Composer Gabriella Smith (
@gabriella.coati ) curated a night of natural wonder presented from a plant-filled stage to cap off our Green Umbrella concert season.
Anchoring the first half of the night was Smith’s duo set with cellist Gabriel Cabezas (
@starbuckcello ), a deep meditation on the environment built through layers of looped electronics, acoustic instruments, and vocals.
John Cage’s Branches, activated a spatialized ensemble of seven musicians playing amplified cacti, seed pods, and other plant material foraged from across Southern California.
LA-based composer and jazz pianist
@billychildspiano expanded upon Smith’s natural themes with “My Roots Spread Far and Wide”, paying homage to the giant sequoia tree with energetic rhythms from his trio and lush harmonics from the LA Phil New Music Group strings conducted by
@mollyxiuturner .
The concert also featured a solo cello live written as a birthday gift from Gabriella for Gabriel and two new additions to the LA Phil Etudes series including a piece for two bass drums written by
@michaelgordon481 for principal percussionist
@matthoward_percussion and
@esapekkasalonen.official ’s bassoon etude brought to life by our own Evan Kuhlmann (
@kuhlbassoon ).
You never know what you’ll experience at a Green Umbrella concert! Explore 2026/27 series at link in bio.
📸:
@scottkenji 
