Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Receives $2 Million Donation for New Commissions

"House of Cards" composer Jeff Beal donated the money to fund works by film, TV, and game composers for the concert platform

House of Cards composer Jeff Beal and his wife Joan Beal have made a donation of $2 million to the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO). The gift is specifically to fund commissions for new works for the concert hall, written by film, TV, and game composers.

Three composers have already been selected for the commissions. They are Get Out composer Michael Abels, who will write a concerto for orchestra for the 2025/26 season; the Irish conductor-composer Eímear Noone of the World of Warcraft game soundtrack, who will offer a flute concerto for the 2026/27 season; and Journey game composer Austin Wintory, whose contribution is yet to be defined.

At a private event at the Steinway Piano Gallery in Beverly Hills, LACO executive director Ben Cadwallader explained that many of LACO's players spend much of their working time playing film and TV scores in large LA studios. This commissioning initiative will therefore help to draw the two worlds together, and will also expand the orchestra's repertoire.

A five-time EMMY Award-winner, Jeff Beal has written music for documentaries and dramas including House of Cards, Pollock, Appaloosa, JFK Revisited, The Putin Interviews, The Queen of Versailles, Generation Wealth, and Shock and Awe.

He also composes for the concert platform, with recent commissions coming from Leonard Slatkin, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and soprano Hila Plitmann; The Los Angeles Master Chorale; flautist Sharon Bezaly and the Minnesota Orchestra; and violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins.

"There is an awkward, odd disconnect between the concert stage and the composers of Hollywood, and the music they create," Jeff Beal said. "This is an effort to give back, to support a wonderful orchestra of folks who’ve played on our scores for years, and try and influence the conversation around the concert stage and the deep pool of brilliant composers in Los Angeles and beyond."

The gift will "not only provide our patrons here in Los Angeles with the thrill of being among the first to discover the classical works from established and emerging composers actively working in the entertainment industry, but these newly commissioned pieces will then become available for chamber orchestras and audiences across the globe," said LACO senior development officer David Coscia.