The Los Angeles Philharmonic, CicLAvia and CARS
Kicked Off the LA Phil’s Centennial Celebration
with a History-Making Open-Streets Festival:
Celebrate LA!: LA Phil 100 x CicLAvia
The three organizations joined forces for an epic, history-making open-
streets festival traversing eight fun-filled miles connecting the LA Phil’s two homes,
Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl
The celebrations culminated with LA Phil 100 at the Bowl featuring
Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil with special guests Katy Perry, Herbie
Hancock, Kali Uchis and YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles)
Celebrate LA! was generously supported by Target
Media Partners: 94.7 The Wave, Classical KUSC, KCRW, K-LOVE 107.5,
KPFK 90.7 FM, and Univision Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 1, 2018) - The Los Angeles Philharmonic kicked off its Centennial celebrations yesterday with an epic, history-making open-streets event: Celebrate LA!: LA Phil 100 x CicLAvia presented in partnership with CicLAvia and Community Arts Resources (CARS), and a free concert at the Hollywood Bowl, LA Phil 100 at the Bowl.
LA Phil 100 x CicLAvia closed eight miles of streets to motorized vehicles and opened them to people to walk, run, skate, scoot, bike, and wander, as 1800 musicians, artists, and dancers came together to showcase L.A.’s creative spirit, including performances by members of the LA Phil, YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles), Ozomatli, Rivers Cuomo, Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, Poncho Sanchez, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Dengue Fever, Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, Las Cafeteras, TAIKOPROJECT, USC Trojan Marching Band, Leon Mobley and the Djembe West African Drummers and Dancers, and many more.
The route connected the orchestra’s two homes, the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall while traversing nearly a dozen diverse neighborhoods.
Over 100,000 estimated participants were treated to 55 music and dance performances between eight stages and 50 additional pop-up and mobile performances along the route.
“We couldn’t imagine a more fitting way to kick off our centennial year than by celebrating the city that has supported and inspired us for the past 100 years,” said Simon Woods, CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “Celebrate LA! was a truly epic event, and we are so grateful to CicLAvia, CARS, and all of our partners for helping us stage this historic celebration of the diversity and creativity of Los Angeles. From the opening ceremony outside Walt Disney Concert Hall to LA Phil 100 at the Bowl in the evening, the entire event was an extraordinary testament to the power of music to create community.”
“The LA Phil is turning a century old, and CicLAvia was honored to be a part of the historic event,” said Romel Pascual, Executive Director of CicLAvia. “It was an occasion for individuals and families to celebrate LA at the intersection of old and new, through two iconic institutions that are woven into the fabric that connects the City of Angels. The LA Phil and CicLAvia came together to reimagine the streets of LA by harnessing the transformative power of live music and open streets to build and connect communities.”
“Celebrate LA was truly an historic event - a mashup of music festivals, block parties, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and CicLAvia,” said Aaron Paley, President of Community Arts Resources (CARS). “The sheer Los Angeles-ness of the day is worth noting – the ‘only in LA’ form of celebration that we collectively created to honor the LA Phil’s century of accomplishments. What other city presents 1800 individual artists, just shy of 80 different participating groups, six festivals, six pop-up performing areas, and two dozen moving performances along an eight-mile route?”
The event launched on Grand Avenue, with an opening ceremony featuring a fanfare by the LA Phil brass section, and remarks from Simon Woods, LA Phil CEO; Jay Rasulo, Chair of the LA Phil Board of Directors; Romel Pascual, Executive Director of CicLAvia; Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, LA Department of Transportation; Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Mark Ridley Thomas; State Senator Ben Allen; and Los Angeles City Council Members David Ryu, and Mitch O’Farrell. The LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel led over 400 YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) students in a special performance. The event ended with a performance by the Centennial High School Marching Band to officially open the route.
Festival attendees participated in family-friendly and free activities including the creation of a giant LA Phil birthday cake, a bike rodeo (a mini bike obstacle course, designed to build biking skills), yoga classes with live music, a rock wall, face-painting, aerosol stencil lessons, an instrument petting zoo, and more.
The celebration culminated with LA Phil 100 at the Bowl, a free evening concert at the Hollywood Bowl with Gustavo Dudamel leading the LA Phil, with special guests Katy Perry, Herbie Hancock, Kali Uchis, and YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). In addition to being performed for a packed house, the concert was streamed via Facebook Live by over 88,000 fans.
For more information, including photographs of Celebrate LA: LA Phil 100xCicLAvia and LA Phil 100 at the Bowl, please visit: laphil.com/press/press-kits/centennial-launch-events/
LA Phil 100:
In its Centennial year (September 2018 through October 2019), the LA Phil is inviting people from Los Angeles and around the world to join them in envisioning a future that music can help create. Major initiatives include presenting the orchestra’s most ambitious artistic season to date, featuring over 50 commissioned works and the LA Phil’s largest roster of artistic collaborations; investing in the future of young people by creating a permanent YOLA center, The Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center @ Inglewood, designed by Frank Gehry; establishing the LA Phil Resident Fellows Program, which will provide musicians representing or serving historically underrepresented populations opportunities for professional advancement; welcoming all of Los Angeles to Celebrate LA!: LA Phil 100 x CicLAvia, a free, massive, street festival, featuring performances by 1,800 musicians, dancers and visual artists, stretching from Grand Avenue in front of Walt Disney Concert Hall all the way to the Hollywood Bowl, and concluding with LA Phil 100 at the Bowl, a free concert at the Hollywood Bowl; the “100 for the 100th: Be Our Guest” free ticket initiative, which will invite thousands of new listeners into Walt Disney Concert Hall; and a $500 Million Centennial Campaign to fund the future.
LA Phil:
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music & Artistic 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 (laphil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (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.
CicLAvia:
CicLAvia is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. CicLAvia catalyzes vibrant public spaces, active transportation, and good health through car-free streets. CicLAvia engages with people to transform our relationship with our communities and with each other. CicLAvia is an innovative model for creating new public space and enriching civic life. ciclavia.org/
Community Arts Resources (CARS):
Founded in Los Angeles in 1989, Community Arts Resources creates unique experiences where arts, culture, and community and civic life collide. CARS has created, produced, and promoted some of Los Angeles’ most innovative cultural programs and events in public space including CicLAvia, Chinatown Summer Nights, Go Little Tokyo, The Broad’s Family Weekends, GLOW, and the Getty Museum Family Festivals. CARS has also been instrumental in planning, designing, and programming some of Los Angeles’ most popular cultural and community spaces, such as Grand Park and Grand Performances at California Plaza. carsla.net/