LA Opera's New Music Director Domingo Hindoyan to Receive City Honor

Los Angeles City Council Member Adrin Nazarian will honor Domingo Hindoyan, the new Richard Seaver Music Director of LA Opera, with a City Certificate during a City Council presentation on Oct. 14.

The ceremony marks Hindoyan's first months in the post. He took up the music directorship in July.

Who is taking part in the presentation?

LA Opera President and CEO Christopher Koelsch appears among the listed participants. The presentation also includes live performances by the Lark Musical Society and the Barekamutiun International Dance Studio.

Nazarian paired the welcome with a recognition of October as Armenian Heritage Month. He cited Hindoyan's Armenian heritage as a factor in his path to the podium.

What shaped Hindoyan's career?

Hindoyan is an Armenian-Venezuelan conductor and violinist. Born in Caracas, he began his musical studies as a violinist in Venezuela's El Sistema program. He later earned a master's degree in conducting from the Geneva University of Music.

In 2012, the Allianz International Conductors Academy selected him for its program. There he worked with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. His mentors included Esa-Pekka Salonen and Sir Andrew Davis.

His résumé spans leading houses on both sides of the Atlantic:

• Conducting engagements at the Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna State Opera
• Performances with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra
• Principal guest conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
• Chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Why does the honor matter?

The Oct. 14 presentation places Hindoyan before a civic audience barely three months into his LA Opera tenure. Nazarian's framing ties the honor to Armenian Heritage Month, anchoring the conductor's appointment in the city's broader cultural calendar. For LA Opera, the City Council's recognition gives its new music director a public platform as his first season unfolds.

By Elena Vasquez