New LA Phil conductor`s goal: Music for everybody

Los Angeles: On his second day as musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the man of the moment in classical music rehearsed with a group of middle schoolers who were having tempo problems.

"Guys! Violins, I can see you playing but it`s so boring," said conductor Gustavo Dudamel. "I need more volume so the instruments sound happy." Most of the musicians of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles picked up their instruments for the first time two years ago. They played timidly, like they were surprised to find themselves on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl. But as the percussion and brass joined in, their music began to sound like Beethoven`s celebratory "Ode to Joy." Dudamel may be one of the hottest stars in orchestral music, but he`s no diva. Not only did the 28-year-old work patiently with beginner musicians from South Los Angeles` working-class neighborhoods, he also posed for photos with them, signed their scores and sang "Happy Birthday" to a kid named Daniel who turned 12 that day. "We`re the trumpet `vatos,`" said 11-year-old Javier Vivar as he threw his arms around two other boys. "We practice three times a week, including Saturdays, and I haven`t missed a single class." The youth orchestra is modeled on El Sistema, the model music education program where Dudamel was trained in his native Venezuela. The government-funded program gives instruments to hundreds of thousands of children and oversees youth orchestras across the country. Dudamel says he is dedicated to bringing the project to the U.S. and using classical music to help disadvantaged children transform their lives. "In my country, classical music is an artistic, social project," he said. "My goal is music for everybody, for all the community. People may say it`s crazy, romantic. But I believe it and I will work for it." For Dudamel, culture is one of life`s necessities, along with health, education and food, and the orchestra is an essential tool for teaching discipline and teamwork. Through El Sistema, Dudamel developed his natural talent on the violin, stepped up to the conductor`s podium at 14 and started touring as musical director of the Orchestra Simon Bolivar. When he won the 2004 Gustav Mahler Conducting Prize at age 23, the Los Angeles Philharmonic`s previous musical director Esa-Pekka Salonen invited him to come to California to conduct the Philharmonic. "He told me, in English — and still my English is terrible — `You have to come to L.A. one day to conduct.` But I didn`t understand," Dudamel recalled. "I only understand, `Los Angeles,` and I was like, `OK!`" Two years after he first performed at the Hollywood Bowl, the Philharmonic wooed him away from competing orchestras and he signed on to move to Los Angeles. Dudamel said his main focus will be on making beautiful music with the Philharmonic. He`d also like to add Wagner and the symphonies of Bruckner to his repertoire. "He`s intense in rehearsal. That`s when the real work happens," said Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic`s president. "Don`t be misled by his charisma. There`s something so serious about him." Dudamel also brings his Pan-American vision to Los Angeles, the Latino capital of the U.S. At his first press conference as music director, a reporter asked him what was on his iPod. Dudamel acknowledged that he likes "old style" music and listed Venezuelan salsa artist Oscar D`Leon, Spanish singer Pasion Vega, Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guzman and the 1970s Latin dance hits of Johnny Pacheco`s Fania record label. "What about Americans?" asked the reporter. "I am talking about Americans," Dudamel said before he added Beyonce and Pink Floyd to his list. "I believe that America is one. Of course we have South, Central and North America, but there is only one continent, together. I`m very proud to be Venezuelan, Latino, South American and American," he said in an interview. With the classical music world, Los Angeles` culture vultures and local Latino leaders all wanting a piece of their new celebrity, the Phil took advantage of the moment and staged a free concert at the Hollywood Bowl, called Bienvenido Gustavo, before his gala debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall downtown. The Phil pulled out all the stops, plastering his image on advertisements on city buses and releasing a Gustavo-themed iPod game. A crowd of 17,400 packed the Bowl on Saturday to see the Gustavo. First, he donned a black YOLA T-shirt to conduct the youth orchestra in its abridged Beethoven. The parents of fifth-grader Juan Carlos Guzman were thrilled to watch their son play cello. "It`s amazing that this famous conductor is working with the kids, so inspiring for them," said his mother, Heydi Montes. "This program is trying to give them the opportunities that us as parents didn`t have. We`ve never been to anything like this and we`re so excited." The full orchestra played Beethoven`s Ninth Symphony, and when the soloists and chorus broke into song in the fourth movement, the German lyrics were translated into both English and Spanish on the huge screens beside the stage. The crowd hung on every flick of his baton and rose to their feet in appreciation and welcome afterward. "I think a few people speak Spanish out there," Dudamel said, and the applause turned to wild cheers. "What`s most important, my dear friends, is that we`re all united here by music, by Beethoven, by these children who are the future." Bureau Report