On Saturday night, January 26, 2007, seven Academy of Music students joined with the orchestra of Los Angeles Opera for a fully-staged performance of George Friedrich Handel's oratorio "Judas Maccabeaus." The company's music director James Conlon conducted the orchestra, soloists and choirs at the performance attended by about 6,000 at the Cathedral Our Lady of the Angels. Our students made up half of the string section, sharing stands with regular members of the LA Opera orchestra. The students were Daniel Alley, Jeffery Crawford, Kevin Cuevas, Martha Gomez, Joe Henry, Benton Preciado, Aldo Scamardella and Andy Studer. The photos show the students in rehearsal with Maestro Conlon and the orchestra. This was the second year of our Symphony Orchestra performing with LA Opera. Last year, the entire string section was the orchestra for a performanmce of Benjamin Britten's "Noye's Fludde."