About
Chamber music, up close
Impromptu Concerts was founded on the idea of creating a chamber music series that offers the finest possible acoustic experience. Chamber music is at its most compelling in an intimate setting, where audiences can feel a direct connection with the performers and the music, rather than observing from a distance.
Since its inception, the series has presented more than 25 performances, featuring talented musicians and a rich chamber music repertoire.
The host & cellist
Jonathan Karoly
Cellist Jonathan Karoly is a native of Chicago, where he began studying the cello at the age of three. He was a prize-winning cellist, pianist, and composer from an early age. Following his studies in Chicago and New York, Karoly graduated from the University of Southern California, where he was a pupil of Ronald Leonard. An avid chamber musician, Karoly has performed at music festivals including Marlboro, Kingston, La Jolla Summerfest, Verbier, Sarasota, Music Academy of the West, the International Laureates Chamber Music Festival, and Aspen. He has also been a frequent performer on Musicians from Marlboro tours across the country and appeared in live radio broadcasts of solo recitals and chamber music performances.
An accomplished competition winner, Karoly won grand prize in the Pasadena Instrumental Competition and first prize in the Chicago Cello Society Competition. He has performed concertos with numerous orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has been principal cellist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles, among others. In 2009, Karoly was the featured performer and actor in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Symphonies for Youth program entitled The Spirit of the Cello, which told a fictional story about Karoly’s cello. These performances were repeated in 2016.
Jonathan Karoly joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1997 and founded Impromptu Concerts in 2023.
Guest Artists
Past performers
- John Blacklow
- Jonathan Brown
- Brian Chen
- Nathan Cole
- Meredith Crawford
- Jin-Shan Dai
- Vijay Gupta
- Luanne Homzy
- Jennie Jung
- Johnny Lee
- Rodolfo Leone
- Teng Li
- Ashley Park
- Cara Pogossian
- Rebecca Reale
- Jenni Seo
- Akiko Tarumoto
- David Walther