Composer

Dolores is an opera that floats between the real and the imagined, memory and nightmare. Composer Nicolás Lell Benavides and librettist Marella Martin Koch stitch history into something fragile and feverish. There are sacred chants, electric guitar pulsations, bossa nova hallucinations.

Labor icon Dolores Huerta helped build a union out of dust and righteous anger. She walked the fields, held the line, made the calls. With César Chávez and Larry Itliong, she shaped a movement that reached the ears of presidents but never lost sight of the people bent over the vines. The work didn’t stop. It never does. That’s the cost of believing another world is possible.

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Dolores

National Hispanic Cultural Center

Dolores Huerta is an iconic labor leader and activist who took on the fight for civil rights during the 1968 Delano Grape Strike. With Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong, Huerta’s tireless fight for workers’ rights leads all the way to the White House. Her resilience in the face of adversity, and her profound impact on social justice in America changed history, reminding us that the fight for justice is ongoing and that one person’s courage can ignite a movement.

West Edge Opera

Immerse yourself in an evening of exquisite chamber music with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall. This special performance, scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 8:00 PM, promises an intimate musical experience unlike any other.

The program features a new commission for Oboe, Tenor, and String Quartet by Nicolás Lell Benavides, showcasing the talents of members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic alongside the remarkable tenor, Joshua Blue. This event is a unique opportunity to witness the synergy of world-class musicians as they bring to life contemporary compositions and classical favorites in a more personal setting.

Enhance your experience by joining us for a complimentary wine reception starting at 6:30 PM in BP Hall. This pre-concert gathering is the perfect way to begin your evening, allowing you to mingle with fellow music enthusiasts and set the tone for the night's performance.

This concert is part of the Chamber Music 2 CH2 Series, which includes other not-to-be-missed performances throughout the season. Whether you're a long-time classical music aficionado or new to the chamber music scene, this event is sure to captivate and inspire.

Please note that programs, artists, dates, prices, and availability are subject to change. All sales are final, and ticket limits may apply. For more information on directions, parking, and venue policies, visit our website.

Don't miss this extraordinary evening of chamber music with the LA Phil. Reserve your tickets now and prepare for an unforgettable musical journey.

Chamber Music with the LA Phil

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Where do we belong? Inspired by a real program that reunites families separated by immigration policies at the U.S.-Mexico Border, but only for three minutes, Tres minutos by composer Nicolás Lell Benavides and librettist Marella Martin Koch imagines the story of Diego and Nila, a brother and sister who share DNA but not citizenship. When Diego is deported, leaving Nila behind, questions of identity, duty and belonging threaten to consume them.

Tres minutos

Jacobs Music Center

Featuring students from the Juilliard Preparatory Division, this concert will celebrate the creativity of young musicians with newly commissioned works for professional and youth orchestras. In partnership with the Juilliard Preparatory Division and American Composers Forum.

Young People’s Concert: Composing Inclusion

Lincoln Center

Joan and Irwin Jacobs Music Center

Left Coast and the San Francisco Girls Chorus team up to present a program which centers the voices of Californian women composers at the California Festival. 

This Is What It Means

First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Journey into the beyond with Daniel Hope and New Century as they offer music for communing with spirits, whether connecting with those we’ve lost or outwitting death for another night! Mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor joins the orchestra in a candlelit, otherworldly setting to examine connections with the afterlife from many cultural angles, including a world premiere commission by Nicolás Lell Benavides that summons the spirit of Doña Sebastiana, Lady Death of the American Southwest.

Visitations

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture

Journey into the beyond with Daniel Hope and New Century as they offer music for communing with spirits, whether connecting with those we’ve lost or outwitting death for another night! Mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor and a haunting chorus of eight voices join our musicians in a candlelit, otherworldly setting to examine connections with the afterlife from many cultural angles, such as Paul Dukas’s playful tone poem The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Argentinian composer Ariel Ramírez’s resplendent Misa Criolla. Composer Nicolás Lell Benavides premieres a new work commissioned by New Century, a piece for violin and strings that summons the spirit of Doña Sebastiana, Lady Death of the American Southwest.

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

First Congregational Church of Berkeley

This program ends as it begins—with breathtaking string quintets! Mozart’s Third exudes an effortless joy and elegance, weaving playful melodies into lively and refined conversations between the instruments. Composer and LA Phil violist John Hayhurst’s Adagio is rather brief yet comforting, drawing inspiration from the final words of Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, and Michael Lando.

Composer

Nicolás Lell Benavides

Events

Upcoming events

Mar 17, 2026

Mozart & Benavides · Los Angeles Philharmonic

Past events

Oct 26 - Nov 2, 2025

Dolores · Opera Southwest

2 - 16 Aug, 2025

Dolores · West Edge Opera

About

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