Summer Festival at The Huntington

Concerts begin July 14

Southwest Chamber Music on the Loggia at The Huntington

Los Angeles, CA - The centenary of famous cookbook author Julia Child inspires Southwest Chamber Music's 2012 Summer Festival at The Huntington.  Child, born in Pasadena, California, spent a number of years post-WWII in Paris studying and savoring the cuisine which resulted in her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.   

With a decidedly French Impressionist focus, the summer festival begins Saturday, July 14 (repeated July 15) and continues on Saturdays, with repeats on Sundays, July 28 & 29, August 11 & 12, and August 25 & 26.

Southwest's Alison Bjorkedal performs the harp solos in Debussy's Danses Sacrée et Danses Profane,  Ravel's Introduction & Allegro, and is joined by flutist Larry Kaplan in André Jolivet's Chant du Linos.  Debussy's String Quartet in G Minor features the Southwest quartet of Lorenz Gamma and Shalini Vijayan, violins, Luke Maurer, viola, and Peter Jacobson, cello.

Soprano Elissa Johnston joins Southwest Summer Season

The July 28 and 29 concerts include soprano Elissa Johnston in Ravel's Chansons madécasses, pianist Ming Tsu joining the string quartet for Milhaud's La création du monde and Franck's Quintet for Piano and Strings, and as soloist in Debussy's Suite Bergamasque. 

Concert-goers are encouraged bring their own Julia Child-inspired picnics on the lawn or make reservations for the pre-concert dinners which are available at an additional charge in the elegantly romantic Huntington Tea Room. The three-course menu is prepared by Jon Dubrick, Executive Chef at The Huntington Tea Room from Julia Child's recipes.  The dinners are available only by pre-order on the Southwest website www.swmusic.org or at (800) 726-7147 when you order your concert tickets.  To view the menus, click here.

The August concerts include mezzo-soprano Suzanna Guzman, dan bau virtuoso Vân Ánh Vanessa Võ and the Southwest players in works by Võ, Pham Minh Thành, Falla, more Debussy, Ravel, Milhaud, and, to close the festival, a selection of songs made famous by Edith Piaf.