LA Phil Media Launches Third Season of SOUND/STAGE

The Los Angeles Philharmonic today announced the launch of the third season of Sound/Stage, beginning October 1, 2021, with nine new episodes released through 2022.

Hosted by Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the free online series features new performances by the LA Phil that draw upon themes and festivals in the 2021/22 season-Pan-American Music Initiative (PAMI), Power to the People! and Gen X-as well as a mix of projects such as Billie Eilish's visit with YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) and a salute to John Williams, who celebrates his 90th birthday early next year. Gabriela Ortiz and Jessie Montgomery serve as program curators, and guest artists include Father John Misty as well as Boston Ballet performing George Balanchine's choreography for Stravinsky's Apollo.

The third season of Sound/Stage, available at laphil.com/soundstage, continues the LA Phil's commitment to free digital content, which began in earnest during the pandemic.

LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel said, "Even as we return to live performances, our Sound/Stage series has grown into something all its own, allowing us to bring these extraordinary musical expressions to life and share them with audiences who might never be able to hear us in concert. This season brings together the incredible vision of artists like Billie Eilish, Jessie Montgomery, Father John Misty, Gabriela Ortiz, John Williams and more, while also connecting with live projects like our Pan-American Music Initiative and Power to the People! festival. It is something beautiful and unique, and I can't wait for everyone to see it!"

Chief Executive Officer and David C. Bohnett Chief Executive Officer Chair Chad Smith said, "We're excited to be continuing the Sound/Stage series. With an ever-expanding media 'stage,' Gustavo, the orchestra and all our artistic collaborators are able to connect with audiences around the world in more direct and personal ways, offering viewers a behind-the-scenes perspective and new insights into music through dialogue, storytelling and the visual aspects of the medium. Sound/Stage gives audiences another entry point into music and gives us an accessible online platform from which to inform, inspire and entertain."

The series launches with a program featuring Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, who is the curator for the first season of the LA Phil's five-year Pan-American Music Initiative. In the episode, Ortiz and Dudamel discuss the need and their hopes for the initiative, which will showcase music and performers from Latin America, and Dudamel leads the LA Phil in a performance of Ortiz' new work Arrecife.

Scheduled in late October is an episode centered on Grammy-winning singer Billie Eilish in a visit with students from the LA Phil's YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) and also in conversation with Dudamel. The program includes a performance from Eilish's recent Disney+ release Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles, which was filmed at the Hollywood Bowl with Dudamel and the LA Phil.

March of 2022 brings the LA Phil's multi-genre Gen X festival, which pays tribute to the hierarchy-defying generation that gave rise to hip-hop, riot grrrls, indie film and an explosion of new concert music transforming world culture. The festival launch is preceded earlier in the month by the Sound/Stage episode dedicated to an MTV Unplugged-inspired set of Gen X anthems.

In May of 2022, composer Jessie Montgomery curates a presentation featuring music from Montgomery and Ellen Reid that serves as a lead-in to the Power to the People! festival, organized by Gustavo Dudamel and Creative Chair for Jazz Herbie Hancock. The festival, which was interrupted in March of 2020, brings together musicians in every genre and distinguished guests in the humanities for a multidimensional vision of music and social change.

Additional Sound/Stage season 3 episodes include a performance by Father John Misty with the LA Phil, scheduled for later in the spring; a program featuring Mahler's arrangement of Beethoven's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95; a performance of Ginastera's Variaciones concertantes; and an episode celebrating the music of legendary composer/conductor John Williams on the occasion of his 90th birthday, scheduled for the summer of 2022.

All Sound/Stage performances were filmed under strict adherence to public health guidelines.

Sound/Stage is available online at laphil.com/soundstage.

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