The Los Angeles Philharmonic has found its next musical leader.
The LA Phil announced Tuesday, May 26, that British conductor Daniel Harding will become the organization’s next music director beginning with the 2027-28 season, ushering in a new era for one of the world’s leading orchestras as longtime Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel transitions into newly created artistic leadership roles.
Harding will oversee orchestral programming across the organization, including presentations at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford, while also helping guide Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. Harding is expected to conduct eight weeks of programming during his inaugural season before expanding to 12 weeks in future years.
“We are immensely proud to welcome Daniel Harding as the LA Phil’s next Music Director, following an extensive search led by a committee of our musicians, board, and staff,” LA Phil President and Chief Executive Officer Kim Noltemy said in a statement. “He is greatly admired by the orchestra and was the overwhelming choice based on their feedback.”
Noltemy added that Harding’s “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.”
Born in Oxford, England, in 1975, Harding rose to prominence early after working alongside renowned conductors Simon Rattle and Claudio Abbado as a teenager. He gained international attention in 1998 after conducting Don Giovanni at the Aix-en-Provence Festival at age 22 and has since built a career leading major orchestras across Europe.
Harding currently serves as Music Director of Italy’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He previously held leadership roles with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra and served for a decade as Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. He is also a Grammy winner, a Commander of the British Empire, an Officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and an airline pilot for a major European carrier.
The announcement comes during a major transition period for the LA Phil. Dudamel, who has led the orchestra since 2009, was announced last week as the organization’s new Artistic and Cultural Laureate and Founding Director and Conductor Laureate of YOLA. The LA Phil also plans to add new creative leadership positions dedicated to Latin music and film.
“Making music with the magnificent LA Phil musicians is a thrill and an inspiration,” Harding said in a statement. “Over recent years, the LA Phil has developed something extraordinary that cannot be manufactured: a kind of institutional charisma.”
Harding added: “Perhaps the hardest task in music is to take something already exceptional and to help it grow further.”
Among Harding’s priorities are expanding music education opportunities throughout Los Angeles County schools and deepening investment in YOLA, including plans for an international YOLA tour in 2029 marking architect Frank Gehry’s centennial celebration.