Artistic Leadership

Music & Artistic Director, Walt and Lilly Disney Chair

Gustavo Dudamel

Guided by an unwavering belief in the power of art to inspire and transform lives, Gustavo Dudamel is one of the few classical musicians to become a bona fide pop-culture phenomenon. He has worked tirelessly to expand education and access for underserved communities around the world, broadening the impact of classical music on new and ever-larger audiences. His 17-year tenure as Music & Artistic Director will conclude in August 2026.

Art has to be thought of as an essential right for communities. Art can transform the lives of the musicians and the audience. That transformative power is what the orchestra gives back to its community.

Gustavo Dudamel

Our next Music Director

Daniel Harding

Daniel Harding joins the LA Phil as its Music Director starting in the 2027/28 season, spearheading the LA Phil’s evolving artistic leadership team. Acclaimed for his artistic leadership and craftsmanship, Harding’s repertoire is wide-ranging, from award-winning recordings of Baroque music to countless premieres of new works.

Making music with the magnificent LA Phil musicians is a thrill and an inspiration. Over recent years, the LA Phil has developed something extraordinary that cannot be manufactured: a kind of institutional charisma. That expands the vision of what you ask when thinking about what comes next, for the orchestra, for Los Angeles, for music and for our community.

Daniel Harding

Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen Creative Director; Conductor Laureate

Esa-Pekka Salonen

After serving as Music Director since 1992, Esa-Pekka Salonen was named Conductor Laureate of the LA Phil in 2009. A renowned composer, he combines intricacy and technical virtuosity with playful rhythmic and melodic innovations, marking him as one of the most important artists in classical music today. As of the 2026/27 season, he holds the LA Phil’s first-ever Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen Creative Director position.

An orchestra isn’t just about maintaining tradition—it’s about pushing boundaries, taking risks.

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Conductor-in-Residence

Anna Handler

Beginning in the 2026/27 season, Anna Handler will take on the new role of Conductor-in-Residence at the LA Phil. A rapidly ascending presence on the international stage, Handler was a member of the 2023/24 class of Dudamel Fellows and has since been named Chief Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, where she will begin her tenure in the 2026/27, and Artist-in-Residence at Beethoven-Haus Bonn during its 2026/27 season.

John and Samantha Williams Creative Chair

John Adams

John Adams, one of the most admired and respected composers in North America and winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Music, serves as creative chair of the LA Phil. Over the past 25 years, his music has played a decisive role in the shaping of contemporary music, and his compositions have been performed by major orchestras around the world.

My experiences with the Los Angeles Philharmonic are never anything short of astonishing. The audiences are among the most sophisticated and curious anywhere, and the orchestra itself is one of the most supple and flexible of any in the world.

John Adams

Creative Chair for Jazz

Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock is an icon of modern music. Over his illustrious five-decade career, he has won 14 Grammy awards, and his spirit helped to define both post-war jazz and hip-hop. Few artists have had greater influence on acoustic and electronic jazz and R&B.

What I want to do is encourage young people and be willing and ready to share experiences or anything I may have learned—but not to the point of where I’m trying to make them do what I do….I encourage artists and others, too, to be your true self, to tell your story, especially when it’s a positive message.

Herbie Hancock

Principal Conductor, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

Thomas Wilkins

Thomas Wilkins is Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He has held a titled position at the Hollywood Bowl since 2008, when he was named Principal Guest Conductor; in the spring of 2014, he became Principal Conductor.

Smiling man in white shirt standing in front of a modern stadium with tall white arches under blue sky

Artist Collaborator

Emmanuelle Haïm

Emmanuelle Haïm is highly acclaimed as a performer and champion of the Baroque repertoire, both as a keyboard player and conductor. Her tenure with the LA Phil will explore the complex beauty and evocative sophistication of the Baroque era with an annual residency by Le Concert d’Astrée, performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and additional concerts and events.

I have had the privilege of collaborating with the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2011, and from the very beginning, the relationship with the orchestra has been incredible. The extreme versatility of the orchestra, their talent, flexibility and open-minded attitude toward music made me feel at home on the spot.

Emmanuelle Haïm

Conductor Emeritus

Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta—the LA Phil’s Music Director from 1962 to 1978 and current Conductor Emeritus—has conducted the world’s most esteemed orchestras and introduced generations to classical music through more than 50 years of recordings and performances. Through his humanitarian work, he has also given us a model of music’s ability to bridge cultures and bring people together in healing and in harmony.

Explore LA Phil Artists

The Artists Who Shape Our Sound

Explore additional artists who define the LA Phil—through long-standing collaborations, bold new voices, and the creative partnerships that bring our stages to life.

Meet more artists