Anna Handler To Become The Los Angeles Philharmonic's Conductor-in-residence

With Gustavo Dudamel’s last play arsenic euphony and creator head of nan Los Angeles Philharmonic reaching its homestretch, nan orchestra has announced nan assignment of its latest not euphony director. Anna Handler, a erstwhile Dudamel chap and quickly rising young conductor, will beryllium fixed nan caller title of conductor-in-residence for nan adjacent 3 seasons.

She will walk 3 weeks each play conducting nan orchestra astatine Walt Disney Concert Hall and nan Hollywood Bowl, arsenic good arsenic moving pinch students astatine nan Beckmen YOLA Center successful Inglewood. In a telephone telephone from Boston, wherever she serves arsenic adjunct conductor astatine nan Boston Symphony, she says she is besides powerfully driven by exertion and wants to research each kinds of projects pinch nan latest devises.

“The entity is nan limit,” Handler exclaims pinch nan boundless enthusiasm that is said to person won complete nan orchestra and nan administration.

That mightiness include, she further fantasizes, a exertion instrumentality you don’t moreover announcement but that focuses your attraction to sound vibrations nan measurement glasses springiness clarity to blurry vision. “Why not glasses for nan ears?” she excitedly asks.

Kim Noltemy, nan L.A. Phil president and main executive, says Handler’s assignment does not needfully connote nan orchestra won’t yet find a euphony head who tin oversee nan bigger image of nan world’s astir artistically diverse, expansive and able orchestra. But nan L.A. Phil has truthful galore fingers successful truthful galore pies that nary 1 personification tin do it all.

Meanwhile, nan L.A. Phil now adds what it has been missing successful what nan institution calls its squad of imaginative collaborators. As creative director, erstwhile euphony head Esa-Pekka Salonen will walk six weeks a play helping envision what a 21st period symphony orchestra mightiness look like. John Adams continues his domiciled arsenic imaginative chair arsenic do early euphony master Emmanuelle Haïm (artist collaborator), Herbie Hancock (creative chair for jazz) and Zubin Mehta (conductor emeritus). None, however, is younger than 60. Handler turns 30 this month.

Born successful France, she grew up successful Germany and is Colombian German. Both her parents are electrical engineers, whom she says her emotion for exertion travel from. And she notes that her roots besides make her consciousness astatine location pinch nan L.A. Phil. She connects pinch Salonen’s pioneering fascination pinch exertion and nan orchestra. With a Colombian mom, she is readily attuned to Dudamel’s Venezuelan heritage. Like her, Salonen, Dudamel and Mehta first began moving pinch nan L.A. Phil successful their 20s.

Handler’s assignment came, she says, arsenic a surprise. It was aft her conducting nan L.A. Phil astatine Disney past period that nan orchestra abruptly sprang nan thought of a residency opening almost instantly pinch nan 2026-27 season, moreover though nan Bowl and autumn seasons are already planned. Noltemy puts it to nan truth that Handler and nan orchestra simply sewage caught up successful her energy.

Handler says she jumped astatine nan chance to return to L.A. moreover though she would beryllium opening her first play of her first euphony head occupation astatine nan Ulster Orchestra successful Ireland. A pianist who loves enclosure euphony (which she says will make portion of her L.A. residencies), she besides becomes creator successful residence of nan Beethoven House successful Bonn, Germany. But, she excitedly exclaims, “At nan L.A. Phil you tin dream big. And if you person immoderate large ideas, please show maine astir them.”

He excitement complete euphony acquisition and organization outreach besides proved a draw. At 17, she formed her ain student orchestra, which performed successful schools, aged property homes, prisons, each over. And she points retired that she is young capable to consciousness comparatively adjacent successful property to nan students astatine YOLA, aliases Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. She describes 1 of her missions successful life arsenic getting young group progressive pinch classical music.

“My semipermanent dream,” she proclaims, “is to build a Disney World for classical music.” There could beryllium a Beethoven’s Fifth ride. She imagines melody, rhythm, harmony and shape arsenic small creatures whom we travel connected their travel done nan piece. “I’m each astir decoding nan rhythms of nan music,” she adds.

Tellingly, Handler had already been scheduled to beryllium nan first conductor to travel Dudamel’s last Hollywood Bowl performance arsenic L.A. Phil euphony head this summertime astatine nan iconic L.A. venue. It features Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Her 2 programs astatine Disney adjacent play see West Coast premieres of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 15 (“Lincoln”), which nan composer recently withdrew from nan Kennedy Center, and John Williams’ caller Piano Concerto.