High-flying British conductor and part-time pilot lands top job with US orchestra

Daniel Harding, a conductor and Air France pilot, is named the LA Philharmonic's new music director.

Daniel Harding has been named the next music director of the LA Philharmonic, beginning in the 2027-28 season. The British conductor replaces Gustavo Dudamel, who becomes New York Philharmonic music director in September 2026. Dudamel will henceforth be known as the LA Phil's artistic and cultural laureate. As music director, Harding joins an impressive lineup of previous LA Phil maestros, including Otto Klemperer, Zubin Mehta, Carlo Giulini, André Previn and Esa-Pekka Salonen. In his new role, he will oversee LA Phil programming at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford. He will also be responsible for the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), the LA Phil's ambitious commitment to commissioning new works, and for national and international touring.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has found its next music director. Daniel Harding, who has led some of Europe’s top orchestras, will succeed Gustavo Dudamel as music director of one of the country’s most renowned orchestras. LA Phil’s new British-born maestro will begin his tenure in the 2027/28 season, overseeing orchestral programming for the iconic Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Ford, along with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA). He will conduct eight weeks of programming for his first season and increase to 12 weeks in subsequent years.

Daniel Harding, a British conductor and Air France pilot, has been named the next music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, succeeding Gustavo Dudamel. Harding, 50, signed a six-year contract beginning in the 2027-28 season, marking his first appointment with a U.S. orchestra. Known for leading major European ensembles, Harding currently serves as music director of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Italy.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced that Daniel Harding is to be its next music director. The UK-born Harding, 50, will begin his tenure in the 2027/28 season, with an initial contract for six years. Gustavo Dudamel, the orchestra’s music director since 2009, leaves the role in August 2026 – the Venezuelan conductor is heading east to become music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic, but he will retain close connections with the Los Angeles orchestra as its artistic and cultural laureate.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has appointed British conductor Daniel Harding as its next music director, succeeding Gustavo Dudamel in 2027 after years of speculation about the orchestra’s future leader. Harding, a former teenage assistant to Simon Rattle and a licensed commercial pilot, first conducted the L.A. Phil at 21 and now ranks among Europe’s most in-demand maestros. Chosen overwhelmingly by orchestra players, Harding will guide 12 weeks a season within a sprawling leadership team, from Esa-Pekka Salonen to Dudamel, while deepening education efforts like a 2029 YOLA tour.