In August, the Hollywood Bowl will host an extraordinary four-night celebration marking Gustavo Dudamel's final performances as Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The performances will honor the conductor's remarkable 17-year legacy with four distinctive programs featuring a world premiere, Latin music, rock, classical masterworks, and some of the biggest names in entertainment.
But the celebration is about more than the ultimate crescendo or a beautiful reprise. Because of the devastating earthquakes in Dudamel's native Venezuela, the LA Phil has transformed the final evening into a benefit concert supporting earthquake recovery efforts.
“Originally this evening was going to be a celebration of Gustavo, but after the devastation of the two earthquakes in Venezuela, it became clear that this is an important moment for Gustavo and the LA Phil to focus on how we can help,” says Joe Carter, Vice President of Sales and Customer Experience. “Venezuela is Gustavo’s home, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic has traveled with him to perform there multiple times, so there is a great connection between our organization and the people of Venezuela. It only felt right to do what we can to help raise funds for earthquake recovery.”
Even with its humanitarian focus, the weekend remains first and foremost a celebration of Dudamel's remarkable impact on one of the world's leading orchestras and on the city that embraced him.
“Together, Dudamel, the LA Phil and this extraordinary group of artists will turn the Hollywood Bowl into a celebration of music, memory and cultural connection, honoring a conductor whose legacy in Los Angeles continues to resonate far beyond the concert stage,” Carter says. “Our hope in this celebration is to reflect that connection and celebrate Gustavo’s 17 years as our Music and Artistic Director in a way that is fitting to Gustavo, the LA Phil and our greater community.”
Carter adds, “Though Gustavo will no longer be our Music and Artistic Director, he will stay deeply connected as our Diane and M. David Paul Artistic and Cultural Laureate as well as Jane and Michael Eisner Founding Director and Conductor Laureate of YOLA (Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, the LA Phil’s youth orchestra program), conducting multiple concerts each season in the coming years.”
Celebrating Dudamel and Giving Back
The tribute’s opening night on Thursday, August 20 pairs a world premiere by Michael Giacchino and Amanda Gorman with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the very work Dudamel conducted when he opened his first season as Music and Artistic Director in 2009. Each of the remaining three nights has a distinct focus.
“The Friday night program is focused on the music of Latin America. Dudamel brings some of his favorite artists together for a surprise-filled celebration built around a festive musical journey through some of the most thrilling symphonic finales. The evening will feature Los Tigres del Norte performing with Dudamel and the LA Phil, a special collaboration between Lila Downs and Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, and a performance by legendary trio Los Panchos. Saturday night is the Foo Fighters with Gustavo and the LA Phil in a rare orchestral night of the famous band’s music. And the final night is the Concert for Venezuela, with a variety of stars to be announced soon,” Carter explains.
He continues, “We are looking forward to the variety of audiences that will attend each night. That is something we regularly enjoy throughout our seasons.”
Indeed, in the weeks leading up to the celebration, audiences will experience everything from ZZ Top and Cheap Trick to the Counting Crows, Santana and John Mellencamp; to nights of Mozart, Brahms and Bernstein, Herbie Hancock, Al Green; and films in concert, reflecting the extraordinary breadth of programming that has become a hallmark of the legendary venue.
Asked whether anything about the public response to Dudamel’s farewell celebration has surprised him, Carter says: “Actually, no. We are in a tough economic time for many, and people are picking and choosing what they attend. I am just grateful that they continue to choose to come to our venues. I believe that our many years of striving to connect keeps people coming to our concerts. The memories they create cross over all aspects of attending, such as how they met a new best friend on a shuttle bus ride to the concert, how they shared their food with people they have never met before, how they stood in awe as a multitude of fireworks exploded overhead or how you could hear a pin drop during a magical performance as the audience was so enrapt in the music coming from the stage. These are the things I love about what we do, and why I rarely get surprised by public response anymore.”
Pulling together a major benefit concert just weeks before the show might seem daunting, but the LA Phil has been here before. Just last year, team members organized the free “We ❤️ LA” concert following the devastating fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. Earlier, they helped bring audiences back together after the pandemic. The organization also drew upon experience gained during both the LA Phil's centenary celebrations and the Hollywood Bowl centenary, connecting with many artists who have graced their stages.
“I have been here over 17 years and remember planning and launching ¡Bienvenido Gustavo!, our free celebration welcoming Gustavo to the LA Phil at the Bowl,” Carter says. “These kinds of events stick with you, and with the years of experience on our staff, we are able to build on those past experiences to create new and exciting events aligned with a purpose.”
That same philosophy shapes the orchestra year-round.
“Community is important to us,” Carter says, explaining that throughout the season, the LA Phil works to make its performances accessible through multiple initiatives. These include more than 50,000 tickets for just $1, tens of thousands of complimentary tickets for community service organizations, clients of County services and other arts and cultural partners, and a transportation program serving 17 locations across Los Angeles County. The LA Phil and its youth orchestras in the YOLA program also perform throughout the community during the season.
“Connecting through multiple channels is key to getting a community to feel welcome and engaged,” he says. “Such work helps build trust in an organization, and in such we always want to be sure we give back where we can.”
For Carter, Dudamel's legacy extends far beyond the concert stage. He believes one of the conductor's most enduring contributions has been transforming the orchestra's relationship with its audiences.
“In introducing Gustavo to Los Angeles, we felt it was important to better reflect the entirety of our community. We expanded our musical offerings to include more works by Latin American artists, living composers, programs that crossed genres and having the orchestra perform in communities across the region, and even taking that a step further and performing last year at Coachella to much acclaim,” explains Carter. “The orchestra has shifted away from the formal focus of the past and tried to reach people where they are now, all the while still reflecting the beauty and quality of traditional orchestral repertoire. As a marketer and someone focused on bringing new audiences into the fold, I have taken great pride in our work as we see the average age of our attendees continue to move lower. To see young people throughout our programs. This has been an effort that has lasted for many years, and we hope it will continue through our future seasons. There is a trust that has been given to us by our community, and we intend to keep that trust as we move forward into the future.”
Is there a lesson from planning this extraordinary four-day celebration that other ticketing professionals or venues could learn from?
“Long-time ticketing professionals all know this already. Never forget what you’ve done in the past, as it will always inform the things you will be asked to do in the future,” emphasizes Carter. “We all take learnings from past successes and failures to ensure that future events are that more successful. I take pride in the fact that our organization feels secure in trusting its teams to continually handle more complicated and out-of-the-normal programs — be it this celebratory weekend, or city-wide celebration with performances in five locations throughout a day, or a 12-hour concert with multiple stages and simultaneous performances or expanded programming in a variety of parks, performance spaces, libraries and festivals that take our audiences (as well as the staff!) to places they’ve never gone before.”
And what does Carter hope audiences and his own team will remember most?
“One of the great things about the Bowl is that it really is the product of our community,” he remarks. “The Bowl is a treasure and each night you see a different part of the community show up. In this programmed weekend, we will see those communities mixing a bit more and connecting to create new memories that will be talked about for years.”
When the final notes fade beneath the stars at the Hollywood Bowl, Carter hopes people will remember far more than a celebration. He hopes they will recall how the weekend made them feel and the people they shared it with. After all, that's what the live entertainment industry is all about.
“No matter what aspect of your job you love or find difficult, remember that you have an impact on the life of others. What we do as an industry connects people to joy and fulfillment and excitement. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by the craziness of this industry, step inside your venue and absorb what your audience feels, and it will reinvigorate you again (as long as you don’t choose a night that is during a long losing streak for your team or when a performer is having a tough performance — though you can use those memories in the future to remember when things were worse — just always look for the positive things in life),” he encourages.
Carter adds, “As Gustavo will continue his relationship with us in a different way, the exciting thing about this weekend is simply the celebration of what has been, what we have grown to become and how we can continue to reflect our community going forward. There is no end here. This is a celebration of what we are, in all its forms.”
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