The New York Times wrote that Gabriella Smith’s music “exudes inventiveness with a welcoming personality, rousing energy and torrents of joy.” Smith expresses that joy in her music and collaborations, even as it asks listeners to preserve our fragile planet. Her first album, Lost Coast, channeled imagery inspired by a five-day backpacking trip through California’s Lost Coast Trail with her Curtis Institute roommate and friend Gabriel Cabezas. Cabezas’s cello and Smith’s violin and vocals combine acoustically and through electronic loops to express anger and grief at natural devastation blended with wonder and hope.
Los Angeles-based composer and jazz pianist Billy Childs builds upon Smith’s natural themes when his trio joins her for John Cage’s Child of Tree, which asks its performers to use plant-based instruments including amplified cactus. Childs next performs My Roots Spread Far and Wide, which pays homage to the giant sequoia tree through the trio’s improvisations paired with rich string harmonies. Opening this evening curated by Smith as well as following intermission are two new works in the LA Phil Etudes project, which offer solo opportunities for LA Phil percussionist Matthew Howard and bassoonist Whitney Crocket, respectively.
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135 N. Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012 (Get Directions)
