On his second day as musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the man of the moment in classical music rehearsed with a group of middle schoolers who were having tempo problems.
"Guys! Violins, I can see you playing but it's so boring," said conductor Gustavo Dudamel. "I need more volume so the instruments sound happy."
Most of the musicians of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles picked up their instruments for the first time two years ago. They played timidly, like they were surprised to find themselves on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl.
But as the percussion and brass joined in, their music began to sound like Beethoven's celebratory "Ode to Joy."
Dudamel may be one of the hottest stars in orchestral music, but he's no diva. Not only did the 28-year-old work patiently with beginner musicians from South Los Angeles' working-class neighborhoods, he also posed for photos with them, signed their scores and sang "Happy Birthday" to a kid named Daniel who turned 12 that day.
"We're the trumpet 'vatos,'" said 11-year-old Javier Vivar as he threw his arms around two other boys. "We practice three times a week, including Saturdays, and I haven't missed a single class."
The youth orchestra is modeled on El Sistema, the model music education program where Dudamel was trained in his native Venezuela. The government-funded program gives instruments to hundreds of thousands of children and oversees youth orchestras across the country.
Dudamel says he is dedicated to bringing the project to the U.S. and using classical music to help disadvantaged children transform their lives.
"In my country, classical music is an artistic, social project," he said. "My goal is music for everybody, for all the community. People may say it's crazy, romantic. But I believe it and I will work for it."
For Dudamel, culture is one of life's necessities, along with health, education and food, and the orchestra is an essential tool for teaching discipline and teamwork.
Through El Sistema, Dudamel developed his natural talent on the violin, stepped up to the conductor's podium at 14 and started touring as musical director of the Orchestra Simon Bolivar.
When he won the 2004 Gustav Mahler Conducting Prize at age 23, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's previous musical director Esa-Pekka Salonen invited him to come to California to conduct the Philharmonic.
"He told me, in English -- and still my English is terrible -- 'You have to come to L.A. one day to conduct.' But I didn't understand," Dudamel recalled. "I only understand, 'Los Angeles,' and I was like, 'OK!'"
"Guys! Violins, I can see you playing but it's so boring," said conductor Gustavo Dudamel. "I need more volume so the instruments sound happy."
Most of the musicians of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles picked up their instruments for the first time two years ago. They played timidly, like they were surprised to find themselves on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl.
But as the percussion and brass joined in, their music began to sound like Beethoven's celebratory "Ode to Joy."
Dudamel may be one of the hottest stars in orchestral music, but he's no diva. Not only did the 28-year-old work patiently with beginner musicians from South Los Angeles' working-class neighborhoods, he also posed for photos with them, signed their scores and sang "Happy Birthday" to a kid named Daniel who turned 12 that day.
"We're the trumpet 'vatos,'" said 11-year-old Javier Vivar as he threw his arms around two other boys. "We practice three times a week, including Saturdays, and I haven't missed a single class."
The youth orchestra is modeled on El Sistema, the model music education program where Dudamel was trained in his native Venezuela. The government-funded program gives instruments to hundreds of thousands of children and oversees youth orchestras across the country.
Dudamel says he is dedicated to bringing the project to the U.S. and using classical music to help disadvantaged children transform their lives.
"In my country, classical music is an artistic, social project," he said. "My goal is music for everybody, for all the community. People may say it's crazy, romantic. But I believe it and I will work for it."
For Dudamel, culture is one of life's necessities, along with health, education and food, and the orchestra is an essential tool for teaching discipline and teamwork.
Through El Sistema, Dudamel developed his natural talent on the violin, stepped up to the conductor's podium at 14 and started touring as musical director of the Orchestra Simon Bolivar.
When he won the 2004 Gustav Mahler Conducting Prize at age 23, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's previous musical director Esa-Pekka Salonen invited him to come to California to conduct the Philharmonic.
"He told me, in English -- and still my English is terrible -- 'You have to come to L.A. one day to conduct.' But I didn't understand," Dudamel recalled. "I only understand, 'Los Angeles,' and I was like, 'OK!'"
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