2014-15 Dudamel Fellows Conduct Los Angeles Philharmonic, Beginning Tonight

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association has announced two conductors who will participate in the 2014/15 Dudamel Fellowship Program - Christian Kluxen and Gemma New. Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, together with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, created the Dudamel Fellowship Program in 2009 to provide a unique opportunity for promising young conductors from around the world to develop their craft and enrich their musical experience through personal mentorship and participation in the LA Phil's orchestral, education and community programs.

"As the sixth year of this program begins with the 2014/15 season, I feel very proud to support the growth of these young, exceptional conductors from throughout the world," commented Dudamel. "The LA Phil's commitment to foster the talent of future generations with firsthand training is a unique opportunity that enables each of the fellows to further their craft and fully realize their potential."

The Fellows will work alongside Dudamel, musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as visiting artists and conductors, and will also work with students in key LA Phil education programs. The program for each of the Fellows will run separately. The Fellows will hone their skills through observation and application, such as conducting Los Angeles Philharmonic youth concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, participating as a cover conductor, and serving as mentors themselves through participation in LA Phil education programs such as Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA).

Most recently, former Dudamel Fellow Mirga Gražinyt?-Tyla was appointed as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a two-year term. As part of her duties, Gražinyt?-Tyla will also serve as the cover conductor for Music Director Gustavo Dudamel and guest conductors throughout the orchestra's subscription season and on tour. Gražinyt?-Tyla was a Dudamel Fellow during the LA Phil's 2012/13 season.

The 2014/15 participating Dudamel Fellows are:

Christian Kluxen (Denmark) who will be conducting:

October 15, 18 and 25, 2014

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Toyota Symphonies for Youth

Symphonies for Schools

"What Do French Fries Sound Like?"

Walt Disney Concert Hall's unique and majestic organ, with its extraordinary outer pipes aptly nicknames the "French fries," celebrates its 10th birthday.

Since completing his three-year tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2013, Christian Kluxen is becoming widely recognized for his fine conducting talent, quickly earning the esteem of his musical colleagues. His success is built upon a mature, intelligent approach to music-making, artistic integrity and a charismatic presence on the podium.

This current season Kluxen debuts with the Netherlands Philharmonic at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw and returns to the Helsingborg Symphony where he takes the role of Artistic Director of the Nordic Orchestral Academy. His strong relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra continues, with engagements in two of the orchestra's regional series; these follow on from the successful collaborations of 2014, when Kluxen was chosen to conduct the Philharmonia's large-scale flagship project entitled iOrchestra.

In 2013, Kluxen made his debut with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, an event which was one of several significant European debuts in the last two seasons: the Gothenburg Symphony, Trondheim Symphony, Malmö Symphony, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Georgian Philharmonic and RTÉ National Symphony Dublin. Kluxen also conducted Kremerata Baltica at the prestigious Kronberg Academy Festival 2013, and made a return visit to Philharmonie Südwestfalen.

Kluxen continues to add more debuts this season including those with the Duisburg Philharmonic, where he conducts two main season concerts, the Gävle Symphony, Jönköpings Sinfonietta and Manchester Camerata.

Kluxen has worked extensively throughout Denmark; his connections with his home country maintain a meaningful place in his career, with ongoing relationships with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, South Denmark Philharmonic and Odense Symphony orchestras, all of which he visits in the current season.

Kluxen's musical collaborators have included acclaimed soloists such as Andreas Brantelid, Gary Hoffman, Nicola Benedetti, Simone Dinnerstein, Olga Kern, Benjamin Schmid, Nicholas Daniel and John Lill.

A protégé of conductor Giordano Bellincampi, Kluxen has served as assistant on major opera productions in Denmark and elsewhere. In 2012 he made his debut at the Danish National Opera, leading a new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Born in 1981 in Copenhagen to Danish-German parents, Kluxen began his musical training at 7 and started conducting at the age of 15. He was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and later studied conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts with Professor Johannes Schlaefli. He has participated in masterclasses with Jorma Panula, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi and Bernard Haitink. In 2010 he was selected to become a member of the "Dirigentenforum" of the German Music Council, remaining on the program until 2013.

Christian Kluxen has twice been the recipient of the Arne Hammelboe Education Scholarship, given by the Danish Conductors Association, and in 2007 he was awarded the Jacob Gade Grand Prize to fund one year's conducting studies in New York City. In 2011 the Danish Richard Wagner Society awarded Kluxen the Bayreuth Bursary to visit the legendary summer festival and in 2013 he was awarded the prestigious Gladsaxe Music Prize.

Gemma New (New Zealand) who will be conducting:

April 21, 22, 25 and May 2, 2015

April 23 and 24, 2015: TBD Secondary SFS

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Walt Disney Concert Hall
Toyota Symphonies for Youth

Symphonies for Schools

Peter and the Wolf

Reprising one of the most internationally revered pieces designed to introduce kids to the orchestra, the narrated classic illuminates the power of music on the imagination, as the LA Phil brings to life the story of a boy, his forest friends and a scary wolf.

Named by WQXR in 2013 as one of the "Top Five Women Conductors on the Rise", New Zealand-born conductor Gemma New serves as Associate Conductor for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and is the Founder and Director of the Lunar Ensemble, a contemporary music collective in Baltimore, Maryland.

Under her direction, the Lunar Ensemble has premiered more than 30 works since 2011 and held composition residencies at several US universities. In 2012, the Lunar Ensemble initiated the Pierrot Centenary Project, which united all fifty poems of Albert Giraud's Pierrot lunaire through commissioned works by selected composers, culminating in the release of Lunar's first album, which featured those works alongside Schoenberg's seminal Pierrot lunaire. Ms. New's operatic conducting has also focused on contemporary repertoire by composers such as Jake Runestad, Emily Koh and Joanna Lee.

Along with her appearances with the NJSO and the Lunar Ensemble, Ms. New has recently led concerts with a range of orchestras, among them, the Atlanta and Miami Symphony Orchestras as well as the Hamilton Philharmonic in Canada and Opus Orchestra in New Zealand. Upcoming guest conducting engagements include performances with Camerata Notturna and the New Amsterdam Symphony in New York. Additionally, Ms. New will return to New Zealand in 2015 to conduct the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra for the finals of the National Concerto Competition.

In 2013, Ms. New made her Carnegie Hall conducting debut, leading works by Adams, Norman and Ives on the American Soundscapes series, where she was mentored by John Adams and David Robertson. That same year, she was selected as the David A. Karetsky Conducting Fellow at the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival.

Passionate about music education, Ms. New enjoys working with the NJSO-affiliated Greater Newark Youth Orchestra. She was also guest conductor for the 2013 New Jersey All State Orchestra. Between 2007 and 2009, Ms. New conducted the Christchurch Youth Orchestra, which grew from 40 to 70 players under her leadership and performed upwards of nine concerts a year.

Ms. New earned the Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where she studied with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar. She previously graduated from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand with a Bachelor of Music (Honors) in violin performance.

Prior to being named a Dudamel Fellow, Ms. New was awarded the Ansbacher Fellowship, in which she was selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic to reside at the Salzburg Music Festival in 2012. In September 2014, at the invitation of Maestro Kurt Masur, she resided for three weeks in Leipzig, Germany as a Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Fellow, where she studied Mendelssohn's music under Maestro Masur and conducted the Leipziger Symphonieorchester in a concert at the historic Lindensaal in Markkleeberg.

Subscriptions and single tickets for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2014/15 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall are currently available. To purchase, visit LAPhil.com, the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet. To order by phone with credit card, call the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office at 323.850.2000, or Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000. For more information, call 323.850.2000.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres - orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music and pop - at two of L.A.'s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall (www.laphil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (www.hollywoodbowl.com). The LA Phil's season at Walt Disney Concert Hall extends from September through May, and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, education and community programs.

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