Jessica Koslow

Todd and Robin Mason would often host little informal concerts in their West LA home and had attended other home chamber music performances. Being naturally competitive people, on their ride home, they would brainstorm ways that it could have been better. Those conversations eventually lay the foundation for Mason Home Concerts.

In 2013, the couple undertook extensive renovations to optimize their home for live performances, transforming it into a warm, acoustically excellent concert room designed specifically for chamber music.

“We took a chance and made a whole room, which can hold about 50 people,” Todd explained. “We got a beautiful piano: a Yamaha Concert Grand. That’s important because to do classical music and chamber music, you must have a good piano, because so much of the repertoire includes piano. We didn’t know if it would really take off. We just kind of did it because we loved it. We had a couple of concerts, and it was a very successful and positive experience. Everyone loved it, and word got out that we were doing this.” . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Every Third Thursday since September, the Santa Monica Pier has been presenting Locals’ Night, a free community curated series for locals, by locals. With performances through May, each monthly event brings a unique offering to the community. The Feb. 19 performance, curated by BroadStage, is Jazz Night, spotlighting four bands featuring talented emerging musicians who were mentored by five-time Grammy-winning bassist and composer Stanley Clarke while they were students at Santa Monica College (SMC) and Santa Monica High School (Samohi).

Clarke, who has been the BroadStage Artist in Residence since August 2023, is a longtime supporter and mentor of young musicians. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, artistic director of Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC), has worked with children’s and youth choirs his entire career. He thoroughly enjoys leading youth ensembles and assures that there are many stereotypes about children in music.

“People say, as long as they are cute on stage, that’s all that matters, or they ask, are you a babysitter?” he said. “Children are absolutely capable of great artistry at the same level as adults.”

Malvar-Ruiz prefers working with children because “frankly, they are more honest artistically, and they’re also more honest in their interactions,” he shared. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.

Josephine Moerschel has seen firsthand how music helps kids develop grit and perseverance. It is one of the aspects she loves about her job as executive and artistic director at Elemental Music, which offers programs in and out of Westside schools. 

“It is so rewarding to see students work through a challenge and realize that when they put time and effort into something, they can see real growth,” Moerschel said. “By the end of our season, students understand that you can always get better at music, no matter who you are. It might be hard work, but kids can see and hear their progress so easily in a discipline like music. That often encourages a sort of stick-to-itiveness that you don’t always get from other subjects.”

Moerschel began her journey with Elemental Music as a viola coach when the organization launched as Elemental Strings in 2004, and she stepped into her current position in 2009. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.