Roberto Cani, Violinist

Acclaimed throughout the music world as not just a performer, but an “artiste”, violinist Roberto Cani has continued to bring his art to the highest of levels, captivating and delighting audiences in the United States and abroad, since his solo debut at the Gaveau Hall in Paris.

Beginning his studies at the age of seven, Mr. Cani has been a first and grand prize winner of numerous competitions, including the Paganini International Competition in Genoa, the Courcillon International Competition, and the Jeunesses Musicales International Competition in Belgrade, where he also captured a special award for the best performance of a contemporary work. In addition, he has been the winner of the Minetti Prize and received honors at the Tchaikovsky Competition.

Throughout his successful career as soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster, he has established himself as a versatile and respected artist worldwide.

Mr. Cani has performed throughout the United States as well as in Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Russia, Croatia, Belgium, Poland, Serbia, France, Taiwan, Japan and South Africa. He has appeared as soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic, the RAI Symphony (Italy), the Belgrade Philharmonic, Zagreb Soloists, Orchestra Haydn of Bolzano, the American Youth Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Missouri Chamber Orchestra and Symphony of the Americas.

Mr. Cani has performed as guest concertmaster for the La Scala Philharmonic in Milan under the baton of Riccardo Muti. He was also invited by Vladimir Jurowski to be a guest concertmaster for the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Cani has been appointed Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra in May 2011. As concertmaster of Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Mr. Cani is closely working with Placido Domingo and James Conlon among others.

Mr. Cani has given master classes at many California Universities, among them those at the University of Southern California (USC), the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),s as well as playing and teaching at Summer Music Festivals in Positano, Italy and Hvar, Croatia, Music Festival in Prague.

Mr. Cani is a graduate of the Milan Conservatory, the Gnessin Institute in Moscow, and the University of Southern California. He has studied with world-renowned violinists Viktor Tretiakov and Abrahm Shtern.

See his full bio HERE.

Erik Rynearson, Viola

Native of Los Angeles, Erik Rynearson has been performing music since the age of three. Now at age forty-three he enjoys leading the viola sections of the Los Angeles Opera Company, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Pacific Jazz Orchestra, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. Erik is in great demand as a freelance recording artist, working with among others Aretha Franklin, John Williams and the Blue Man Group. Occasionally, Erik is featured as a solo horn player in his car.

Musically, Rynearson devoured Haydn, Beethoven and Brubeck in childhood and currently hungers for the sounds of Zemlinsky, Korngold and Charlie Parker. He owes his musical preparedness to his teachers including his father Paul, Miwako Watanabe, Franco Gulli, Ilya Kaler and Henryk Kowalski.

Highlights so far of the ’23-24 season include recording for Barbra Streisand and performing with Rufus Wainwright.

Off-stage, Erik enjoys spending time reading, swimming, and learning more about the alto Sax. He plays a Danish viola made by Carl Mettus Weis in 1845.

Ignazio Terrasi, Music Director

Ignazio Terrasi, after completing his musical studies in composition and music conducting at the Conservatory of Music “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan, embarked on a prolific concert career in Milan as the conductor of the “Pierluigi da Palestrina” orchestra and the Symphonic Orchestra “Milano Classica.” He acquired an extensive repertoire spanning from the Baroque period to the historical and contemporary works of the 20th century.

His conducting education continued under the guidance of Maestro Julius Kalmar and Maestro Sandro Gorli with the “Divertimento Ensemble,” an orchestra specializing in contemporary music, with whom he participated in numerous concerts as a guest conductor. Additionally, he began his collaboration as a musical assistant to Maestro James Conlon at the Opéra National de Paris, marking the start of many experiences as an assistant conductor.

Over the years, he worked with various orchestras and opera houses, including the Communal Theatre of Florence with the Orchestra of the Musical May of Florence, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the Cincinnati May Festival. He also collaborated as an associate conductor with Maestro David Golub during the 25th and 26th Festivals of the Itria Valley in Martina Franca.

In September 2000, he settled in Paris, where he secured a position as a permanent musical assistant at the Opéra National de Paris. During this time, he had the privilege of working with renowned artists such as Renée Fleming, Plácido Domingo, Leo Nucci, Angela Gheorghiu, Carol Vaness, Joseph Van Dam, and Natalie Dessay. Concurrently, he conducted chamber orchestra concerts in Paris.

In 2004, he became the principal conductor for various contemporary opera productions, including the interactive opera “Alma Sola” produced in Paris in collaboration with IRCAM – Centre Pompidou, which had several performances in Paris and Ile-de-France. Since 2005, he has served as the principal conductor of the Paris Classique Orchestra.

Since August 2006, he has been a permanent resident in the US, serving as the principal music assistant to Maestro James Conlon at the Los Angeles Opera. In 2008, he contributed to the LA Opera production of “The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny,” which won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Album and Great Performances. He also contributed to another Grammy Award-winning production, “Ghosts of Versailles,” in 2017.

Ignazio Terrasi is the Music Director of “LA Grand Ensemble,” comprised of musicians from prestigious orchestras and music institutions in Los Angeles, including the LA Philharmonic, LA Opera, and the Colburn School. In January 2019, he conducted the world premiere of a new opera by Composer Juan Colomer, “Dulcinea XL.”