The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced today that Anna Handler will become the orchestra’s Conductor-in-Residence.

As much as I’ve been able to research, she is the first person to be given that title. Lionel Bringuier had previously been the orchestra’s first-ever “Resident Conductor” after starting as Assistant Conductor and subsequently being elevated to Associate Conductor, eventually holding the fancier title through the 2011-12 season.

Ms. Handler was a Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the LA Phil during the 2023-24 season but has not held another official role with them until now. She starts a 3-year term in her new post at the beginning of the 2026-27 season. Her duties will include:

• An “annual three-week commitment at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Beckmen YOLA Center, leading the LA Phil and conducting an annual project with YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles)” (no clarification regarding yet regarding how those 3 weeks will be allocated)
• In the 2026/27 season:
  • She will also curate and perform on keyboards in a chamber music program, which will highlight Beethoven and include a collaboration with Luna Lab
  • She will lead 2 subscription weeks:
    • An all Philip Glass program on March 12-13, 2027, with Anne Akiko Meyers (violin), Davóne Tines (baritone), and Oliver Latry (organ)
    • Four performances May 27-30, 2027 (3 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and 1 at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa) of the John Williams Piano Concerto (Emanuel Ax, soloist) and the Mahler Symphony No. 1

She will also conduct one Hollywood Bowl concert this summer on Tuesday, August 25: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony; Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano featuring LA Phil musicians Bing Wang (Associate Concertmaster and current Acting Concertmaster), Robert deMaine (Principal Cello), and Joanne Pearce Martin (Keyboards); and Grace-Evangeline Mason‘s ABLAZE THE MOON.

The 29-years old German/Columbian was born in France and grew up in Munich; she turns 30 next week. She is currently Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony where her current contract runs through the end of this season. In the 2026-27 season, she’ll become Chief Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra and Artist-in-Residence at Beethoven-Haus Bonn.

The full press release is below:

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LOS ANGELES, April 7, 2026—Today the LA Phil announced the appointment of Anna Handler as Conductor-in-Residence, beginning with the LA Phil’s 2026/27 season. Confirming Handler’s rapidly ascending presence on the international stage, the appointment underscores her exceptional musical leadership and compelling vision for engaging new and diverse audiences with orchestral music. 

LA Phil President and CEO Kim Noltemy states, “Anna is such a talent on the podium, and her artistry and musical ideas have cultivated a deep connection with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, galvanizing the musicians and supporting the orchestra’s continued artistic evolution. Her work furthers our broader vision of a leadership model that reflects artistic excellence, expansive and innovative programming and our dedication to the communities we serve.”

Handler’s responsibilities will include an annual three-week commitment at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Beckmen YOLA Center, leading the LA Phil and conducting an annual project with YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). In the 2026/27 season, she will also curate and perform on keyboards in a chamber music program, which will highlight Beethoven and include a collaboration with Luna Lab.

Handler was recently named Chief Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, where she will begin her tenure in the 2026/27 season. She will also serve as Artist-in-Residence at Beethoven-Haus Bonn during its 2026/27 season, which will mark the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death.

“I feel very honored to return to the LA Phil as Conductor-in-Residence,” Handler said. “I have long admired the LA Phil as one of the most dynamic and innovative orchestras in the world. My time as a Dudamel Fellow was profoundly formative, and it is especially meaningful to deepen this relationship with an orchestra that has played such an important role in my artistic journey. I look forward to collaborating with these remarkable musicians, creating new concert experiences and engaging with audiences across Los Angeles.”

Handler’s relationship with the LA Phil began in 2023 through the prestigious Dudamel Fellowship Program, where she distinguished herself as a thoughtful collaborator and dynamic leader. During her fellowship, she worked alongside Gustavo Dudamel, musicians of the LA Phil and a roster of guest artists and conductors to develop her skills both on and off the podium, including serving as a mentor in programs such as YOLA.

“One of my greatest joys has been to watch our Dudamel Fellows continue to rise and share their incredible musical talents across the globe. Anna — with her boundless skill, curiosity, passion, and inspiration — is a perfect example, and I am so proud to welcome her back to our LA Phil family in this new capacity,” says LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel.

Handler will conduct the orchestra in a series of highly anticipated performances in the coming year, including Beethoven’s Fifth on August 25 at the Hollywood Bowl, Minimalist Icons: Philip Glass on March 12 and 13, 2027, and a program featuring John Williams’ Piano Concerto and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, “Titan,” on May 27–28 & 30, 2027, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

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ABOUT ANNA HANDLER
Anna Handler has been present on stages and in concert halls around the world since her debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2022.

In November 2025, she was appointed Chief Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra and will assume her position in the 2026/27 season. Since the 2025/26 season, she has served as Kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she was invited to lead 11 opera performances in her first season. In 2024, she was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra by Andris Nelsons and will complete her two-year term in the summer of 2026. Prior to that, she served as a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Following her debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall, she was immediately invited to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in July 2025. Last summer, Handler made her highly acclaimed debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Music Festival.

For the 2026/27 anniversary season, Anna Handler will serve as Artist in Residence at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. There, she will curate four concerts in which she will appear as soloist, chamber musician and conductor.

In her concerts in the summer of 2026 at the Hollywood Bowl and at Tanglewood, Beethoven’s works — including the Fifth and Seventh Symphonies as well as the Triple Concerto — will once again occupy a central place. During the 2025/26 season, Handler also gave her subscription debuts with both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Collaborations with Barbara Hannigan, Sabine Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma and Augustin Hadelich are among the highlights of her career to date.

Handler’s relationship with the Salzburg Festival began in 2022 with her debut as Music Director of Leoš Janáček’s Kát’a Kabanová in the renowned Opera Camp series, followed by Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges in 2023 and Carl Orff’s Die Kluge in 2024.

Handler grew up in Munich and initially studied piano and conducting at the University of Music and Theatre Munich. She continued her training at the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar, the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale di Imola and the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.

She was the first conducting student ever to receive the prestigious Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School in New York, where she completed her Master’s degree in 2023.

As director of the ensemble Enigma Classica, which she founded in 2019, Anna Handler works with distinguished soloists. A particular focus of her work is technology-supported music mediation in real time.

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Photo credit: Peter Rigaud