Tom Hooten, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s distinguished Principal Trumpet, was thrilled to learn that the orchestra had commissioned a new work featuring him as soloist. His excitement grew when he found out that Steven Mackey would be the composer. He was eager to jump in with both feet. Yet when he was told that Mr. … Continue reading
Gustavo Dudamel has been in charge of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a decade now, and so we should be able to easily answer the question: what can we — should we — expect from one of their concerts together? And there’s the rub. There is no easy answer that doesn’t sound like a generic … 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
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
I’m pleased to announce that the good folks at LA Weekly have asked me to start writing for them on a freelance basis. The first of what I hope will be many articles and reviews in that publication is “An Ex-Marine and a Former Basketball Referee Walk Into Disney Hall…,” an interview with Andrew Bain and … Continue reading
We in Southern California are so spoiled. We’ve got amazing weather and a diverse geography with which to enjoy it; where else can you spend a couple of hours surfing in the morning and be snow skiing by lunchtime? We’ve got Vin Scully, two Stanley Cups in three years, and two solid college football teams 13 … Continue reading
When is an organ recital more than that? When the entire LA Phil brass section joins the fray, as it will this coming Sunday, October 12th, at 7pm, for a tenth birthday party of sorts. Continue reading
The Los Angeles Philharmonic wrapped up its whirlwind twelve day, seven city tour last week. Reviews from the trip were generally positive, many even glowing. Critics seemed most impressed by the performances of 20th & 21st Century works by Bjarnason, Corigliano, and Rachmaninoff, with Yuja Wang’s pianistic contributions also earning requisite praise. The smattering of negative comments made were mostly … Continue reading
With the start of the new Los Angeles Philharmonic season, it’s time once again to examine the current personnel situation at the orchestra. The first thing worth mentioning is that there isn’t much to mention, especially compared to previous seasons. Just eyeballing it, but it looks like the orchestra has the fewest empty chairs to … Continue reading
A little over a week ago, David Robertson returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s podium for the first time in over five years, and for the life of me, I have a hard time understanding why it’s taken so long. First and foremost, his broad repertoire featuring impeccable credentials in 20th and 21st Century music … Continue reading
All is Yar 