Past Performances

Experience the essence of la dolce vita at this historic evening honoring the Academy Award-winning actress and silver screen icon, Sophia Loren. Festivities begin at Charles Krug, where the Festival celebrates Loren’s legacy with a captivating concert bringing together exceptional music, talent, and family. Maestro Carlo Ponti, Sophia Loren’s son, leads his dynamic Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, and Carlo’s own son, 16-year-old pianist Vittorio Ponti, makes his festival debut.

Celebrate the conclusion of one of our most exciting seasons with masterpieces by Eric Satie, Leos Janaceck, and W.A Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 12 in A Major, with emerging young piano virtuosa Hye Jin Park debuting with the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra!

Returning to Los Angeles’ St. James Church as part of its Great Music / Classical Sundays at Six series, LAV performs a nocturne by Antonin Dvorak and Igor Stravinsky’s Concerto in D, followed by one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most popular concertos, featuring Vittorio Ponti’s solo debut! This concert is free of charge and seating will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Our 2023/2024 season opens in grand style with a lineup of unforgettable orchestral works for strings, including one of Eric Satie’s evergreens, Gymnopedie no. 2, W.A. Mozart’s genial Divertimento in B-Flat Major, and compelling musical gems by Carl Nielsen and Franz Schubert, featuring acclaimed violinist Yu Eun Kim.

Celebrated soprano Lisa Delan returns to the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz stage, performing one of her signature works. This is combined with an exciting finale by Jacques Castérède and W.A. Mozart’s Harp and Flute Concerto, featuring two rising musical stars in their Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra debuts.

Don’t miss this exclusive Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra mid-season performance at Los Angeles’ St. James Church, as part of its Great Music / Classical  Sundays at Six series. It will feature Tchaikovsky’s rarely heard Elegy, a musical gem by Mozart, and one of Frank Martin’s most enthralling works – all with our biggest lineup of young talent yet! This concert is free of charge and seating will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

An orchestral concert led by guest conductor Constantine Orbelian, featuring operatic arias from ‘Il Tigrane’ by Vivaldi, Gluck, and Hasse, and songs by Katchaturian and Komitas performed by world-renowned soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian.

Ring in our exciting 8th season at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz with two emerging violinists’ dazzling artistry gracing Johann Sebastian Bach’s evergreen Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, book ended by an orchestral favorite by Camille Saint-Saens and Josef Suk’s emotional Serenade in E-flat major.

Emerging young soloists gracing J.S. Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, a musical favorite by Ottorino Respighi, and the West Coast premiere of French composer Charles Koechlin’s tone poem Sur les flots lointains, crown one of our most exciting seasons ever!

Maestro Carlo Ponti and LAV join Violins of Hope for a celebration of Jewish music and history through the artistry of young violinists, performing on storied violins played during the Holocaust. Celebrate the unifying power of music in this unique and emotional tribute!

Ring in the 2021-22 season with young pianist Lilian Guo in her orchestral debut, performing W.A. Mozart’s beloved Concert Rondo in D Major, and flute virtuoso Rachel Mellis’ artistry in Saint-Saens’ Odelette, framed by two dynamic Mozart symphonies!

Celebrate unforgettable orchestral masterworks by Pachelbel, Mozart and Debussy in an exciting mid-season live-streamed concert showcasing three young talented up-and-coming soloists, and music students of the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra’s current partner schools in their first appearances with a professional orchestra! {Video of the Concert}

Don’t miss a live-streamed season-opening performance of dazzling piano artistry at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz featuring the Judges Award Winners of the Orange County Music & Dance School’s Rising Stars Piano Competition. {Video of the Concert}

Join Red Hen Press and The Broad Stage in an exclusive mid-season performance event! Carlo Ponti and Edoardo Ponti team up for an unforgettable afternoon of music and poetry, including readings by Edoardo Ponti from his poetry collection, Letters From a Young Father, which will reveal themes associated with one of the greatest journeys of all: fatherhood; illustrated by musical works performed by the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra under conductor Carlo Ponti.

The Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra joins forces with the talented young singers of the Fountain Valley High School Vocal Program in this exclusive fall performance crowned once again by Antonio Vivaldi’s exquisite Gloria!

Celebrate the beginning of the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra’s fifth concert season with an exciting performance at the West Performing Arts Center featuring Mozart’s genial Second Violin Concerto and Antonio Vivaldi’s timeless Gloria, with the combined vocal forces of the West High School Choirs!

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in D minor, featuring the dazzling artistry of violin soloist YuEun Kim, concludes the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra’s fourth season in grand style at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz, complemented by musical works from Erik Satie and Sir Edward Elgar.

Carlo Ponti and the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra are back at Bing Theater as part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Sundays Live series with inspired readings of Bela Bartok’s dazzling Divertimento for Strings and Mozart’s First Violin Concerto with acclaimed violinist Roberto Cani.

Our fourth season kicks off in grand style with LAV's concert debut at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center, featuring thrilling symphonic works by Samuel Barber, Gustav Holst, and the majesty of Mozart's great "Coronation" Mass, with the combined vocal forces of the Chanteurs and Arcadia Choral Society.

Don’t miss a unique season finale performance at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz featuring the artistry of soprano Lisa Delan in Joseph Canteloube’s Chants D’Auvergne, concluded by a thrilling reading of Ludwig van Beethoven’s First Symphony.

Don't miss this unforgettable mid-season musical event crowned by violin virtuosi Etienne Gara's and Yu Eun Kim’s inspiring performances of selections from Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Kick off LAV’s third season at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz in grand style with gripping musical masterpieces by Camille Saint-Saens and Dmitri Shostakovich framing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most admired orchestral work.

Ending its second year as the orchestra-in-residence at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz, the Los Angeles Virtuosi’s performances of masterworks by Antonio Vivaldi, featuring the thrilling artistry of renowned violinist Roberto Cani, coupled with masterworks by Claude Debussy and Ludwig van Beethoven are sure to send spirits soaring!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, his last symphonic work, rounds off an evening of musical favorites by Giacomo Puccini and Benjamin Britten, in the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra’s debut performance at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Bing Auditorium, courtesy of its Sundays Live concert series.

Carlo Ponti and the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra return to the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz with an emotional opening performance that tugs at the heartstrings, featuring orchestral masterpieces by Gabriel Fauré, Antonín Dvořák and the anticipated Los Angeles premiere of Frank Martin’s Petite Symphonie Concertante.

Maestro Carlo Ponti joins international recording artist Alexia Vassiliou in an emotional tribute to some of Hollywood’s most memorable soundtracks, coupled with the West Los Angeles premiere of Georges Bizet’s exciting First Symphony.

Maestro Carlo Ponti and the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra are sure to thrill and delight with inspired readings of dramatic orchestral arrangements of Giuseppe Verdi’s and Claude Debussy’s String Quartets, performed for the very first time on the West Coast. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.9 rounds off a compelling mid-season event.

Don’t miss this much anticipated evening featuring guest soprano Stacey Tappan and the Los Angeles debut of the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, led by Maestro Carlo Ponti and showcasing popular Italian, French and Russian musical masterpieces by Jules Massenet, Giuseppe Verdi, Antonio Vivaldi and Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, among others.

Musical Program

Astor Piazzola, Invierno Porteno
Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto no.10, op.30, RV 580
Astor Piazzola, Primavera Portena

Kevin Kumar, Maia Jasper, Yi-Huan Zhao and Jin-Shan Dai, soloists

Musical Program

Antonio Vivaldi, Selections from the Four Seasons
Vittorio Monti, Csardas
Ennio Morricone, Theme from Cinema Paradiso
Gioacchino Rossini, Overture to William Tell

Caroline Campbell, violin

Festival Napa Valley put on a truly special celebration honoring Sophia Loren in her 80th birthday year. The tribute took place at Far Niente, one of Napa’s most storied and luxurious vineyards. Dinner was orchestrated to reflect Ms. Loren’s Italian roots and her passion for food, and featured superb vintages from Far Niente, which, like La Bella Sophia, are known the world over.

Bring the entire family to a free community concert featuring Maestro Carlo Ponti and the LA Virtuosi in a program of classical favorites. This concert kicks off Festival del Sole’s celebration of the life and career of Sophia Loren.