Symphony good for everyone

By Howard Ho
DAILY BRUIN REPORTER
[email protected]

While classical music remains a genre that conjures images of
crusty elitists and wealthy socialite snobs, UCLA alumnus Leah
Bergman feels that everyone should have the opportunity to
experience the classics despite not having the money for a thousand
dollar season ticket.

The West Los Angeles Symphony, which Bergman founded, will
perform a free concert tonight in Royce Hall of the music of
Tchaikovsky and Leonard Bernstein. Celebrating its 10th
anniversary, the orchestra has helped create a sense of community
through music.

By day, Bergman is a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles
and has been for 25 years. By night, she is an impresario, drawing
crowds of politicians, policemen and other community leaders to
attend the concerts. She cites both recent Los Angeles mayors,
Richard Riordan and Jim Hahn, as avid attendees of the
orchestra’s concerts.

“We’ve had a large following, which has included all
the major people who run Los Angeles. Because I’m in law
enforcement, I draw these people and they keep coming,”
Bergman said.

But Bergman’s orchestra is not just for the powerful.

“The concerts afford members of the community who
can’t go to the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles to hear
the L.A. Phil, such as elderly people, immigrants and families with
young children, the opportunity to have the experience of a good
quality orchestra and soloists without having to pay,”
Bergman said.

Unlike most community orchestras, which draw from amateur
musicians, Bergman insists that only professional musicians be
brought in to play in order to maintain a high standard of
performance. The high quality orchestra then attracts high quality
soloists, such as tonight’s Russian pianist Kirill
Gliadkovsky, who will in turn attract more audience members. This
rosy picture of good, better, best gets interrupted when there is
talk of money.

Bergman’s orchestra is a nonprofit organization that
applies for government grants, corporate sponsors and donations
from viewers. Usually she keeps costs down by having the orchestra
play in free venues. With financial support, however, she has been
able to rent out Royce Hall once a year for the past four years as
a big season finale. It isn’t cheap. Royce costs $11,000 to
rent and the musicians (there will be 68 in tonight’s
orchestra) cost collectively $14,000, or $200 per musician.

“It’s a huge undertaking for us to do this and we
consider this our gift to the community ““ by treating the
community to this wonderful venue, which is really a tough nut for
us to crack,” Bergman said.

But for Bergman, all the financial hardship is worth the ability
to play in Royce Hall.

“It’s the epitome,” Bergman said. “We
sound beautiful there. We don’t have to worry about playing
in places that weren’t meant to be concert halls.”

Bergman’s love of music came largely from her days at
UCLA, where she played clarinet in the UCLA Symphonic Wind
Ensemble. In fact, among the professionals in the West Los Angeles
Symphony, Bergman still claims a spot in the clarinet section.

Bergman’s other motivation for playing in Royce, of
course, is to get UCLA students involved with the orchestra, which
typically plays in churches and synagogues within close driving
distance of UCLA. She hopes to get youth involved in classical
music and even has the orchestra’s musicians tour local
schools and field questions from students. Bergman is confident
that classical music can be for everyone.

“Once people come they are hooked,” Bergman said.
“They come over and over again because they realize how
terrific the concerts are.”