Chamber music has always been an intimate art. And in days long since past-in the times of Mozart and Schubert and beyond-it was an art that nurtured the new. Imagine the excitement of awaiting, then hearing the first performance of a chamber work by Haydn or Beethoven that we now acknowledge as a masterpiece, as part of our extraordinary musical heritage. Part of the dream of Pacific Serenades is to recreate that excitement-to honor our wonderful heritage and to build upon it by encouraging new works of immediate beauty and lasting value. And so, contin-uing this tradition that goes back to the very roots of chamber music, Pacific Serenades provides the opportunity

• for masterpieces of the past to share the stage with new pieces

• for composers to write for specific events and performers

• for all involved to experience chamber music in the intimate setting for which it is intended.

Because we hope these new works will be enduring enough to enter the repertoire, we are especially proud of the fact that seven of the twenty works we have premiered are already published, and many of them have received multiple performances.

As our friend Robert Winter said, Pacific Serenades is "nourishing the plant that is our Southern California culture." We do this by presenting the very best musicians of the Los Angeles area, musicians who love to play the masterworks of our tradition and who are excited about bringing to life the new works, most of them by Southern Californians, that are written especially for our concerts. As a reviewer wrote in the Los Angeles Times last year,

"The programming practices of Pacific Serenades ought to provide a model for any chamber music series."

Join us at the beautiful and elegant Biltmore Hotel or in the personal setting of a private home, and help us celebrate our fifth season of exciting music-making!