LA Phil Swaps John Adams for Thomas Adès as New Music Chair

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has ended its 17-year association with American composer John Adams and named the British composer Thomas Adès as its new Creative Chair for New Music, Slippedisc reports.

Adams doesn't leave empty-handed. The orchestra has given him the title of Creative Chair for New Music Emeritus, alongside Herbie Hancock, who becomes Creative Chair for Jazz Emeritus after handing the jazz chair to Grammy Award-winning vocalist Samara Joy.

The timing is hard to miss. Adès is a friend of Daniel Harding, the incoming Music Director, the report notes. Adams, meanwhile, is widely expected to rejoin Gustavo Dudamel at the New York Philharmonic.

What does the reshuffle actually change?

The LA Phil has built an artistic leadership team with more titles than most orchestras dream of. Alongside Adès, the newly announced chairs include:

• Silvana Estrada — Creative Chair for Latin Music, a brand-new role for the Latin Grammy Award-winning artist
• Samara Joy — Creative Chair for Jazz, succeeding Herbie Hancock
• John Adams — Creative Chair for New Music Emeritus
• Herbie Hancock — Creative Chair for Jazz Emeritus

Previously announced members round out a large bench. Under incoming Music Director Daniel Harding, the team includes Gustavo Dudamel as Founding Director and Conductor Laureate of YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles), Esa-Pekka Salonen as Creative Director, Anna Handler as Conductor-in-Residence, Joe Hisaishi as Composer-in-Residence, Emmanuelle Haïm as Artist Collaborator, Thomas Wilkins as Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Zubin Mehta as Conductor Emeritus.

That's a lot of honorary and active roles stacked into one institution. The practical effect for audiences: a broader spread of named voices shaping programming — new music, jazz and Latin music each now have a dedicated chair.

For Adams, the move closes a 17-year chapter in Los Angeles. For Adès, it puts a leading British composer at the heart of one of America's most closely watched orchestras just as Harding, also British, takes the podium.