers, and get to know these exciting young artists.

Photo Betty Freeman

The largest cultural exchange in the history of Vietnam and the United States comes to Los Angeles in April and May! The Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange will take Southwest Chamber Music to Vietnam in March, and bring 19 Vietnamese composers and musicians to L.A. in April/May. Concerts, public events, and educational activities will feature these wonderful guest artists alongside our Grammy Award-winning ensemble. Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in this historic exchange, hear premieres of exciting new works from U.S. and Vietnamese composers, and get to know these exciting young artists.

Photo Ben Jenken

The largest cultural exchange in the history of Vietnam and the United States comes to Los Angeles in April and May! The Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange will take Southwest Chamber Music to Vietnam in March, and bring 19 Vietnamese composers and musicians to L.A. in April/May. Concerts, public events, and educational activities will feature these wonderful guest artists alongside our Grammy Award-winning ensemble. Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in this historic exchange, hear premieres of exciting new works from U.S. and Vietnamese composers, and get to know these exciting young artists.

The largest cultural exchange in the history of Vietnam and the United States comes to Los Angeles in April and May! The Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange will take Southwest Chamber Music to Vietnam in March, and bring 19 Vietnamese composers and musicians to L.A. in April/May. Concerts, public events, and educational activities will feature these wonderful guest artists alongside our Grammy Award-winning ensemble. Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in this historic exchange, hear premieres of exciting new works from U.S. and Vietnamese composers, and get to know these exciting young artists..