Six musicians who between them have performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, recorded Hollywood film scores, and taught at conservatories across the country will play a free chamber music concert April 26 at Westminster Presbyterian Church — in a program anchored by a work Mozart declared the finest he had ever composed.
The Mt. Lowe Chamber Players, an Altadena-based ensemble, will present Mozart’s Piano Quintet with Winds, K. 452, alongside Poulenc’s Sextet for piano and winds at 3 p.m. The concert is free, as are all of the group’s performances. Parking is also free.
The ensemble’s roster for the April 26 concert reads like a cross-section of Southern California’s professional music world. Clarinetist Michele Zukovsky served as principal clarinetist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 54 years, from 1961 until her retirement in December 2015. She joined the orchestra at 18 and played under five of its music directors, from Zubin Mehta to Gustavo Dudamel. She premiered John Williams’ Clarinet Concerto with the Boston Pops in 1991.
Flutist Larry Kaplan has performed with the LA Philharmonic for more than 20 years and has played principal flute with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Pacific Symphony, according to his faculty biography at California State University, Northridge. Kaplan, an Altadena resident, lost his home in the January 2025 Eaton Fire, according to an interview with KUSC.
Oboist Jonathan Davis has performed with the San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has recorded more than 50 movie soundtracks, according to his faculty biography at UCLA. Pianist Antoinette Perry, an Altadena resident, is on the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music and has been praised by the Los Angeles Times for her artistry, according to her USC biography. French horn player John Mason is a freelance musician who performs with the LA Philharmonic and Long Beach Symphony and records for motion pictures and television, according to the Santa Barbara Music Club. Bassoonist Phoebe Ray, who also manages the ensemble, has performed with the Pasadena Pops, Pacific Symphony, and Long Beach Opera, according to the group’s website.
The program’s centerpiece, Mozart’s Quintet in E-flat Major for Piano and Winds, was completed on March 30, 1784, and premiered two days later in Vienna, with Mozart at the piano. The composer wrote to his father shortly afterward: “I myself consider it to be the best thing I have written in my life.” The quintet is scored for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon — a combination no composer before Mozart had attempted.
The Poulenc Sextet, composed around 1931–1932 and revised in 1939, adds a flute to the same instrumental forces. It is a three-movement work lasting approximately 18 minutes.
The Mt. Lowe Chamber Players’ stated mission is to present classical chamber music concerts to the Altadena community performed by professional musicians from Altadena and adjacent communities, according to the group’s website. The ensemble’s 2025–2026 season includes four free concerts — one at the Altadena Main Library and three at Westminster Presbyterian Church. The season is funded by the Altadena Library, Westminster Presbyterian Church, grants from the Altadena Rotary and Pasadena Community Foundation, and individual donors, according to a press release from the group.
Mt. Lowe Chamber Players is a project of Fulcrum Arts’ Emerge Fiscal Sponsorship Program, a Pasadena-based nonprofit arts organization, according to the press release. The final concert of the season is scheduled for May 17.
The April 26 concert begins at 3 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena. Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit www.mtlowechamberplayers.com or contact Phoebe Ray at (818) 203-5937 or phoebearay@gmail.com.
On April 26, Kaplan and five colleagues will perform at a Pasadena church — and anyone can walk in to hear them, free of charge.
