LA Phil Names Daniel Harding New Music Director

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has found its next music director. Daniel Harding, who has led some of Europe’s top orchestras, will succeed Gustavo Dudamel as music director of one of the country’s most renowned orchestras.

LA Phil’s new British-born maestro will begin his tenure in the 2027/28 season, overseeing orchestral programming for the iconic Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Ford, along with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA). He will conduct eight weeks of programming for his first season and increase to 12 weeks in subsequent years.

“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,” Harding said in a statement. “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.”

“Perhaps the hardest task in music is to take something already exceptional and to help it grow further. Inheriting an orchestra with a tradition that includes Giulini and Mehta and shaped most recently by Esa-Pekka and Gustavo is an extraordinary gift,” he added. “So many great artists have found possibilities here that don’t exist anywhere else, and I come to California full of excitement for what we will discover and create together.”

Kim Noltemy, LA Phil president and CEO, said the orchestra performed an extensive search led by a committee and that they’re proud of Harding’s appointment.

“He is greatly admired by the orchestra and was the overwhelming choice based on their feedback,” Noltemy said. “His intellectual curiosity, passion for bringing in and engaging with new audiences, global perspective and talent for nurturing emerging voices directly align with the LA Phil’s mission and vision. We are eager for Daniel to join our leadership team and open new pathways for creativity, collaboration and connection with our audiences and our city.”

Harding will be tasked to help the influential orchestra expand its global presence through touring, media projects and cultural exchanges via international collaborations. He leads a team that includes Creative Director Essa-Pekka Salonen, Conductor-in-Residence Anna Handler and Dudamel, announced last week that he will continue to work with the LA Phil as artistic and cultural laureate and founding director and conductor laureate of YOLA.

“Out of the remarkable group of conductors we considered, Daniel Harding stood out through the magical connection he formed with our musicians and audiences,” said LA Phil Board Chair Jason Subotky. “His conducting genius has been widely hailed since the start of his career, and we are equally impressed by his vision for the role of Music Director in Los Angeles and his desire to connect to our community. We are thrilled to welcome Daniel to the LA Phil family.”

Harding is currently music director of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has also worked with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra.

“I have a deep admiration for Daniel’s artistry, and for the profound connection he has built with the musicians of the LA Phil over the years,” Dudamel said. “I’m confident that the brilliance, heart and limitless talent of this orchestra, which has inspired me for so many years, will be in good hands under his musical leadership as they build new worlds of sound together.”

The LA Phil’s 2026/27 season will feature Harding leading the Brahms Second Piano Concerto with Leif Ove Andsnes, Leonard Bernstein’s “Jeremiah” symphony with mexxo-soprano Avery Amereau and Betsy Jola’s Latest in November. He will be part of a program featuring Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel Symphony and Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra next January.

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/05/26/la-phil-appoints-daniel-harding-as-music-director/)._