Julia Moss presents world premiere of “(Please Don’t) Look Away” with LACO

On Nov. 22 and 23, USC Thornton Composition program alumna Julia Moss (MM ’24) premiered her work “(Please Don’t) Look Away” with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) as part of the concert “A Brahmsian Affair.” Exploring empathy, reflection and renewal, her sextet bridges Brahms’ Romantic spirit with a bold, contemporary voice that plays with time and texture.

A LACO teaching artist, Moss also presented a Q&A that gave insight into her creative process and the emotional ideas behind the work.

“Melody is very fragmented throughout the piece, but at the end there is a melody that finally breaks through the texture—one of longing and desperation, one that feels urgent to me,” Moss said. “I see it as a final plea, sort of begging us not to look away.”

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Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.