Zubin Mehta has been named Conductor Emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Simon Woods, CEO of the orchestra, announced the news from the stage of Walt Disney Concert Hall before the second half of last night’s concert in which Mr. Mehta was beginning his second week of Brahms programs this season. Given that Mr. Mehta’s … Continue reading
Jeffrey Strong will be the new 3rd/Utility Trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Fresno native has been 2nd Trumpet with the St. Louis Symphony since 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Strong served as a trumpeter in the U.S. Marine Band from 2009 to 2015. National Public Radio (NPR) interviewed him in 2011 regarding his … Continue reading
The Colburn School announced earlier today that Esa-Pekka Salonen will be joining the faculty of the Colburn Conservatory. The Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra of London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic will lead the brand new Negaunee Conducting Program devoted to training young conductors. The program is named for the Negaunee … Continue reading
This evening, Ramón Ortega headlines a chamber music concert at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall featuring oboe-centric works by Mozart, Koechlin, and Gounod. It marks the first official public appearance by Mr. Ortega as Colburn Conservatory’s new oboe instructor. Later this week, he officially begins performing at his other gig in town — Principal Oboe of … Continue reading
Hello again, folks. Long time no chat. Hope you’re well. It’s obviously been a while, and so let’s start getting caught up by talking about some key personnel moves across the Southern California orchestral landscape and beyond. New additions to the LA Phil (official and unofficial) Since the beginning of the calendar year, the Los … Continue reading
The Ojai Music Festival announced this morning that Chad Smith will be their new Artistic Director beginning in 2020. Mr. Smith will take over for Thomas W. Morris, Ojai’s Artistic Director since 2004 and former top executive with the Cleveland Orchestra and Boston Symphony, who had previously announced his decision to retire after the 2019 … Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced yesterday that Simon Woods will be their new Chief Executive Officer effective January 22, 2018. The 54-year old native of London has been President and CEO of the Seattle Symphony since 2011. Overall, I think this is good news. Some thoughts and observations on the announcement: Continue reading
