Gustavo Dudamel concludes LA Phil tenure with farewells

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel has concluded his 17-year tenure as the Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic with a series of farewell performances at the Hollywood Bowl. Dudamel is scheduled to begin his new role as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic on September 10.

The farewell celebrations included a high-profile collaborative concert on August 22 featuring the Foo Fighters. Accompanied by the orchestra, the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), and a gospel choir, the band performed a 15-song set that included hits such as ‘All My Life’, ‘The Pretender’, ‘Learn To Fly’, and ‘Best Of You’, alongside rare tracks like ‘Razor’ and ‘Home’. The performance included a dedication of ‘Aurora’ to the late drummer Taylor Hawkins.

The series culminated on August 23 with ‘A Concert for Venezuela’, a benefit event to support relief efforts following catastrophic earthquakes in June. The concert featured guest appearances by artists including Chris Martin of Coldplay, who performed ‘Viva la Vida’, as well as Beck, Natalia Lafourcade, and Carlos Vives.

Proceeds from the fundraiser are directed to the United Nations Development Programme and the El Sistema CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean Fund to assist students and families. This relief effort is further supplemented by a $50,000 contribution from the orchestra.