Gustavo Dudamel Celebrates 17 Years at LA Phil With Chris Martin, Alejandro Iñárritu and LL Cool J

Gustavo Dudamel celebrated his 17 years conducting the LA Phil on Tuesday night with Gustavo’s Fiesta, a gala concert and dinner after-party at Walt Disney Concert Hall that raised more than $5 million for the orchestra and its Learning and Community Initiatives program.

The guest list included Chris Martin, Alejandro Iñárritu, LL Cool J, “The Pitt” star Supriya Ganesh, Helen Hunt, Beck and Drew Scott of the “Property Brothers.”

The evening marked the beginning of Dudamel’s final chapter as the music and artistic director of the LA Phil before he officially takes the helm of the New York Philharmonic in September 2026.

“I’m so grateful,” Dudamel said at the start of the concert, adding, “I had only one dream when I was a child, to play with my friends. I didn’t have any ambition. I didn’t have any ambition to go out of Barquisimeto , my hometown, and conduct…My dream was to get out of the school, El Sistima, and play with my friends and have fun.”

That desire to have fun extends to today, he said: “That is my motto.”

Dudamel reflected on his years with the LA Phil, joking about times he may have let anger get the best of him. “I can get a little angry but it always gets to the funny place,” he said, turning to the orchestra. “We always finish with a smile. We look at each other with respect.”

One of Dudamel’s signature accomplishments is YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles), which he launched in 2007 and now provides free instruments and music education to 1,700 young people. Several of the current students, wearing black shirts with “Gracias Gustavo” emblazoned on the back, joined the orchestra on Wednesday night for a performance of the finale of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.”

“What I found here was generosity to open space to others to make their dreams come true,” Dudamel said.

The evening’s concert ended with three encores before guests headed to dinner followed by a dance party, where Dudamel’s father, trombonist Oscar Dudamel, was joined on stage by his son playing the violin.

A video tribute played before the concert highlighted Dudamel’s career, including performing at Coachella, multiple Grammy wins and having a playful lightsaber battle with “Star Wars” composer John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl. “The bond has built here with us is indelible,” the narrator says, in part. “It is family. It is forever.”

See more photos from the gala below.