| LA Phil

YOLA Tour Diary, Part 1

March 16, 2013 | Posted by The Young Musicians of YOLA in London

Showtime!

March 16, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in London

The European premiere of John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary at London's Barbican Centre is mere moments away and we're feeling the excitement all the way across the pond.

Here's a short clip of John Adams offering some insight into what's it's taken to put this work on the stage after its concert premiere last May, as well as some photos from London that show just a hint of what's gone into taking this massive new work - consisting of a full orchestra, six singers, three dancers and the Los Angeles Master Chorale - on tour.

Walking In London

March 16, 2013 | Posted by Nathan Cole, First Associate Concertmaster in London

Nathan Cole, the LA Phil's First Associate Concertmaster, takes a moment to pose with composer and LA Phil Creative Chair John Adams.

Back in London, one of my favorite cities to tour! It's always alive, and I speak the language.

Since my flight and trip to the hotel were fairly easy, I found myself with more energy than I'm used to for the first day of tour. So even though it was rainy and getting dark, I knew I had to take out the camera for a night walk. The combination of rain, city lights, and sunset was a lucky one. The folks eating at this cafe on the Serpentine in Hyde Park had it good!

The xx exist in a time and space of their own making. In 2009 the south London trio’s debut album ‘xx’, quietly made at night over the course of two years, bled steadily into the public consciousness to become shorthand for newly refined ideas of teenage desire and anxiety. Articulated with a maturity beyond their years, its hallmarks were restraint and ambiguity. In the age of the over-share, ‘xx’ was pop with its privacy settings on max.

Friends of the Phil

March 15, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in London

It's not that we don't appreciate you following along with the orchestra's adventures on this blog - we do, immensely - but did you know there's a lot of other great coverage of the LA Phil's International Residency at the Barbican? And the sources...well, they're not exactly surprising, since the fine organizations also blogging are longtime friends, cohorts, collaborators and compadres of ours.

First off, the very excellent Barbican Centre is doing their own blog, which makes sense, since this whole event is happening right there. They're on the scene and they're doing it right - from audio clips of keynote speeches to photos of Gustavo leading the Discover Dudamel event, they've got things covered across the pond.

A Packed House

March 15, 2013 | Posted by David and Kiki Gindler, LA Phil Board Members in London

David Bohnett with Kiki and David Gindler

LA Phil Chairman David Bohnett with Kiki and David Gindler

Twelve hundred people came to see the LA Phil at the Barbican last night. Not bad for a weekday new music program performed by a visiting orchestra. The Phil could not have asked for a more enthusiastic audience--"the most spoiled musical audience in the world," according to The Telegraph.

But the excitement for many of us began long before the first note. How cool to see the LA Phil's familiar logo lighting the iconic wood walls encircling the Barbican stage? Pretty darn cool, indeed.

The London Connection

March 15, 2013 | Posted by Elizabeth Baker, Violin in London

This time 10 years ago, I was living in Hong Kong with my husband. We had relocated there so we could be together as a family while my husband was working on a project for his company. The LAPhil had granted me a Leave of Absence so that we could make this move. During our time there we met other "Expats" who had moved from other parts of the world for similar reasons. We had friends from Scotland, England, the US, and also Hong Kong.

After we moved back to LA to resume our lives and professions we stayed in contact with all these friends. Over the years, some friends repatriated to their countries of origin. Two couples from England moved back and one couple we knew from LA moved to London.

GLORIA GARAYUA is originally from NYC where she received her B.F.A. in Acting from Long Island University and graduated Summa Cum Laude. In college, Gloria’s portrayal of Ariel in “The Tempest” earned her an Irene Ryan Nomination where she placed as the 1st National Alternate!

Just The Two of Us...

March 15, 2013 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in London

John Adams and Gustavo share a moment backstage at the Barbican Centre. John just led the LA Phil New Music Group in his Son of Chamber Symphony and has passed the baton off to Gustavo, who is ready to conduct Unsuk Chin's Graffiti and Josesph Pereira's "Concerto for Percussion and Chamber Orchestra."

This is why we go on tour.

We go on tour to promote the orchestra. We go on tour to play in front of audiences that might not have the chance to see us otherwise. We go on tour to play a program that leaves everyone saying "Wow - that's a program that only the LA Phil would play."

And we go on tour for moments like this.

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