THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ANNOUNCES
THE APPOINTMENT OF NEW ORCHESTRA MEMBERS

Four Musicians to Join the LA Phil for the 2022/23 Season:
Marc Lachat, Principal Oboe, Carol Colburn Grigor Chair
Kaelan Decman, Associate Principal Bass
David Riccobono, Assistant Principal Timpani/Section Percussion
James Mason Soria, Tuba

Left to Right: Marc Lachat, Kaelan Decman, David Riccobono and James Mason Soria

Spanish Version Here.

LOS ANGELES (September 14, 2022) – The Los Angeles Philharmonic today announced the appointments of four new members of the orchestra: Marc Lachat as Principal Oboe, Carol Colburn Grigor Chair; Kaelan Decman as Associate Principal Bass; David Riccobono as Assistant Principal Timpani/Section Percussion; and James Mason Soria to the Tuba position, effective immediately for the start of the 2022/23 season.

After being accepted into the Paris Conservatoire, Marc Lachat won first prize by unanimous acclaim at the Young Musicians’ Autumn Festival and also received the Best Contemporary Performance Prize (2009). This prize launched his career by allowing him to play six concerts as a soloist. Soon after, he won other highly prestigious international competitions: the ARD in Munich (2011) and the Prague Spring International Competition (2013).

Passionate about orchestras, he trained with the French Youth Orchestra and then with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra. He was then awarded the position of

principal oboe for the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (2009). In 2013, he became the principal oboist for the Basel Orchestra. He stood out for his light and airy style, and, at the request of Sir Roger Norrington, he joined the Zurich Chamber Orchestra alongside his position in Basel.

As a lover of chamber music, Lachat became a member of the Klarthe Quintet, with which he won another prize at the international ARD competition in Munich (2014). He played regularly with the quintet and with other chamber music groups at numerous festivals throughout France, Italy and Switzerland: Palazzetto Bru Zane Festival in Venice, Auvers-sur-Oise Festival, Arromanches Festival, Vier Jahrenzeiten Konzerte in Blumenstein, Kultur in Zehntenhof and the Queille Festival.

His talent has allowed him to play many times as soloist, in the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the Basel Symphony Orchestra (2018), and in the Mozart Oboe Concerto, first with the Monaco Orchestra (2011) and then the Basel Orchestra (2014). He played in the Bach Double Concerto alongside violinists Frank Peter Zimmermann (2009) and Daniel Hope (2020). He has performed Bach’s Oboe Concerto at the Tonhalle MAAG in Zurich, and the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

He has worked as a solo oboist with eminent conductors, including Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Sir Roger Norrington, Marek Janowski, François-Xavier Roth, Tugan Sokhiev, Gianandrea Noseda, Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Pierre Boulez, Georges Prêtre and Lorin Maazel.

As principal oboe, Lachat has performed with leading orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the London Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, l’Orchestre de Paris and Hessische Rundfunk (Frankfurt).

Kaelan Decman was appointed to the position of Associate Principal Bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Gustavo Dudamel in the spring of 2022. Prior to his appointment, he was a member of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra bass section. A Los Angeles native, he is honored to be able to represent his hometown amongst the ranks of its premier orchestra.

Decman began his musical career playing the electric bass and performing a variety of genres including pop, jazz, R&B and funk, while also pursuing intensive classical training on the double bass. He began his instrumental studies under the tutelage of Los Angeles-based recording artist and composer Jonathan Richards, during which time he was mentored by and collaborated frequently with renowned jazz pianist and composer David Benoit as part of the Asia America Symphony Association.

During his studies at Indiana University, Decman assumed the position of Principal Bass of both the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Terre Haute Symphony Orchestras. He has since made appearances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. He has as also participated in a number of summer music festivals as a fellow, including the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the New York String Orchestra Seminar and the Music Academy of the West, where he was awarded a Global Academy Zarin Mehta Fellowship granting him the opportunity to perform with the New York Philharmonic.

Outside of his work with the orchestra, Decman maintains a private teaching studio and enjoys hiking, cycling, rock climbing, cooking, playing video games and spending time with his dog. He and his partner Sarina are avid gourmets and enjoy exploring the wide variety of wine, beer and vegan cuisine that Southern California has to offer.

Decman earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Double Bass Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and continued his graduate studies at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. His primary collegiate instructors include Bruce Bransby and fellow section member David Allen Moore. He performs on a modern American double bass made in 2003 by Albert Jackstadt, using a bow made by Robert Dow.

David Riccobono is joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic as the Assistant Principal Timpani/Section Percussion at the beginning of its 2022/23 season. Prior to this, he was Principal Percussionist of the Long Beach Symphony and an avid freelancer in the Greater Los Angeles area.  Riccobono had often performed as either Percussionist or Timpanist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony and Pasadena Symphony. His summer engagements include fellowships with the Round Top Festival Institute, Tanglewood Music Center and Music Academy of the West, as well as performing with the Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra in San Diego.

A native of Huntington Beach, Calif., Riccobono began playing percussion at age eight. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from UCLA, studying with both Raynor Carroll and Theresa Dimond. He then went on to pursue a Master of Music degree at USC, studying with James Babor, Joseph Pereira, Naoko Takada and Matthew Howard. Riccobono has also competed in the Modern Snare Drum Competition in Cleveland, Ohio, and was runner up in both 2019 and 2021.

James Mason Soria began his musical endeavors on the tuba at the age of 10 and currently holds the Tuba position in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Soria’s orchestral pursuit began in his sophomore year of high school when he won the Principal Tuba position in the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. He held this position until graduating from high school and was able to go on the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra China tour in the summer of 2015. He was then awarded a full-tuition music scholarship to the University of North Texas, where he studied with Professors Donald Little and Matthew Good in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance.

Soria has since been chosen as a semifinalist in the Leonard Falcone International Tuba Artist Competition in 2018 and 2021. He was also awarded a fellowship to the prestigious Aspen Music Festival, where he studied with Warren Deck in 2019, and later in 2021 when he won the Aspen Music Festival Brass Concerto Competition. Shortly after returning from his first summer in Aspen, Soria won the Principal Tuba position with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2019. He held that position while earning his master’s degree at the Frost School of Music at University of Miami, where he was a teaching assistant studying under the tutelage of Dr. Aaron Tindall from 2020 to 2022. While in his last semester at Frost, Soria won the Principal Tuba position with the Richmond Symphony, playing only a few weeks of concerts before he won the Tuba position with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in May 2022.

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ABOUT THE LA PHIL
Under the leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that inspire and strengthen communities in Los Angeles and beyond. The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra is the foundation of the LA Phil’s offerings, which also include a multi-genre, multidisciplinary presenting program and such youth development programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). Performances are offered on three historic stages—Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford—as well as through a variety of media platforms. In all its endeavors, the LA Phil seeks to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through musical, artistic and learning experiences that resonate in our world today.