LA Phil World Music series at Walt Disney Concert Hall

The Los Angeles Philharmonic presents a trip around the globe with its World Music series 2016/17 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The four-concert series includes some of the world’s most exciting musical artists, composers and ensembles from Cuba, Japan, Iceland, Ukraine and Bulgaria.

The World Music series will travel to Japan on February 7, 2017 for Kodo: DADAN 2017, featuring the world’s best-known and most influential taiko drumming ensemble. Forging new directions for the traditional Japanese drum, Kodo will bring their display of raw athleticism and rhythmic mastery back to Walt Disney Concert Hall for a fifth time during their first American tour of DADAN.  The cutting-edge and ever-evolving production features the men of Kodo in a bold portrayal of the essence of drumming through this vibrant living art form.

From Iceland, on April 17, 2017 the series will feature Oscar^®-nominated and Golden Globe-winning Icelandic composer, musician and producer Jóhann Jóhannsson – who wrote the scores for The Theory of Everything, Sicario and the upcoming Arrival – as he celebrates his new album Orphée, released on Deutsche Grammophon. Jóhannsson, whose work often blends electronics with classical orchestrations, will be joined by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. Opening the evening will be one of contemporary music’s most compelling label/collectives, the Reykjavík-based Bedroom Community, once described by Pitchfork as “a lightning rod at the juncture where the ambition of classical music meets the aesthetics of indie music.” To celebrate its 10 year-anniversary, Bedroom Community is taking members of its roster on the road for the first time since 2010 for a series of live performances known as the Whale Watching Tour, with the Walt Disney Concert Hall date featuring founder Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon, Jodie Landau and Daníel Bjarnason. The performance will see these musicians share the stage for a fluid showcase of music that spans the Bedroom Community catalog and introduce unreleased or rearranged pieces as well as classics from their repertoire.

The concert is part of the LA Phil’s Reykjavík Festival taking place April 7-17, 2017.

The series will conclude on April 28, 2017 in Ukraine and Bulgaria with DakhaBrakha and Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares. Kiev-based multi-instrumental quartet DakhaBrakha is at the crossroads of Ukrainian folklore and theatre. With a powerful and uncompromising vocal range, their musical spectrum is at first intimate then riotous. Translating to “give/take” in old Ukrainian, DakhaBrakha embraces a sound rooted in Ukrainian folk music and accompanied by Arabic, African, Russian and Ukrainian traditional instrumentation to create a world of unexpected new music. The Grammy-winning all-female choir Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices) was created 50 years ago with a goal to enrich the heritage of the Bulgarian solo folk song with harmonies and arrangements that highlight its beautiful timbres and irregular rhythms. The singers will open the evening with voices that sound as if otherworldly, as they jubilate, shout, ornament, and form fast and perfect glissandos, letting one crazy rhythm follow another, and making their voices build the most darling chords. With their bell-like voices, these women have become international stars, whose hypnotic chant circles the globe.

About The Los Angeles Philharmonic:

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music Director & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres – orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music and pop – at two of L.A.’s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall (www.laphil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (www.HollywoodBowl.com). The LA Phil’s season extends from September through June at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, education and community programs.