Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

Throughout its long existence, the Hollywood Bowl has welcomed an extraordinary array of celebrated figures. Linked to the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s longstanding summer season at the site, the podium has been occupied by conductors such as Otto Klemperer, Leopold Stokowski, Herbert von Karajan, and Leonard Bernstein; Arturo Toscanini remains the sole prominent maestro of that era never to have directed a performance there. Artists beyond the classical sphere—among them Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra, Simon and Garfunkel, and Mikhail Baryshnikov—have further enhanced the venue’s storied reputation. In 1928 Australian/American composer Percy Grainger exchanged vows on its stage.

Although the Hollywood Bowl’s partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic extends back to 1922, the Bowl’s own ensemble, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, was formed only in 1991. Led since then by music director John Mauceri (b. 1945), the group has earned acclaim for its energetic and consistently popular programs. Steering clear of the more substantial works in the standard orchestral canon, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra has drawn particular praise for its renditions of film and Broadway scores, lighter classical pieces, and additional “pops” repertoire. Its catalog includes favorably received accounts of music by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Duke Ellington.