| LA Phil

March Madness

March 24, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in Paris

LA Phil crew member Jesse Kolouch twiddles the knobs on the Salle Pleyel soundboard before the orchestra's performance of The Gospel According to the Other Mary in Paris.

March 14 to March 28. Fourteen days. Two weeks.

Paris, Je t'Aime

March 23, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in Paris

The orchestra is on to Paris!

It's the final European stop on the tour and penultimate stop of the whole darn thing, so spirits are high. They'll be playing The Gospel According to the Other Mary tonight at Paris' famed Salle Pleyel, home of the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

Mountaintop Musings

March 22, 2013 | Posted by Nathan Medley, countertenor in "The Gospel According to the Other Mary" in Lucerne

Nathan Medley (far right) consoles Mary Magdalene (Kelley O'Connor) with his fellow countertenors (Daniel Bubeck and Brian Cummings) in a scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary

Who knew John Adams could sound so good with a little extra cheese in the belly?

That's a random observation about performing The Gospel According to the Other Mary in Switzerland, sure. But, after our Lucerne experience, I can honestly say that "those hills were alive with the sound of music."

As we round the half way point of our tour and head onward to the discerning French it is a perfect moment for this kind of reflection. Two wonderful observations come to mind:

So Long, London!

March 19, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in London

LA Phil President and CEO Deborah Borda and Music Director Gustavo Dudamel on the plane from London to Lucerne.

It was an amazing week for the orchestra in London, to say the least. Our International Residency at the Barbican Centre, the Future Play Symposium and our three concerts were by all measures rousing successes. The orchestra played amazingly, the audiences were moved, hearts and minds were opened and fine times were had by all.

But it's a tour, after all, and to tour means to move - so that's what we're doing.

So long, London - hello, Lucerne!

Running with the Wetzels

March 18, 2013 | Posted by Mick and Stacy Wetzel, LA Phil Violist and Violinist in London

LA Phil violist Mick Wetzel takes a break from his run in London to pose for a photo.

Stacy and I have been touring with major symphony orchestras for 30 years. Before we came to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, we played with the San Francisco Symphony.. This has been a wonderful privilege to have been able to do this and most especially together.

Behind the Music

March 14, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in Getting There

Caption goes here

The LA Phil's road crew - (from l-r) Jesse Kolouch, Production Director Paul Geller, Alex Quintanar and Chris Duarte (not pictured - Production Manager Jeff Wallace)

Putting a tour together takes work. It's not all standing ovations and sightseeing - it's WORK. Travel schedules are brutal, rehearsal times short and hotel checkouts early. And, indeed, when the orchestra arrives in a location, the road crew has likely gone ahead of them to make sure the aforementioned time crunches affect the performances as little as possible.

Go on Tour With Gustavo

March 12, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in Los Angeles

Audiences in Europe and New York aren't the only ones excited for the LA Phil's 2013 Tour - Music Director Gustavo Dudamel is eager to hit the road with an especially "LA Phil-esque" repertoire of some 20th century favorites as well as some newer works. We'll let him tell the rest of the story:

Moving Out

March 11, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in Los Angeles

LA Phil on tour -- loading time.

Despite what you might think, it’s not that easy to pack up a 105-member orchestra, complete with instruments and wardrobe, and move them approximately 12,500 miles in three weeks time.

It's especially tricky when you consider the fact that the orchestra is taking a staged production – John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary – to four cities on two continents, in addition to its more expected orchestral fare such as Stravinsky’s Firebird and Debussy’s La mer.

On the Road Again...

March 8, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in Los Angeles

It’s that time of year again.

It’s the time of year when cellos, basses and percussion are packed into road cases, when instrument cases are lovingly carried onto airplanes, when the orchestra staff scrambles to make arrangements and the LA Phil heads out on the road to take its unique brand of innovative, daring and classic programming to audiences worldwide.

It’s tour time again.