LOS ANGELES (October 14, 2025) - Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic returned to the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage for Gustavo’s Fiesta on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. 

This event celebrated Gustavo Dudamel’s legacy as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Music & Artistic Director at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Dudamel led the LA Phil in a live “playlist” of his favorite symphonic finales: the final dance from Manuel de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, the finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, “Le jardin féerique” from Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and “Noche de encantamiento” from Silvestre Revueltas’ La noche de los Mayas. Musicians of YOLA joined Dudamel to perform the finale of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.”  

“Gustavo’s Fiesta” raised more than $5 million for the LA Phil and its Learning and Community Initiatives (including YOLA). YOLA provides young people, ages six through eighteen, with free instruments, intensive music instruction, and opportunities to perform on stages in their communities and around the world. Founded by Dudamel and launched in 2007, YOLA has been adapted to meet the needs of communities across Los Angeles. Since the program's inception, YOLA musicians have performed for audiences of millions—from neighborhood concerts and community events to the Hollywood Bowl and the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Today, the program operates at locations across the city, including the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood, which opened in 2021 as YOLA’s first permanent, purpose-built facility.

The Gala began with the arrival of notable celebrities and VIPs Alejandro Iñárritu and María Eladia Hagerman, Beck, Chris Martin, Drew Scott, Helen Hunt, LL Cool J, Supriya Ganesh and Oscar Dudamel.

Local officials in attendance included Mayor of Inglewood The Honorable Mayor James T. Butts, California State Senator for District 26 The Honorable Maria Elena Durazo, Director of the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation Norma Garcia-Gonzalez, Third District Supervisor The Honorable Lindsey Horvath, Second District Supervisor The Honorable Holly Mitchell, Director of the County of Los Angeles Department of Arts & Culture Kristin Sakoda, and former member of the Board of Supervisors The Honorable Zev Yaroslavsky. 

They were joined by LA Phil President & Chief Executive Officer, David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair Kim Noltemy; Board Chair and Gala Co-Chair Jason Subotky and Anne Akiko Meyers; Honorary Gala Co-Chair María Valverde; and Gala Co-Chairs Judy and Tom Beckmen, Kathleen and Jerry Eberhardt, Georgia and Breck Eisner, Jenny Miller Goff, Winnie Kho and Chris Testa, Jay and Barbara Rasulo, Koni and Geoff Rich, Jamie Rigler, and Sue Tsao, along with more than 650 gala patrons. The pre-concert cocktail reception was held in the Blue Ribbon Garden, where guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, wines by Darioush and cocktails specially designed by Hope and Grand Events by Lucques while taking in a performance from Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles. 

Gala guests and concert attendees then moved into Walt Disney Concert Hall for the concert performed by the LA Phil led by Gustavo Dudamel. After a lengthy standing ovation celebrating his historic tenure and creative chemistry with the orchestra, Dudamel and the LA Phil performed a trio of unannounced encores: the “Hoe-Down” from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo, the “Congo” from Julián Orbón’s Tres versiones sinfonicas and the “Mambo” from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.

Post-concert dinner was held on Grand Avenue. The gala dinner party boasted chic multi-colored décor produced by Sequoia Productions. The gourmet menu was created by Hope and Grand Events by Lucques and wines were provided by Beckmen Vineyards. Remarks were given by LA Phil President & CEO Kim Noltemy, Board Chair Jason Subotky, and Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, after which guests enjoyed performances from flamenco group Siudy and Venezuelan Afro Tambor band De Raíz by Adriana Duque. 

Duque’s ensemble also appeared in the after-party in BP Hall, which also featured a performance from acclaimed Venezuelan trombonist Oscar Dudamel—father of Gustavo —who played a bold fusion of salsa, bolero, and classical music from his debut studio album, Sueño Alcanzado ("Dream Fulfilled"). Produced in Caracas and released on the Platoon label, the album is dedicated to Gustavo, who, as a child, dreamed of playing salsa music like his father. 

In a special surprise, Gustavo joined his father, performing on the violin alongside him for songs including the album’s title track. The emotional centerpiece and narrative foundation of the album, it was co-written with Maestro Alberto Crespo (arranger), Eliel Rivero (composer), and Gustavo's mother Solange Ramírez (voice teacher). The song was a deeply personal tribute to Gustavo’s artistic journey that has unfolded over decades. The afterparty also featured Venezuelan snacks from The Arepa Stand, and beverages provided by Cobblestone Wines and specialty Johnnie Walker Black cocktails. 

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Top Gala Patrons included: Carol and Murray Grigor / Dunard Fund USA, Jennifer Miller Goff, Jason Subotky and Anne Akiko Meyers, Koni and Geoff Rich, Judy and Tom Beckmen, Georgia and Breck Eisner and Jane and Michael Eisner. All gala proceeds support the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its learning and community programs. 

The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s LA Phil Gala Concert: Gustavo’s Fiesta was created by Sequoia Productions and the LA Phil Special Events Team. 

Gustavo Dudamel launched his final season as Music and Artistic Director in September with Richard Strauss’ “An Alpine Symphony” and world-premiere performances of Ellen Reid’s Earth Between Oceans with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Those concerts were followed by performances of Stravinsky’s Firebird and The Rite of Spring alongside US premiere performances of the LA Phil commission Frenzy by John Adams, as well as a program of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, soprano Chen Reiss and mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor. 

Dudamel is set to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic on a ten-day, three-country tour to Asia, returning to Seoul, Tokyo, and Taipei from October 21-30. He returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall in February to premiere Humboldt’s Nature, an LA Phil commission from composer Ricardo Lorenz; lead the orchestra in Schumann’s Piano Concerto with soloist Yunchan Lim; and give a performance of Beethoven’s “Incidental Music from Egmont” adapted by acclaimed playwright Jeremy O. Harris to be performed with narrator Cate Blanchett. 

For press photos, email press@laphil.org.

For more details about LA Phil’s 2025/26 season, please visit laphil.com. 

A full chronological listing of events is available here. 

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: 

Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 7 PM  

Walt Disney Concert Hall,  

111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles  

LA Phil Gala Concert: Gustavo’s Fiesta 

Los Angeles Philharmonic 

Gustavo Dudamel, conductor   

FALLA  Final Dance from The Three-Cornered Hat 

BEETHOVEN  Allegro con brio from Symphony No. 7 

DVOŘÁK  Allegro con fuoco from Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”  

With Musicians of YOLA 

RAVEL  “Le jardin féerique” from Ma mère l’Oye 

REVUELTAS  “Noche de encantamiento” from La noche de los Mayas 

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ABOUT GUSTAVO DUDAMEL 

Gustavo Dudamel is committed to creating a better world through music. Guided by an unwavering belief in the power of art to inspire and transform lives, he has worked tirelessly to expand education and access for underserved communities around the world, and to broaden the impact of classical music to new and ever-larger audiences. His rise, from humble beginnings as a child in Venezuela to an unparalleled career of artistic and social achievements, offers living proof that culture can bring meaning to the life of an individual and greater harmony to the world at large. He currently serves as the Music & Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, and in 2026 he becomes the Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic, continuing a legacy that includes Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein. Throughout 2025, Dudamel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of El Sistema, honoring the global impact of Jose Antonio Abreu’s visionary education program across five generations, and acknowledging the vital importance of arts education.  

ABOUT THE LA PHIL 

Under the leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that inspire and strengthen communities in Los Angeles and beyond. The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra is the foundation of the LA Phil’s offerings, which also include a multi-genre, multidisciplinary presenting program and such youth development programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). Performances are offered on four historic stages—Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, The Ford, and Beckmen YOLA Center—as well as through a variety of media platforms. In all its endeavors, the LA Phil seeks to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through musical, artistic and learning experiences that resonate in our world today.