Los Angeles, CA (July 28, 2014) The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association today announced the appointment of former Dudamel Fellow Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla as Assistant Conductor of the LA Phil for a two-year term. As Assistant Conductor, she will lead performances of the orchestra at both the world-renowned Hollywood Bowl, the Philharmonic’s summer home, and at Walt Disney Concert Hall. She is already set to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl on August 7, 2014, at 8:00 PM in a program of Brahms and Mahler and at Walt Disney Concert Hall on March 1, 2015, in a program to be determined. As part of her duties, Gražinytė-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.
In response to her new appointment, Gražinytė-Tyla stated, "At the conclusion of the Dudamel Fellowship, I left Los Angeles contemplating how great it would be to bring the two continents closer together, to connect the different worlds. Through the new Assistant Conductor position, I now have the chance to take this idea a step further. The Los Angeles Philharmonic gave me a lot during my fellowship, both professionally, and on a human level, as well. I feel privileged to join a remarkable roster of conductors, and to have the opportunity to work closely with such a brilliant orchestra.”
Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director Gustavo Dudamel said of Gražinytė-Tyla’s appointment, “When Mirga won the Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award in 2012, I heard from many friends about this extraordinary talent from Lithuania. We invited her to Los Angeles under our conducting fellowship program and she impressed me, my colleagues in the orchestra, and everyone she came into contact with. We are delighted to welcome her to the staff of the LA Phil.”
President and CEO Deborah Borda added, “The face of the conducting world is changing and Mirga is of that change. In addition to being tremendously talented, she has a keen intellect and impeccable communication skills. We already consider her part of the LA Phil family and look forward to our continued relationship with her.”
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla is the 2012 winner of the prestigious Nestle and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award. Subsequently she conducted the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in a symphonic concert at the Salzburger Festspiele. She was appointed Music Director of the Salzburg Landestheater beginning with the 2015/16 season, where in 2014/15 she will conduct new productions of The Magic Flute and Tahrir (world premiere) as Music Director designate. A Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2012/13, Ms. Gražinytė-Tyla made her subscription debut stepping in on very short notice for Ludovic Morlot. Last season, she collaborated with Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica in an extensive tour, and she made her debut with the Wiener Kammerorchester in Vienna. During 2013/14 as First Kapellmeister of the Opera House in Bern, she conducted new productions of Zero, La Traviata and The Cunning Little Vixen. She has also led several productions at the Theater Heidelberg such as Aida and Carmen as well as new productions of Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Las Cartas de Frida by the renowned Mexican composer Marcela Rodriguez. Highlights of Ms. Gražinytė-Tyla’s career include concerts with the Danish Radio Orchestra, Copenhagen, the MDR Orchestra Leipzig, the Philharmonie Südwestfalen, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, as well as a collaboration with the Camerata Salzburg. Praised as a dynamic, profound and extremely talented young conductor, Ms. Gražinytė-Tyla was discovered by the German Conducting Forum – Deutscher Dirigentenforum - in April 2009, and has since benefitted from their conducting program and support. She was one of the revelations of the 2009 Kurt Masur Conducting Seminar in Bonn, Germany on “The Art of Conducting Beethoven”. A native of Vilnius, Lithuania, Ms. Gražinytė-Tyla was born into a musical family. Before pursuing her studies at the Music Conservatory in Zurich, she studied at the Music Conservatory Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig and at the Music Conservatory in Bologna, Italy. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in choral and orchestral conducting from the University of Music and Fine Arts, Graz, Austria. She has participated in numerous master classes and conducting workshops and worked with many established conductors and professors such as Christian Ehwald, George Alexander Albrecht, Johannes Schlaefli, Herbert Blomstedt, Colin Metters and Kurt Masur.
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 October 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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Sophie Jefferies, sjefferies@laphil.org, 213.972.3422
Lisa White, lwhite@laphil.org, 213.972.3408