The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced that British conductor Daniel Harding will become its next music director, starting in the 2027/28 season. The 50-year-old maestro, born in Oxford, will replace Gustavo Dudamel, who departs in August 2026 to become music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic.
Harding's initial contract is for six years, during which he will oversee programming at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Ford, and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. He will conduct eight weeks in his first season, increasing to 12 weeks in subsequent years. The orchestra, founded in 1919, has commissioned works from Stravinsky to John Adams and won 11 Grammys under Dudamel.
Harding first conducted the LA Phil in 1997 at the Ojai Music Festival. He is currently music director of Rome's Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and has longstanding relationships with the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw, and Vienna Philharmonic. He also holds a parallel career as an airline pilot for Air France.
President and CEO Kim Noltemy said Harding was the overwhelming choice of the orchestra, praising his intellectual curiosity and global perspective. Harding expressed excitement about inheriting an orchestra with a tradition shaped by Carlo Maria Giulini, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Gustavo Dudamel.
