LOS ANGELES (March 18, 2024) – Be “in the know” with all the happenings taking place this spring and summer at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles! Celebrating its 60th year, L.A.’s only performing arts destination, with its TMC Arts programming division, its resident company partners (Center Theatre Group, LA Opera, LA Phil and the Los Angeles Master Chorale) and Gloria Molina Grand Park are offering two seasons filled with a variety of distinctive and unforgettable experiences. From LA Phil recitals inside The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and outdoor dance parties on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center to Tony® Award-winning productions inside The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre and a 4th of July Block Party extravaganza at Gloria Molina Grand Park, The Music Center offers something for everyone as Los Angeles welcomes back sunshiny days and sultry nights. Mark your calendars for months of amazing adventures in the heart of Downtown L.A.!
“What sets The Music Center apart from other L.A. event and performing arts destinations are the myriad, diverse experiences that Angelenos and visitors of all ages can enjoy together at a variety of price points, including many that are free,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “The Music Center is celebrating its 60th year, and we are thrilled to share this milestone by making the arts accessible to as many residents as possible. This spring and summer, Angelenos will discover why The Music Center remains Los Angeles’ destination for arts, entertainment and joy. We invite everyone to be a part of it!”
To view a complete list of spring and summer events at The Music Center, visit musiccenter.org/springsummer.
TMC ARTS for THE MUSIC CENTER
- The Music Center Presents Music off the Wall: An EyeJack Experience
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
For the first time in its 60-year history, The Music Center transforms Jerry Moss Plaza into an interactive augmented reality gallery featuring 16 digital artworks, with accompanying music, brought to life through visitors’ smartphones. This free AR exhibit in the heart of DTLA showcases local and global artists and their captivating creations.
Now through Saturday, May 4
Noon – 11:00 p.m.; closed Mondays
- The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
A free celebration offering opportunities for creative expression to Angelenos of all ages and abilities, The Music Center’s Very Special Arts Festival: Family Day will inspire, transform and empower families through the arts with dance performances, music workshops, art activities, mask-making and more.
Saturday, April 27, 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- The Music Center’s Black Bar Social
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion – Founders Room
An homage to the black-colored bar countertops found inside The Music Center’s iconic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, The Music Center’s Black Bar Social invites the public to a series of monthly free speakeasy-style social gatherings, held every second Tuesday from May to September, designed to spark imagination and start conversations about the future of Los Angeles. Guests will engage in discussions in response to a provocation from a featured provocateur (an artist, culture maker or community partner) who will design a creative experience blending innovations in science, technology, emergent culture and social movements.
Tuesdays: May 14, June 11, July 9, August 13 and September 10
6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
- The Music Center’s On the Record: Vinyl Fair
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
Amid the resilience and resurgence of vinyl records, the growth of an artisanal record industry and Angelenos’ distinct connections to music and culture, The Music Center presents its second annual, free vinyl fair showcasing the discovery and love of vinyl records. The Music Center’s On the Record: Vinyl Fair features more than 16 vendors selling from a variety of music genres, complemented by workshops, artmaking activities, interactive experiences, dance performances, live DJs providing music for an open dance floor and more.
Saturday, May 4, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- The Music Center’s Spotlight Grand Finale
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Come see the stars of tomorrow! The Music Center’s 36th Annual Spotlight Grand Finale celebrates 14 local teens selected from among more than 1,520 applicants and showcases their incredible talent during a free performance that concludes their yearlong artistic journey. The Music Center’s Spotlight is a free nationally acclaimed performing arts competition, scholarship and artistic development program for Southern California teens with students competing in seven categories: acting, ballet, dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental and contemporary instrumental. The diverse group of local teenagers will perform on the stage of The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Notable Spotlight alumni include recording artist Josh Groban, American Ballet Theatre’s Misty Copeland, Tony Award® winner Lindsay Mendez and Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winning composer Kris Bowers.
Tuesday, June 4, 7:00 p.m.
- Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center: The Joffrey Ballet – Anna Karenina
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
One of the premier dance companies in the world today, whose reputation for boundary-breaking performances spans more than 65 years, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center will feature The Joffrey Ballet with its famed psychological blockbuster, Anna Karenina, recipient of the prestigious Benois de la Danse International Prize for Best Choreography. Love is all-consuming for the beautiful but married Anna who, in the pursuit of passion, finds herself caught in a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Vronsky. Ukrainian choreographer Yuri Possokhov's immersive adaptation, set in late 19th century Imperial Russia, unravels the profound power, desire and possession that shapes Leo Tolstoy's epic 19th-century novel. Heightened by a live orchestra, the breathtaking, cinematic dance production includes stunning costume design and captivating choreography, which is set to an original composition by award-winning composer Ilya Demutsky.
Friday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 22, 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 23, 2:00 p.m.
- The Music Center’s Dance DTLA
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
Join the thousands who love the chance to learn new dance styles and dance the night away under the stars! The Music Center's Dance DTLA returns this summer for its 20th year with eight Friday nights of free, in-person beginner dance lessons with easy-to-follow steps so guests can hit the dance floor to practice their new moves with a different dance genre each week. No dance experience necessary! Food and beverages will be available for purchase. No outside alcohol is permitted.
Fridays: June 21, 28; July 12, 19, 26; August 2, 9, 16
7:00 – 11:00 p.m.
- Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center: Ballet Hispánico – Doña Perón
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Ballet Hispánico’s Doña Perón is an explosive portrait of one of the most recognizable and controversial women in Argentinian history: Eva “Evita” Perón. The illegitimate daughter of a wealthy landowner, Evita concealed this shameful past as she rose in the ranks from dancehall performer to Argentina's First Lady—all before her untimely death at the age of 33. Doña Perón brings to light the extremes of power at the forefront of Evita's life. Her work as an activist and advocate for Argentina's women and working class raised skepticism as she indulged in the opulence of a high-class life. Was she a voice for the people or a deceitful actress? Colombian-Belgian choreographer and consummate storyteller Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, who choreographed Frida for Dutch National Ballet in the 20th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, explores these diverging legacies. Doña Perón, described as a “milestone” and “breakthrough” by The New York Times, marks Ochoa’s first full-length work for Ballet Hispánico and reclaims the narrative of an iconic Latina figure.
Friday, July 12, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 13, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 14, 2:00 p.m.
- The Music Center’s Summer SoundWaves
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
The Music Center’s low-cost outdoor summer concert series returns to Jerry Moss Plaza where some of L.A.’s favorite music artists take the stage for four sultry Saturday evenings. The entire family can enjoy these affordable concerts presented in one of L.A.’s top outdoor settings. Programmed by TMC Arts, each concert in The Music Center’s Summer SoundWaves series brings diverse rhythms and flair to L.A. for an unparalleled experience that will light up the summer nights.
Saturdays: July 20, 27; August 3, 10
8:00 p.m.
- Live at The Music Center
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
Part of an annual free concert series, Live at The Music Center returns to Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center for the third consecutive summer, thanks to the generosity of A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss and his wife Tina. Held in one of L.A.’s top outdoor concert settings, the concert will feature a headliner to be announced soon.
Saturday, August 17, 8:00 p.m.
- The Music Center’s Dance DTLA Birthday Bash
Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
Join hundreds of Angelenos to party and to dance the night away with The Music Center’s Dance DTLA Birthday Bash in commemoration of the 20th year of The Music Center’s Dance DTLA, L.A.’s most popular summer outdoor dance party! The public is invited to participate in this community-based fundraiser and help ensure that the premier arts organization continues to provide free and low-cost experiences for all in the coming years. The momentous celebration will feature three hours of some of the most popular music and dance genres of The Music Center’s Dance DTLA over the past two decades. More details to be announced soon!
Saturday, August 24
Event time to be determined
- The Music Center Tours
Meet at The Music Center's Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles 90012
Create fun memories during Spring Break or summer vacation with a free tour of The Music Center’s sprawling campus! Led by volunteer Music Center docents, the Symphonians, the 90-minute tours encompass The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Walt Disney Concert Hall and share details of each theatre’s history and architecture, along with Jerry Moss Plaza, while highlighting the many pieces of artwork, sculptures, tapestries, paintings and antiques from across the globe dating back to the 17th century. Guests obtain insider perspective on the history of the campus and Downtown Los Angeles through shared stories collected through The Music Center’s 60 years as the heart of L.A. County’s cultural life. The free tours begin in the Grand Lobby of Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Tuesdays thru Fridays, 11:00 a.m.
Saturdays and Sundays, 10:15 a.m.
GLORIA MOLINA GRAND PARK
- Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Easy Mornings
A fun and terrific way for children and families to start the weekend right! The park for everyone offers two Saturday morning events filled with free creative, fun and educational activities, including family yoga, wellness, arts & crafts, sports games and more. Angelenos of all ages are invited to explore the park’s beautiful landscape, decorate a planter, play mini basketball, cool off in the splash pad, make a puppet or learn to dance! The four-hour programs place a special focus on celebrating Earth Day and embracing green living. Visitors can also shop for sustainable clothing, toys and gifts from a marketplace, curated by Streetlet, comprised of local small business owners and makers. The park’s favorite food trucks will be onsite; picnicking is also highly encouraged.
Saturdays: April 20, 27
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- Gloria Molina Grand Park's Wellness Breaks
An expansion of the park’s popular yoga series, Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Wellness Break invites Angelenos to experience outdoor movement, restoration and reinvigoration—in under an hour. This free series is set to redefine midday breaks. Every Wednesday and Friday, amid the lush greenery, participants can immerse themselves in their yoga flow. In addition to the regular weekly yoga classes, everyone is encouraged to mark their calendars for every third Thursday, as a new session will be unveiled with the “Wild Card” series, adding excitement and variety to the Wellness Breaks. Explore a different modality each month, from Boomba (Zumba) and tai chi to chair yoga and HIIT (high intensity interval training)—a journey of movement, relaxation and joy in joy in trying something new every month. All Angelenos are invited to embrace the opportunity to continue their wellness journey at Gloria Molina Grand Park. Classes are available for all levels of experience.
Wednesdays, Fridays and the third Thursday of each month
Noon – 12:45 p.m.
- Gloria Molina Grand Park & Center Theatre Group Present Creative Ways | Mental Health Wellness Fair
All community members are invited to a place embracing mental wellness through the arts and to dive into engaging activities that promote well-being and health awareness. From cultural presentations to workshops, booth activities to inspiring stage programs, attendees will find a range of creative ways for exploration, which will be offered twice during the month of May. Center Theatre Group will host workshops at the intersection of arts and wellness, along with activities celebrating the upcoming production of A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning groundbreaking musical that delves into themes of race, queer identity and mental health challenges with humor and honesty.
Saturdays: May 11, 25
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- Gloria Molina Grand Park’s 4th of July Block Party
The largest free Fourth of July block party on the West Coast returns with fun for the whole family. With over 35 local food vendors, family activities, live music, dancing and an unforgettable drone light show, this legendary celebration is not to be missed. This year’s festivity also will feature immersive art installations, live DJs, music, dance and a Ferris wheel!
Thursday, July 4, 4:00 – 9:00 p.m.
- Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Sunday Sessions
A celebration of L.A.’s contributions to the global art form of dance music specially curated with DJs, themes and experiences unique to the house music genre and cultural community, Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Sunday Sessions is simply the best way to enjoy the park, sip cocktails, picnic and dance your heart out.
Sundays: August 18, September 15
3:00 – 8:00 p.m.
CENTER THEATRE GROUP
- Funny Girl
The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre
Welcome to musical comedy heaven! Featuring one of the most iconic scores of all time by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, an updated book from Harvey Fierstein based on the original classic by Isobel Lennart, tap choreography by Ayodele Casel, choreography by Elleore Scott and direction from Michael Mayer, this love letter to the theatre has the whole shebang! The sensational Broadway revival, Funny Girl dazzles with celebrated classic songs, including Don’t Rain On My Parade, I’m the Greatest Star and People. This bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she’d never be a star, but then something funny happened—she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway.
April 2 – 28
Tuesdays through Fridays, 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Sundays, 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- CTG: The Gala 2024
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum and Jerry Moss Plaza
A one-night-only performance. A world-renowned honoree. An unforgettable evening with the power of live theatre at the center of it all. CTG: The Gala 2024 will honor director and choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne who, over the course of his 27-year partnership with Center Theatre Group, has presented nine productions, including the recently reimagined Romeo and Juliet, which was presented in partnership with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, recently on London’s West End in Old Friends directed by Bourne, will be the evening’s headlining performer. As Center Theatre Group’s largest annual fundraiser, proceeds from the event will help the theatre company further its mission to serve the diverse audiences of Los Angeles by producing and presenting theatre of the highest caliber, nurturing new artists, attracting new audiences and developing youth outreach and arts education programs.
Sunday, April 28, 5:00 p.m.
- Gloria Molina Grand Park & Center Theatre Group Present Creative Ways | Mental Health Wellness Fair
See event listing on page 6.
Saturdays: May 11, 25
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- A Strange Loop
The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre
The groundbreaking and critically acclaimed winner of every Best Musical award on Broadway and the Pulitzer Prize bursts onto the stage for a limited engagement, direct from Broadway. Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher, a young, gay, Black writer who hates his day job, writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who is writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer...a strange loop. Usher grapples with desires, identity and instincts he both loves and loathes, all brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-talking ensemble. Nominated for 11 Tony Awards, Michael R. Jackson’s blisteringly funny, “audacious and uproarious” (The Guardian) show is a heartfelt and thought-provoking masterwork that uses humor and honesty to explore themes around race and sexuality.
June 5 – 30
Tuesdays through Fridays, 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Sundays, 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- Clue
The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre
Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget! Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Based on the cult 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, Clue is the ultimate whodunit that will leave you dying of laughter and keep you guessing until the final twist.
July 30 – August 25
Tuesdays through Fridays, 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Sundays, 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
LA OPERA
- La Traviata
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Violetta Valéry is the queen of Parisian nightlife for now, but she knows that life in the fast lane can't last forever. The arrival of a fresh-faced suitor offers her an unexpected taste of true love, until society’s disapproval threatens to tear them apart. Rachel Willis-Sørensen, one of the most acclaimed American sopranos of her generation, returns as the glamorous Violetta, whose time is quickly running out. Rising star Liparit Avetisyan is the enamored Alfredo, with Kihun Yoon as his disapproving, controlling father. Verdi master James Conlon conducts one of opera’s most enduring tragedies in this vibrant and luxuriously rich new-to-L.A. production of La Traviata that shines the spotlight on Violetta’s tragic attempts to outrun her fate.
Saturday, April 6, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 14, 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 18, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 21, 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 24, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 27, 7:30 p.m.
- Patti LuPone in Concert
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Broadway’s diva extraordinaire, Patti LuPone, returns to blow the roof off The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in a spectacular one-night-only appearance. Spend an evening with a true Broadway legend, returning to LA Opera for a solo concert after unforgettable star turns in The Ghosts of Versailles and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Taking us on an unforgettable musical journey, this Tony®, Grammy® and Olivier Award-winning icon commands a stage like no one else. In a remarkable career stretching back over 40 years, Patti LuPone made history in beloved Broadway titles including Company, Evita, Sweeney Todd, Anything Goes and Gypsy.
Saturday, April 20, 7:30 p.m. - Turandot
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Hiding out in enemy territory, a prince on the run encounters a captivating beauty who scorns love. With nothing to lose, he enters an all-but-impossible contest, risking his life to win her hand. But after claiming his victory, he faces an even greater challenge: melting Turandot’s icy heart. The sensational Angela Meade takes on the iconic title role, with Russell Thomas as her fearless suitor and Guanqun Yu as the woman who shows everyone the true meaning of ultimate devotion. Music Director James Conlon conducts Puccini’s thrilling final masterpiece, one that has had audiences leaping to their feet for a century, with ravishing stage designs by David Hockney that embrace the spectacle of Turandot’s fairytale mystery and magic.
Saturday, May 18, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 26, 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 30, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 2, 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 5, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 8, 7:30 p.m. - Joel Thompson’s Fire and Blue Sky
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
The past doesn't control us. But it never leaves us. Tenor Russell Thomas, LA Opera's Artist in Residence, premieres a major new commission: a deeply personal, evening-length concert work created expressly for him by the Emmy Award-winning composer Joel Thompson with an original libretto by the celebrated poet Imani Tolliver. With Resident Conductor Lina González-Granados leading the LA Opera Orchestra, Fire and Blue Sky traces the origin story of an artist, a probing reflection on painful memories, deeply embedded, that reverberate into the present day. The concert will also feature an orchestral suite from Joel Thompson's opera, The Snowy Day.
Thursday, June 6, 7:30 p.m.
- Renée Fleming in Recital
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Don't miss an unforgettable evening with living legend Renée Fleming. The iconic soprano closes out the season with an enchanting evening of arias and songs. This is your chance to savor the exquisite voice and peerless artistry of this longtime audience favorite, treasured for her unforgettable LA Opera appearances in La Traviata, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Light in the Piazza, as well as numerous concerts and recitals.
Saturday, June 15, 7:30 p.m.
LA PHIL
- Debussy, Ewald & Françaix
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Schubert idolized Beethoven. His Octet was modeled after the instrumentation and layout of Beethoven’s Septet (plus an extra violin), stamping a near-identical fingerprint of exuberant ambition. The Octet ranges in drama from the heart-rending winds and agitated strings to the full ensemble’s jubilance sprinkled throughout the hour-long work.
Françaix’s shorter and sweeter Quartet strays from the atonal music of his 20th-century composer peers, running free with similar amusing and unproblematic harmonies on a ragtime escapade. Madeline Dring, a musician-actor-mime-cartoonist all-star, also had a certain rhythmic humor and melodic sensibility about her work. Equally mischievous and brilliant, Op. 74 exhibits a happy-go-lucky conversation between oboe, flute, and piano.
Tuesday, April 2, 8:00 p.m.
- Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott: Colburn Celebrity Recital
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. With partners from around the world and across disciplines, he creates programs that stretch the boundaries of genre and tradition to explore music-making as a way not only to share and express meaning, but also as a model for the cultural collaboration he considers essential to a strong society. Yo-Yo Ma is joined by longtime collaborator Kathryn Stott. Internationally recognized as one of Britain’s most versatile and imaginative pianists, Stott was hailed by The Washington Post as “every bit Ma’s equal, playing with striking individuality.” Together they have toured the globe and released multiple albums including 2020’s Songs of Comfort and Hope in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wednesday, April 3, 8:00 p.m.
- Elgar and Vaughan Williams
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Leading Australian conductor Simone Young leads the LA Phil in the wild display of unconventional forms that is Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Eighth Symphony. The shortest of his symphonies, the Eighth shows Vaughan Williams fashioning a refined and cultured English dreamscape while searching for a theme and dedicating entire movements to winds and strings. Considered to be his most raw and emotional composition, Elgar’s dark and dramatic response to the end of World War I—and his own life—is richly blended together by the bow of French cellist and LA Phil favorite Gautier Capuçon.
Thursday, April 4, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 6, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 7, 2:00 p.m.
- UNSTILL LIFE: Colburn Celebrity Recital
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Choreographer Benjamin Millepied returns to the stage as a dancer, accompanied by Alexandre Tharaud performing Bach, Beethoven, Rameau, and more.
Tuesday, April 9, 8:00 p.m.
- Music 101: The Concerto (Part Two) with KUSC’s Alan Chapman
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Through the centuries, concertos have been the platform for virtuosos to thrill audiences. In the first installment of this series, Alan Chapman traced the development and structure of the concerto from its beginnings up to the works of Mozart. Now, Chapman brings Beethoven and his successors center stage with many musical examples and vibrant visuals. These music appreciation courses are designed for all audiences, from those who know very little about classical music to those who are lifelong listeners. Choose one or more classes, each of which explores a variety of topics illustrated with musical examples from the LA Phil’s season, plus vibrant visuals and a lively Q&A.
Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 p.m.
- Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Camille Saint-Saëns’ adventurous, final symphony has been engrained in popular culture, with themes from its memorable triumphant last movement appearing in pop songs and as the main theme in the film Babe. Dedicated to Franz Liszt—and featuring the LA Phil’s own Joanne Pearce Martin in this performance—the “Organ” symphony led fellow composer Charles Gounod to hail Saint-Saëns as “the French Beethoven.” LA Phil Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour performs Maurice Ravel’s virtuosic violin showpiece, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Louis Langrée teams up again with acclaimed composer Jonathan Bailey Holland for a world premiere symphony.
Friday, April 12, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 13, 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 14, 2:00 p.m.
- John Adams Conducts the LA Phil New Music Group
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
The LA Phil’s John and Samantha Williams Creative Chair John Adams leads a world premiere by Zosha Di Castri and LA Phil Etudes: Book 1, each of which was composed by a different composer and offers a solo opportunity for a musician from the orchestra. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis based You Have the Right to Remain Silent on his own encounters with police, and features New York Philharmonic principal clarinetist Anthony McGill as soloist.
Tuesday, April 16, 8:00 p.m.
- The Labèques, Muhly, and Dessner
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Sister pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque are known for their deep artistic interpretations of everything from Mozart to Stravinsky and creative collaborations with composers that have “transformed the piano duo” (The New York Times). The Labèques bring two piano concertos they previously premiered by like-minded composers who are as at home in concert halls as they are in indie rock clubs: Nico Muhly and Bryce Dessner. Toronto Symphony Orchestra Music Director Gustavo Gimeno leads the LA Phil in Prokofiev’s vivid scoring of Shakespeare’s story of forbidden love and warring Montagues and Capulets.
Thursday, April 18, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, April 19, 11:00 a.m.
Sunday, April 21, 2:00 p.m.
- Herbie Hancock
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
One of the most inventive artists in the history of American music, the brilliant and always-innovating Herbie Hancock returns for a night of freewheeling, thought-provoking, mind-expanding, galactic-traveling jazz and funk.
Saturday, April 20, 8:00 p.m.
- Anna Lapwood
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Hailed as “the dream ambassador for classical music” by Gramophone, organist and advocate Anna Lapwood makes her LA Phil recital debut.
Sunday, April 21, 7:30 p.m.
- Yefim Bronfman
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
With a repertoire few can match, the formidable Yefim Bronfman showcases his seemingly infinite range on the piano.
Wednesday, April 24, 8:00 p.m.
- Bartók and Brahms
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Grammy Award-winning violinist Nicola Benedetti, whose playing “combines soaring lyrical sweetness with muscular confidence” (The Guardian), breathes new life into Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Alternating between serene moods and a rousing display of fun, the famed concerto embodies the Viennese spirit while putting Brahms’ playful side on full display. Karina Canellakis leads Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, universally praised for its rich themes and thematic dominance.
Friday, April 26, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 27, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 28, 2:00 p.m.
- Pan-American New Music
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
This continuation of the LA Phil's fruitful Pan-American Music Initiative highlights a group of composers, each with roots in a different Latin American country, who have been charting new courses in sound. Free of the Eurocentric mindset that for far too long dictated the trajectory and perceived value of classical music, these composers bring their distinct voices to The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall stage to paint a vision of a region where music is rooted in tradition but dreams on the edge of the horizon. While each composer is distinct in their aesthetic, an embrace of rhythm and the desire to explore boundless sonic possibilities unifies them. By sharing this work, Gabriela Ortiz hopes to broaden the perception of new music from the Americas, dissolving stereotypes while inspiring the next generation of Latinx artists to create beyond borders.
Tuesday, April 30, 8:00 p.m.
- Víkingur Ólafsson
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Víkingur Ólafsson performs the 75,000+ notes of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with “a complete show of mastery and virtuosity” (Bachtrack).
Wednesday, May 1, 8:00 p.m.
- Dudamel Leads Mozart and Strauss
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil lead Strauss’ Don Quixote, an epic tone poem that pits the infamous “Man of La Mancha” against a flurry of windmills and wizards, featuring LA Phil Principal Cello and Principal Viola Robert deMaine and Teng Li as soloists. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 is the composer at the top of his game, a piece that flipped conventional baroque traditions on its head by shining a clear spotlight on the soloist, highlighted here by leading Mozart interpreter Maria João Pires.
Thursday, May 2, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, May 3, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 4, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 5, 2:00 p.m.
- Beethoven and Schumann
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Beethoven’s “Archduke” Trio is often regarded as one of the greatest achievements in the piano trio repertoire. Named after Archduke Rudolph of Austria, the Trio boasts a lighthearted, yet stately presence with its sophisticated scherzo and hymn-like movements. Beethoven’s melodic B-flat Clarinet Trio shows a much more working-class flavor, drawing on a popular melody often heard whistled throughout Vienna’s alleys or “gassen,” dubbing it the “Gassenhauer Trio.” Speaking of earworms, Schumann found himself preoccupied with “constant quartet-ish thoughts” while writing the heavily Mozart and Beethoven-inspired String Quartet No. 3. It’s solemn then jaunty, and nonetheless a profound conversation among strings. Come early and enjoy a glass of wine on the LA Phil to complete the perfect night out.
Tuesday, May 7, 8:00 p.m.
- Dvořák and Ortiz with Dudamel
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Filled with drama, sweet longing, and unforgettable melodies evoking an American landscape seen through an immigrant’s eyes, Dvořák’s Ninth has become one of the most popular and performed symphonies. But both in recent performances and recordings, Gustavo Dudamel has been praised for “[jolting] the familiar score with vitality and imagination” (The New York Times). When Spanish violinist María Dueñas premiered the concerto Ortiz wrote for her, the Los Angeles Times wrote that “a star was born,” praising her musical depth and effortless virtuosity. Dueñas teams up with Dudamel once more for an encore performance of Ortiz’s Altar de cuerda.
Thursday, May 9, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, May 10, 11:00 a.m.
Saturday, May 11, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 12, 2:00 p.m.
- See / Feel / Hear Music: Artistic Explorations in Music and Deafness
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Building on the work of Deaf West Theatre and the LA Phil’s historic collaboration Fidelio, See / Feel / Hear Music: Artistic Explorations in Music and Deafness invites audiences to engage with Dear artists whose work explores the creation and reception of music, the innate music of sign language and the politics of sound. Curated by Deaf West Theatre in collaboration with the LA Phil’s Insight program, the symposium offers a combination of conversations, presentations, film,and lobby activations. Featured artists include Dame Evelyn Glennie, Christine Sun Kim, DJ Kurs and Andrew Yee.
Saturday, May 11
2:00 – 6:30 p.m. and 2:00 – 10:30 p.m.
- Yuja Wang
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
A star who always shines brightest on the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage returns.
Sunday, May 12, 7:30 p.m.
- Beethoven’s Fidelio with Dudamel and Deaf West Theatre
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
The innovative semi-staged production of Beethoven’s Fidelio, created for both Deaf and hearing audiences, was called an “outright breakthrough for opera” by the Los Angeles Times when it was performed in 2022. With a story told through the composer’s music sung by hearing vocalists and the expressive gestural poetry of sign language by Deaf actors, the performances explore the search for communication—both primal and sublime—that is at the heart of all artistic expression. Premiered in 1805 as Beethoven was reckoning with his own deafness, Fidelio is a tale of triumph over oppression as the noblewoman Leonore goes undercover to daringly rescue her husband from political imprisonment. Dudamel conducts the LA Phil and a star-studded cast in a groundbreaking event co-directed by Alberto Arvelo and Joaquín Solano and produced in collaboration with Los Angeles’ acclaimed Tony Award®-winning Deaf West Theatre (Artistic Director, David Kurs) and Venezuela’s Coro de Manos Blancas (White Hands Choir.) This concert includes sung German, supertitles in English, and performed International Sign Language.
Thursday, May 16, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, May 17, 8:00 p.m.
- Dudamel Conducts Harry Potter
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Since the mysterious opening celesta melody of “Hedwig’s Theme” sounded in the first Harry Potter film, John Williams’ score has been inseparable in audiences’ minds from the magic and wonder of the beloved franchise. Each piece captures a character or idea, and Williams said that while he was composing, the enchanting themes all insisted on being “hatched” and “seemed to arrive all clamoring for their individual identities.” Gustavo Dudamel leads the LA Phil in a family friendly program featuring a Grand Suite from Harry Potter with a special guest narrator and selected film clips, as well as a musical journey through the orchestra guided by a magical Sprite. Described as a “concerto for orchestra and animated film,” Philharmonia Fantastique combines music by Mason Bates, direction by Gary Rydstrom and animation by Jim Capobianco, resulting in what John Williams praised as “the biggest step forward since Fantasia” in combining music and animation. Please note: Children under 6 will not be admitted, which is in keeping with the LA Phil’s standard Children's Attendance Policy.
Saturday, May 18, 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 19, 2:00 p.m.
- Kraftwerk
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Over nine nights at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, legendary German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their album Autobahn, which was composed, produced and recorded by Kraftwerk founders Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1974. The concert series will present eight Kraftwerk albums: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour de France (2003). Each night will feature one complete album plus additional compositions from their catalog. Concert number nine will be a finale with groundbreaking works spanning five decades of the Kraftwerk repertoire.
Tuesday, May 21, 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 22, 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 23, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, May 24, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 25, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 26, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, May 28, 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 29, 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 30, 8:00 p.m.
- Silvana Estrada and Cécile McLorin Salvant
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
It’s a night of brilliantly crafted songs delivered by two artists who know how to inhabit a story. Silvana Estrada sings from down deep, telling her soulful coming-of-age stories in a voice that embraces the legacy of Latin American song and carries into the 21st century. Playing the Venezuelan cuatro guitar, she sings iconoclastic tales that cut straight to the heart. Estrada has performed and recorded with artists including Natalia Lafourcade (who, like Estrada, grew up outside Veracruz) as well as Andrew Bird, Devendra Banhart and the LA Phil. Following the release of her 2022 debut Marchita, which Rolling Stone called “gorgeously understated, guided by her gauzy voice and rich, acoustic arrangements,” she was awarded the 2022 Latin Grammy® for Best New Artist.
Cécile McLorin Salvant applies her passion for storytelling to find the connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions from around the world, theatre, jazz and baroque music. She’s an eclectic curator with an adventurous spirit, unearthing rarely recorded songs from the past: forgotten tales with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists and humor. Her albums The Window, Dreams and Daggers and For One to Love won consecutive Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammys, and, in 2020, she was awarded a MacArthur fellowship. Her 2022 album Ghost Song was hailed by Downbeat, which wrote in a 4.5-star review, “Her wordplay teases, taunts and tests in a way that forces her to not just sing a lyric, but dive into roles with the zeal of a method actor.”
Friday, May 31, 8:00 p.m.
- Natalie Merchant (Rescheduled)
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Natalie Merchant is a multi-platinum-selling American singer-songwriter and producer known for her distinctive voice and captivating literary-pop songs. She has released several critically acclaimed albums, including Tigerlily and Ophelia, and has received numerous awards and nominations for her work. Her music blends folk, rock and influences from around the world, and she continues to be regarded as a groundbreaking figure in alternative music. Her newest record, Keep Your Courage (due April 14 via Nonesuch Records), finds Merchant in peak form with songs about love and human connection in its many iterations, sung with a voice that keeps you hanging on every word. Please note: As a result of illness, the previously scheduled September 30th Natalie Merchant concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall has been rescheduled to this date, June 1, 2024.
Saturday, June 1, 8:00 p.m.
LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE
- I Believe: The Music of Bach, Bonds. Robles
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
If Bach says that we should “Sing to the Lord a new song,” that’s exactly what the Chorale will do—sing a world premiere work by Zanaida Robles titled The Song of Significance. Similarly, when Bach suggests "Have no fear, I am with you,” we are asked to have faith, to believe in something that we feel in our hearts, just as Margaret Bonds uses W.E.B. DuBois’ poem Credo to share her beliefs. The Master Chorale is excited to be featuring guest artist, pianist Lara Downes on Credo and Spiritual Suite, which is Bonds’ magnum opus for piano with each movement based on a traditional Negro spiritual connecting hints of blues, jazz, and gospel with the classical styles of Romanticism and Impressionism. Collectively, the program is an evening filled with music with great strength of purpose in every phrase and note.
Saturday, April 6, 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 7, 7:00 p.m.
- High School Choir Festival: 35th Anniversary Celebration
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Los Angeles Master Chorale will celebrate this long-standing arts education program in The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, connecting the communities of greater Los Angeles in a joyous performance of a 1,000-voice choir led by Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director. The event will be free to the public.
Friday, May 3, 11:00 a.m.
- Verdi Requiem
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Dynamic rhythms, sublime melodies and virtuosic solo passages express both the heights of salvation and depths of damnation in the composer’s epic and dramatic setting of the ancient Catholic funeral mass. Shifting between glorious lyricism and breathtaking power, from muted sorrow in the opening movement to the sheer terror of the work’s famous "Dies irae," a performance of Verdi’s Requiem is always a soul-stirring event.
Saturday, June 8, 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 9, 7:00 p.m.
*Programs and artists subject to change.
ABOUT THE MUSIC CENTER
The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. Celebrating its 60th year in 2024, the $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County and on a digital platform called The Music Center Offstage. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on social media @MusicCenterLA.
ABOUT GLORIA MOLINA GRAND PARK
A vibrant outdoor gathering place, Gloria Molina Grand Park is a beautiful public park for the entire community in Los Angeles County. With expansive green space for gatherings large and small, Gloria Molina Grand Park celebrates the county’s cultural vitality and is host to community events, cultural experiences, holiday celebrations and many other activities that engage and attract visitors from all communities. The 12-acre Gloria Molina Grand Park, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2022, stretches from The Music Center on the west to City Hall on the east and is easily accessible by Metro via the B/D (formerly Red/Purple) line to the Civic Center/Grand Park station. The park was named one of American Planning Association’s 10 “Great Public Spaces” in the U.S. for 2013. Working closely with the county, The Music Center is responsible for all operations and programming for the park. For more information, visit grandparkla.org. Follow Gloria Molina Grand Park on Instagram, X, Twitch, TikTok, Spotify and Mixcloud (@grandpark_la) as well as YouTube and Facebook (@grandparkLosAngeles).
ABOUT CENTER THEATRE GROUP
Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under the leadership of Managing Director/CEO Meghan Pressman and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker, and in collaboration with the four Associate Artistic Directors, Lindsay Allbaugh, Tyrone Davis, Neel Keller and Kelley Kirkpatrick, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1,600 to 2,100-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions, and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics, and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.
ABOUT LA OPERA
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies. In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera Connects initiative offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reach people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. The company also offers a multitude of online content via its LA Opera On Now digital offerings, which launched in 2020. Learn more at LAOpera.org.
ABOUT LA PHIL
Under the leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that inspire and strengthen communities in Los Angeles and beyond. The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra is the foundation of the LA Phil’s offerings, which also include a multi-genre, multidisciplinary presenting program and such youth development programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). Performances are offered on three historic stages—Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and The Ford—as well as through a variety of media platforms. In all its endeavors, the LA Phil seeks to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through musical, artistic and learning experiences that resonate in our world today.
ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE
The Los Angeles Master Chorale is the “the finest-by-far major chorus in America” (Los Angeles Times) and a vibrant cultural treasure. Hailed for its powerful performances, technical precision, and artistic daring, the Chorale is led by Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director; Associate Artistic Director Jenny Wong; and Interim President & CEO Terry Knowles. Its Swan Family Artist-in-Residence is Reena Esmail. Created by legendary conductor Roger Wagner in 1964, the Chorale is a founding resident company of The Music Center and choir-in-residence at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Chorister positions are highly sought after, and the fully professional choir is a diverse and vocally dynamic group. The Chorale reaches over 175,000 people a year through its concert series at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, its international touring of innovative works and its performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and others.
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