Join us for a very special performance and art workshop in partnership with the Long Beach Opera celebrating the life and work Mexican-American queer post-war composer, Pauline Oliveros. A pioneer of experimental and electronic music who challenged societal hierarchical and patriarchal structures through her music, Pauline transformed transformed the very act of listening, encouraging musicians, and non-musicians alike, to engage with sound and each other with empathy and mutual respect. Free to families and MOLAA members. Enjoy the performance in the garden, and stay for the art workshops and food. Food and drink available for purchase.
McCall Cadenas is a writer, director, and performer hailing from vibrant East Los Angeles. Raised in this culturally rich environment, her artistic journey has been influenced by the landscape of L.A., which has been the foundation of her commitment to preserving the stories of her community. Through her work, she pushes boundaries and challenges traditional norms. Her narratives are a testament to the power of the female perspective, exploring contemporary issues of identity. Her stories intricately weave together the layers of her culture, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in narratives that resonate profoundly with the human experience.
Shelley Burgon is a harpist, composer and sound installation artist who creates ambient and abstract music using graphic notation, indeterminacy, electronics and sound sculptures.
Shelley’s chamber music has been recorded by the Ne(x)tworks ensemble featuring the vocalist Joan LaBarbara. Her most recent work The In Between for solo harp will be released on Thin Wrist in July 2025. Shelley’s music has been commissioned for film, chamber ensembles and choreographers, ost notably by The Merce Cunningham Dance Company for their Hudson Valley Project at the Dia Beacon.
As an ensemble member, Shelley is sought after for her vast experience as an interpreter of new-music and the classical avant-garde performing the works of Pauline Oliveros, John Cage, Butch Morris, Morton Subotnick, Cornelius Cardew and most recently performing with the Long Beach Opera and Wild Up. She has performed at institutions such as the Whitney Museum, MoMA, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Lincoln Center and has recorded harp for various artists ranging from Bjork to Anthony Braxton. Her most recent release is a duo record with the guitarist Fred Frith.
Shelley received her MFA in Electronic Music from Mills College where she studied with pioneering electronics musicians and composers such as Pauline Oliveros, Maggi Payne, Fred Frith, Alvin Curran and Maryanne Amacher. The New York Times has referred to her as a “new-music luminary” describing her performance of Earle Brown’s Four Systems as “mesmerizing.”
Sharon Chohi Kim is thrilled to be back at MOLAA with Long Beach Opera. Chohi is a performing artist and composer working at the intersection of immersive experimental opera, performance art, improvisation, sound art, and site-specific activation through movement and voice. She recently premiered new work at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, and in Diasporic Refractions, a program by LA Phil Insight in collaboration with GYOPO.
Chohi has performed with a wide range of institutions and ensembles, including the Getty Center, LA Philharmonic, Hammer Museum, Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Industry, Wild Up, Human Resources LA, Getty Villa, the Broad, REDCAT, LA Master Chorale, Berggruen Institute, Hollywood Bowl, LA Opera, Epoch Gallery, Four Larks, and HEX—performing in halls, museums, tunnels, gardens, and in water.
Her work as a performer and composer has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, KCET, KCRW, New Classic LA, SF Classical Voice, and the Los Angeles Times.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Marlon Martinez is a virtuoso bassist and composer who has demonstrated his virtuosity touring and recording with a diverse range of artists such as Stewart Copeland, Quatuor Ebène and Wild Up. Marlon is the protégé of Stanley Clarke and studied with Ron Carter in New York City. He is the music director, composer and bassist of his big band, Marlonius Jazz Orchestra. Marlon was an artist-in-residence for the inaugural Amplify Series at Colburn School in 2022.
Marlon graduated with his master’s degree in classical bass at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in 2015, as a student of Leigh Mesh and Peter Lloyd. An avid orchestral musician in Los Angeles, Marlon has performed for conductors Gustavo Dudamel, John Adams, Anthony Parnther and Christopher Rountree, and with orchestras such as New West Symphony, Ojai Festival Orchestra and San Diego Symphony. In 2010 and 2011, Marlon was selected to join the highly acclaimed Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, where he performed with conductors Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev and Neeme Järvi. He performed with classical soloists such as Mischa Maisky, Yuja Wang, and Deborah Voigt. Marlon is a recording and touring artist with Wild Up, and is a featured performer with Long Beach Opera, Brightwork, The Industry and various new music projects around Los Angeles.
As a jazz performer, Marlon has played with many well established jazz artists, such as Stanley Clarke, Ellis Marsalis, Ravi Coltrane, Donald Vega, Nicholas Payton, Gerry Gibbs, Simon Phillips, Kye Palmer, Tamir Hendelman, Barbara Morrison, and Mike Garson. As a faculty member at the Centrum 2023 jazz workshop in Port Townsend, Marlon performed with John Clayton, Terell Stafford, Tia Fuller, Jeff Hamilton, Rene Marie and Wycliffe Gordon among others. As a studio musician in Los Angeles, Marlon has recorded for artists such as John Powell, Seth MacFarlane, Michael Giacchino, Justin Hurwitz, and Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox. Notable tour appearances include the 2015 21C Music Festival with Stewart Copeland and Jon Kimura Parker in Off The Score, and the 2016 Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Academy with Quatuor Ebène and Stacey Kent.
Marlon is an authority and educator on the jazz composer Billy Strayhorn. He was a guest speaker at the Library Of Congress for the 2023 Strayhorn: Known and Unknown discussion panel alongside David Hajdu, Alyce Claerbaut, Robert O’Meally and Lisa Barg. Dedicated to celebrating Strayhorn’s legacy, Marlon created an educational video series, Ever Up And Onward: A Tribute To Billy Strayhorn, produced by Colburn School and in collaboration with the Billy Strayhorn Foundation. Marlonius Jazz Orchestra is dedicated to recording and reviving famous and newly discovered Billy Strayhorn compositions. Marlonius Jazz Orchestra will record their official studio projects in 2025, produced by Stanley Clarke and featuring guest singers Olivia Kuper Harris and Mara Kaye.
Instagram: @marloniusmusic
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