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
Thomas Hooten, Principal Trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, had a great idea: record the John Williams Concerto for Trumpet and Piano. He mentioned it to the distinguished composer who thought it was a great idea too and agreed to conduct the new recording. Both of them decided to do it for free, but that … Continue reading
For Memorial Day 2018, I offer this video of a 2016 performance by the US Marine Band (“The President’s Own”) featuring soloist Thomas Hooten, Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal Trumpet, playing an arrangement of “With Malice Toward None” from the John Williams soundtrack to the movie Lincoln. Mr. Hooten was a member of the US Marine … Continue reading
Expectations have been rather high for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2018/19 season. After all, they’ve had some rather impressive seasons leading up to it, and you’d guess that they’d make an even bigger splash for their 100th Anniversary season. The full season announcement was to have been made this morning Alas, we’ll have to wait … Continue reading
It’s time once again for your roundup on recent personnel movement (and lack thereof) at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. There is much to cover, so let’s get right to it, starting with the biggest news of the summer . . . The stories behind the departures of Ariana Ghez and Carrie Dennis The biggest buzz … Continue reading
There’s been a fair amount of personnel movement at the Los Angeles Philharmonic over the past few months. Let’s get everybody caught up: Filling empty seats in the Bass section The LA Phil basses have had two openings since the 2014 retirement of John Schiavo and the sad passing of Fred Tinsley late last year. A … Continue reading
The four weekends of concerts by the Los Angeles Philharmonic this past January were noteworthy for three reasons: the diversity of programming, the quality of playing, and that the first three conductors — Bramwell Tovey, Zubin Mehta, and Lionel Bringuier — once held titled positions with the orchestra while the fourth, Gustavo Dudamel, is the LA Phil’s current … Continue reading
