Summer is the season of Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl this year, as the beloved conductor wraps up his 17-year run at the helm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. <\/p>\n
Audiences can bid him farewell during a trio of performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall in June, before the Bowl launches into a new season featuring a four-night Dudamel tribute titled \u201cCelebrating Gustavo at the Bowl.\u201d That series opens Aug. 20 as part of the L.A. Phil\u2019s jam-packed summer lineup, which the organization is expected to announce Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Dudamel love fest arrives as the Bowl dedicates its iconic stage to John Williams<\/a> in celebration of the composer\u2019s decades-long relationship with the venue. The newly christened John Williams Stage and the special Dudamel programming will pay tribute to two towering Bowl icons during a major moment of change for the L.A. Phil.<\/p>\n Dudamel conducted his very first concert as the L.A. Phil\u2019s music director in 2009 at the Bowl. At \u201cBienvenido Gustavo,\u201d<\/a> the conductor introduced himself with Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 9. and the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), the group to which he dedicated his heart and soul during his tenure. <\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of took that as our inspiration, and we said we have to bookend this grand adventure together,\u201d said Meghan Umber, president of the Hollywood Bowl and chief programming officer at the L.A. Phil during a recent interview.<\/p>\n Umber said that both the symphony and youth orchestra will return in \u201cBeethoven 9,\u201d the kickoff to \u201cCelebrating Gustavo at the Bowl.\u201d That night, Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino will also debut a new orchestral piece featuring lyrics by Amanda Gorman, the youngest presidential inaugural poet in U.S. history. <\/p>\n Rounding out the four-day extravaganza are \u201cDudamel\u2019s Playlist,\u201d a Latin pop rock-led variety show hosted by the conductor, a joint concert with the Foo Fighters and a retrospective that Umber described as \u201cGustavo\u2019s love letter to L.A.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThe Hollywood Bowl is where my journey with the Los Angeles Philharmonic truly began, and it remains one of the most meaningful places for me to make music,\u201d Dudamel said in a statement. \u201cTogether, we\u2019ve challenged ourselves, expanded what an orchestra can be, and built a community rooted in curiosity and connection.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo share these performances in the place where I first stood before this orchestra, surrounded by the city and the stars, is an immense source of pride and gratitude,\u201d the conductor said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t look at this as a farewell for Gustavo,\u201d Umber said. \u201cHe\u2019s part of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, she said, \u201cthis is a transition into a new era with him.\u201d<\/p>\n This year, in lieu of a headline musical, the summer season at the Bowl will open with a Broadway-themed concert benefiting YOLA<\/a>, capped by a monumental Bowl fireworks display. <\/p>\n Additional concert highlights include a Juneteenth celebration headlined by Chance the Rapper; the returning hip-hop night, \u201cA Roots Picnic Experience,\u201d featuring Nas; and a Fourth of July fireworks spectacular with the Beach Boys and special guest John Stamos. <\/p>\n Complementing the Bowl\u2019s Independence Day program is a song cycle of Shaina Taub\u2019s Tony-winning musical \u201cSuffs,\u201d which Umber said examines America\u2019s 250th anniversary, \u201cincluding that extraordinary female point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n Film programming includes three major hits: a film music concert of Joe Hisaishi\u2019s Studio Ghibli scores featuring clips from iconic films such as \u201cPrincess Mononoke,\u201d \u201cMy Neighbor Totoro\u201d and \u201cPonyo\u201d; a celebration of music from the world of Wes Anderson; and a musical tribute to Williams featuring a 50-minute compilation of scenes from his most popular films. <\/p>\n \u201cWe all know what a jewel John is, and those nights that he curates at the Bowl are like family nights … in that you don\u2019t have to have a family, but it feels like L.A. is your family, the film industry is your family,\u201d Umber said. \u201cEverybody grabs a light saber. You don\u2019t have to take yourself too seriously \u2014 we all feel like kids again.\u201d <\/p>\n On top of the new stage name, the Bowl this summer will debut several other cosmetic updates, including its new multipurpose building (the Terri and Jerry Kohl Artists Pavilion), a premium sound system that will boost sonic immersion while reducing sound leakage and a re-imagined permanent collection at the Hollywood Bowl Museum that will celebrate the venue\u2019s 100-plus-year history as an L.A. culture and community hub. It will also mark the first time the collection has been revamped in the 30 years since the museum building\u2018s 1996 debut.<\/p>\n The new permanent exhibition, \u201cHollywood Bowl: Soul of a City,\u201d consists of photos, audio and video recordings, original documents, maps and architectural drawings, 3D models, listening stations and artifacts pulled from the vast archives of the L.A. Phil and the Hollywood Bowl.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a wealth of riches of Hollywood Bowl history, so it\u2019s impossible to decide what to put in,\u201d Umber said. But the focus of the exhibition will generally be the public-private partnership that has enabled the Bowl to serve generations of Angelenos. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re always talking about all the hard things in life,\u201d Umber said. \u201cWe need to also celebrate the things that are going super well.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside of the L.A. Phil\u2019s summer programming, the Bowl in collaboration with promoter Live Nation-Hewitt Silva in the coming months will host Netflix Is a Joke<\/a> shows from standouts John Mulaney and Marcello Hern\u00e1ndez, plus a lineup of generational music acts from Santana and the Doobie Brothers to the Black Crowes and Tedeschi Trucks Band.<\/p>\n