Our History
LA Phil Over the Years
Built By Los Angeles
The LA Phil is a nonprofit arts organization built by Los Angeles and shaped by its restless creative spirit. At the center of our work is the Los Angeles Philharmonic—an orchestra known for bold programming, adventurous collaborations, and performances that move easily between the classic and the new.
A Civic Idea from the Start
The Los Angeles Philharmonic was founded in 1919 by William Andrews Clark, Jr., a violinist, patron, and civic visionary who believed Los Angeles deserved a great orchestra of its own.
His gift helped establish the city’s first permanent, full-time symphony orchestra at a moment when Los Angeles was still defining itself as a cultural capital. More than a century later, that same belief continues to shape the LA Phil: that great music belongs in this city, and that it should be shared as widely as possible.
Over the decades, generations of civic champions helped carry that vision forward—from Dorothy Buffum Chandler, whose leadership was central to the creation of The Music Center, to Lillian Disney, whose extraordinary gift helped make Walt Disney Concert Hall possible.
Charles Previn conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert honoring the life and legacy of George Gershwin at the Hollywood Bowl on September 8, 1937.
Bizet’s Carmen at the Hollywood Bowl. The proceeds from this pre-season performance in July 1922 were used to pay for the venue’s first seats.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Walter Henry Rothwell, the orchestra’s first music director (1919–1927), pose for a tour portrait in front of a train car. Rothwell is pictured seven men to the right of the philharmonic sign, wearing a wide lapel coat and using a cane.
Portrait of the Philharmonic String Quartet: violinists Sylvain Noack and Henry Svedrofsky, cellist Walter Ferner, and violist Emil Férir.
Postcard featuring the orchestra onstage at the Bowl, circa 1929.
View from the rear of the orchestra during a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, 1925.
Los Angeles Philharmonic with conductor Georg Schnéevoigt.
Otto Klemperer conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Philharmonic Auditorium, circa 1933–1938.
Music Across the City
Today, the LA Phil presents hundreds of concerts and events each year across four distinct venues. Together, they reflect the full range of what we do: orchestral music, jazz, pop, film, new music, family programming, and learning and community events across Los Angeles.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Since 2003, Walt Disney Concert Hall has been the winter home of the orchestra and the heart of our year-round season.
Designed by Frank Gehry (1929–2025), the Hall is one of Los Angeles’ architectural landmarks and one of the world’s great concert venues. It is also a place for discovery, where audiences encounter festivals, artist residencies, new music, chamber performances, jazz, organ recitals, and artists from around the world.
The LA Phil’s commitment to contemporary music runs throughout the season, from major commissions to Green Umbrella, our long-running new-music series.
Hollywood Bowl
Since 1922, the Hollywood Bowl has been our summer home.
Set in the Hollywood Hills, the Bowl is one of the world’s most iconic outdoor venues—where you can hear the orchestra one night and a global pop star the next. For generations of Angelenos, it’s a place to gather, share music, and experience summer in the city.
The Ford
The Ford offers a more intimate outdoor experience, with a season shaped by Los Angeles artists, audiences, and communities.
Music, dance, film, and theater all find a place here, alongside new work developed through partnerships like FordLab. It’s a venue built for discovery and a reflection of the city’s creative range.
Music in the Community
The LA Phil’s work extends far beyond the stage.
From its earliest years, the orchestra performed across Southern California and presented concerts for young people. That spirit continues today through free concerts, neighborhood performances, and learning programs that connect music with everyday life across Los Angeles.
At the center of that work is YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles), which provides free instruments, music instruction, and intensive support to young people across the city. The Beckmen YOLA Center in Inglewood serves as a hub for that work—bringing together students, families, artists, and educators from across LA and beyond.
A Global Orchestra
The Los Angeles Philharmonic tours regularly, with longstanding relationships in cities including New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo.
That international presence has deep roots. Under Music Director Zubin Mehta, the orchestra rose to new prominence on the world stage through major tours, recordings, and broadcasts that helped establish the Los Angeles Philharmonic as one of the leading orchestras of its time.
The orchestra’s recordings continue to earn international recognition, including recent Grammy Awards for Thomas Adès’ Dante and Gabriela Ortiz’s Dzonot.
Helen Funai offers Zubin Mehta a Japanese fan in a surprise ceremony at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Japan Tour Preview Concert.
News conference showing the orchestra’s 1974 tour map. L-R (seated): LA Phil Executive Director Ernest Fleischmann, County Supervisor Ernest Debs, LA Phil Music Director Zubin Mehta.
Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Gran Teatre del Liceu while on tour in May 2024.
Photographic slides from the orchestra’s 1967 World Tour, taken by Los Angeles Philharmonic cellist Phyllis Ross.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic rehearsing at Herod Atticus Amphitheater in Greece, 1967.
LA Phil Music Director Zubin Mehta posing in front of a jet engine, circa 1960s.
Composer John Williams and LA Phil Music Director Zubin Mehta at a Star Wars recording session at UCLA’s Royce Hall, December 1977.
A Culture of Innovation
Across its history, the LA Phil has paired artistic ambition with institutional imagination.
We have helped to redefine what a modern orchestra could be, from creating the first summer-long symphonic music festival at the Hollywood Bowl in 1922 to becoming the first orchestra to headline its own set at Coachella in 2025.
For the past 17 years, Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel has guided the orchestra through a period of extraordinary artistic growth, international acclaim, and deep connection with Los Angeles. As the LA Phil looks ahead, we are preparing to appoint the 12th Music Director in the orchestra’s history—building on Dudamel’s momentum and continuing a tradition of leadership rooted in excellence, curiosity, and openness to the new.
Esa-Pekka Salonen, who was Music Director from 1992 to 2009, returns in the 2026/27 season as Creative Director, helping to shape the LA Phil’s next chapter. Salonen serves alongside creative collaborators across disciplines—including composer John Adams, the LA Phil’s John and Samantha Williams Creative Chair; Herbie Hancock, Creative Chair for Jazz; Emmanuelle Haïm, Artistic Collaborator; and Anna Handler, Conductor-in-Residence.
Looking Ahead
For more than a century, the LA Phil has grown alongside the city it calls home—expanding what an orchestra can be and who it can reach.
As we prepare for our next chapter, we carry that spirit forward: rooted in Los Angeles, open to the world, and always reaching for what’s next.
