LA Phil Honors Gustavo Dudamel With New Titles After 17 Years Leading the Orchestra

Gustavo Dudamel will receive two new honorary titles celebrating his 17 years with the LA Phil – the Diane and M. David Paul Artistic and Cultural Laureate of the LA Phil and the Jane and Michael Eisner Founding Director and Conductor Laureate of Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) – upon completion of his tenure as Music & Artistic Director. Dudamel will continue a meaningful presence with the LA Phil moving forward, performing with the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall, bringing his leadership to YOLA, his deeply cherished educational initiative, and curating an annual festival at the Hollywood Bowl, conceived as a genre-less celebration that blends orchestral music with artists and traditions from around the world. He will continue to spearhead unprecedented artistic projects and co-commissions, like Earth Between Oceans with Ellen Reid and a new work by Zosha di Castri, in collaboration with the LA Phil and New York Philharmonic.  

“Gustavo Dudamel’s remarkable legacy at the LA Phil has defined a generation of music-making in Los Angeles,” said Kim Noltemy, LA Phil President & CEO. “For nearly two decades, he has cultivated an extraordinary, enduring bond with our musicians, city, and community. As his tenure as Music & Artistic Director draws to a close, we are delighted that our relationship with Gustavo will continue through bold artistic collaborations and a shared, unwavering commitment to YOLA. In these roles, Gustavo will inspire new ways of thinking about classical music on both the West and East Coasts, expanding the reach of our art and its connection to audiences everywhere. His legacy at the LA Phil is profound, and we look forward to continuing this vital work together.” 

For more than 17 years as Music & Artistic Director of the LA Phil, Gustavo Dudamel has made classical music more accessible to the public, expanded the boundaries of what an orchestra can do, and deepened the LA Phil’s connection to the diverse communities of Los Angeles. He will conclude his tenure with the LA Phil in August 2026 and will assume his new role as Music & Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic in September.  

“Los Angeles is written into my heart. This city, its people and the extraordinary musicians of the LA Phil have shaped my growth as an artist and shared this profound chapter of my life. Together, we have created something that feels so beautifully alive – I think of the nights at the Hollywood Bowl, under the stars, when music seems to float into the sky and belong to everyone, and of YOLA, where I have seen how music can open doors and transform a life. These experiences have changed me forever, and I look forward to the future with deep gratitude and love, to keep dreaming, creating, and serving this wonderful city and its communities.”  

Welcomed to Los Angeles with a now-legendary free concert at the Hollywood Bowl, Gustavo Dudamel went on to lead the LA Phil to new heights of excellence, collaboration and innovation during his 17 years as Music & Artistic Director, meanwhile transforming the relationship between the orchestra and the city and becoming an exciting new international icon for classical music. Dedicated throughout his tenure to the bold vision of a single American culture across the continents, he organized the Americas & Americans Festival and the Pan-American Music Initiative. Through the latter, the LA Phil commissioned 30 compositions—just a part of the abundant new-music programming that Dudamel championed, which has included his personally conducting a total of 62 premieres of commissioned works during his tenure. Deeply committed to education and the social impact of music, Dudamel created one of his enduring, signature legacies by founding the YOLA with the LA Phil, establishing multiple neighborhood sites for the program and eventually opening its permanent home, the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center, designed by his close friend, the late Frank Gehry. He undertook extraordinarily ambitious and critically acclaimed artistic initiatives at Walt Disney Concert Hall involving the historic repertoire—among them the Mahler Project, the Mozart/Da Ponte Trilogy, and the production of Fidelio with Deaf West Theatre—and brought the LA Phil and YOLA to broad new audiences through performances at the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards and Coachella. Now, as he accepts new roles with the orchestra, his period as Music & Artistic Director can be seen as an historic era not only for the LA Phil but for the world of music. 

The establishment of the positions of Artistic and Cultural Laureate of the LA Phil and Founding Director and Conductor Laureate of YOLA, and Dudamel’s appointment to these roles, is the latest evolution in the LA Phil’s artistic leadership. It builds on recent changes that include Esa-Pekka Salonen’s appointment as Creative Director in September 2025 and Anna Handler’s appointment as Conductor-in-Residence in April 2026. The three will join Creative Chair John Adams, Creative Chair for Jazz Herbie Hancock, Artist Collaborator Emmanuelle Haïm, and Conductor Emeritus Zubin Mehta in leading the organization into the future.