The Music Center's Walt Disney Concert Hall
Designed by architect Frank Gehry, The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall (Concert Hall) opened in 2003 as the newest of The Music Center’s four venues. The Concert Hall was conceived when Lillian B. Disney made an initial gift of $50 million to build an additional performance space on Los Angeles County land in honor of her late husband Walt Disney and his dedication to the arts. Home to LA Phil and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Walt Disney Concert Hall is one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world and provides both visual and aural intimacy through its exterior and interior design.
More than 6,000 panels create the curving stainless steel skin of the Concert Hall’s exterior. Resembling silver sails, the Concert Hall’s design plays off the bowed cornice of The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, forging a link between the old and the new.
The use of natural materials and skylights creates a bright and airy interior in the Concert Hall. Gehry’s team visualized the lobby as a transparent and light-filled “living room for the city.” Massive columns within the lobby structure evoke an image of tree trunks. They are clad in vertical grain Douglas fir and serve the functional purpose of housing the lighting, heating and air conditioning systems.
The 2,265-seat auditorium is a concrete box that is structurally independent of the rest of the building. Gehry collaborated with renowned acoustician Dr. Yasuhisa Toyota to design the acoustics. The walls of the auditorium are vertical grain Douglas fir and the floor is red oak. The stage is Alaskan yellow cedar, the same wood often used on the backs of cellos and violas and can be configured to hold larger performing organizations by removing the first rows in Orchestra View. Natural light enhances daytime concerts with a large 36-foot-high rear window and skylights.
The terraced vineyard style seating is designed to bring the audience close to the orchestra and provide an intimate view of the musicians and conductor from any seat. A focal point for the auditorium is the 50-foot organ that houses 6,134 pipes ranging in size from a pencil to a telephone pole. Only two percent of the pipes are visible. The organ weighs more than 40 metric tons and was designed by Los Angeles organ designer Manuel Rosales along with Frank Gehry.
Gehry’s design includes details as specific as the carpet pattern used in the auditorium. Named “Lillian” in Mrs. Disney’s honor, the pattern was designed to bring Mrs. Disney’s garden into the Concert Hall and is featured in the seating upholstery as well. Foam padding, the material and the hollow underside of the seats mimic the human body in reflecting sound; in fact, the sound is the same no matter how full or how empty the auditorium. The only piece of art in the Concert Hall, “Blue”, was created by Los Angeles artist Peter Alexander. It is located above the Grand Avenue staircase between the Garden and Terrace levels.
The Concert Hall includes BP Hall, which is an additional space for performances and can accommodate up to 350 people. Clad in vertical grain Douglas fir as well, the curved room posed an acoustical challenge. To avoid focusing sound in one area of the space, perforations were added to the wood paneling with special material placed behind the panels to give the room proper acoustics.
Located on the second floor of the Concert Hall is the Library of Congress/Ira Gershwin Gallery. Designed by Hodgetts + Fung Design Associates, the gallery was made possible by a gift from the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trust for the Benefit of the Library of Congress and rotates its collection bi-annually.
The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT), named in honor of Walt Disney’s brother and partner Roy and Roy’s wife, Edna, is also housed within the Concert Hall. An interdisciplinary contemporary arts center, the theatre is programmed by CalArts, based in Valencia, California. REDCAT features a flexible 200- to 270-seat multi-use theatre and a 3,000 square-foot exhibition space. Its entrance includes a marquee of curvilinear stainless steel and leads directly into an expansive multi-use space that includes a lobby and lounge for meetings, receptions and post-performance events. The REDCAT stage can be transformed into several configurations, from thrust and end stage to completely in the round. The performance space is lined with hinged panels, each with finished wood on one side and sound-absorbent material on the other. To quiet outside noise and prevent transmission of vibrations from the Concert Hall, REDCAT is built as a steel box-within-a box, with the interior box floating on 72 special rubber pads.
Featured at Walt Disney Concert Hall
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Tue May 21 8:00 PM
Thu May 30 8:00 PM
LA Phil Kraftwerk
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Over nine nights at Walt Disney Concert Hall, legendary German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their album Autobahn, which was composed, produced, and recorded by Kraftwerk founders Ra...Show More
Over nine nights at Walt Disney Concert Hall, legendary German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their album Autobahn, which was composed, produced, and recorded by Kraftwerk founders Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1974.
The concert series will present eight Kraftwerk albums: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991), and Tour de France (2003). Each night will feature one complete album plus additional compositions from their catalog. Concert number nine will be a finale with groundbreaking works spanning five decades of the Kraftwerk repertoire.
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Fri May 31 8:00 PM
LA Phil Silvana Estrada Cécile McLorin Salvant
Walt Disney Concert Hall
It’s a night of brilliantly crafted songs delivered by two artists who know how to inhabit a story. Silvana Estrada sings from down deep, telling her soulful coming-of-age stories in a voice that embraces the legacy of Latin American song and carr...Show More
It’s a night of brilliantly crafted songs delivered by two artists who know how to inhabit a story. Silvana Estrada sings from down deep, telling her soulful coming-of-age stories in a voice that embraces the legacy of Latin American song and carries into the 21st century. Playing the Venezuelan cuatro guitar, she sings iconoclastic tales that cut straight to the heart. She’s performed and recorded with artists including Natalia Lafourcade (who, like Silvana, grew up outside Veracruz) as well as Andrew Bird, Devendra Banhart, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Following the release of her 2022 debut Marchita, which Rolling Stone called “gorgeously understated, guided by her gauzy voice and rich, acoustic arrangements,” she was awarded the 2022 Latin Grammy for Best New Artist.
Cécile McLorin Salvant applies her passion for storytelling to find the connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions from around the world, theater, jazz, and baroque music. She’s an eclectic curator with an adventurous spirit, unearthing rarely recorded songs from the past: forgotten tales with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor. Her albums The Window, Dreams and Daggers, and For One to Love won consecutive Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammys, and in 2020, she was awarded a MacArthur fellowship. Her 2022 album Ghost Song was hailed by Downbeat, who wrote in a 4.5-star review, “Her wordplay teases, taunts, and tests in a way that forces her to not just sing a lyric, but dive into roles with the zeal of a method actor.
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Sat Jun 01 8:00 PM
LA Phil Natalie Merchant
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Natalie Merchant is a multi-platinum-selling American singer-songwriter and producer known for her distinctive voice and captivating literary-pop songs. She has released several critically acclaimed albums, including Tigerlily and Ophelia, and has...Show More
Natalie Merchant is a multi-platinum-selling American singer-songwriter and producer known for her distinctive voice and captivating literary-pop songs. She has released several critically acclaimed albums, including Tigerlily and Ophelia, and has received numerous awards and nominations for her work. Her music blends folk, rock, and influences from around the world, and she continues to be regarded as a groundbreaking figure in alternative music. Her newest record, Keep Your Courage (due April 14 via Nonesuch Records), finds Merchant in peak form with songs about love and human connection in its many iterations, sung with a voice that keeps you hanging on every word.
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Tue Jun 04 7:00 PM
A TMC Arts Program The Music Center's 36th Annual Spotlight Grand Finale
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Music Center's Spotlight Grand Finale features an evening of unforgettable performances by our 14 Spotlight Grand Prize Finalists at The Music Center's Walt Disney Concert Hall. Join us to celebrate the cul...Show More
The Music Center's Spotlight Grand Finale features an evening of unforgettable performances by our 14 Spotlight Grand Prize Finalists at The Music Center's Walt Disney Concert Hall. Join us to celebrate the culmination of a multi-faceted year-long journey by these incredibly talented high school artists who are part of the Spotlight program.
Show LessFree
Learn MoreFree
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Sat Jun 08 2:00 PM
Sun Jun 09 7:00 PM
LA Master Chorale Verdi Requiem
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Dynamic rhythms, sublime melodies, and virtuosic solo moments express both the heights of salvation and depths of damnation in the composer's epic and ramatic ancient Catholic funeral mass.
Dynamic rhythms, sublime melodies, and virtuosic solo moments express both the heights of salvation and depths of damnation in the composer's epic and ramatic ancient Catholic funeral mass.
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Wed Jan 17 12:00 PM
Fri Dec 27 12:00 PM
A TMC Arts Program Gloria Molina Grand Park's Wellness Break
Gloria Molina Grand Park - Performance Lawn (btwn Grand Ave & Hill St)
Take a break and join us every Wednesday and Friday for in-person yoga classes 12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. at the park! Located on the performance lawn (between Grand Ave and Hill St), these 45-minute yoga classes are free and suitable for all-levels....Show More
Take a break and join us every Wednesday and Friday for in-person yoga classes 12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. at the park! Located on the performance lawn (between Grand Ave and Hill St), these 45-minute yoga classes are free and suitable for all-levels. You can also check out monthly online wellness classes at home provided by our local community partners!
Show LessFree
Learn MoreFree
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Tue May 21 8:00 PM
Thu May 30 8:00 PM
LA Phil Kraftwerk
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Over nine nights at Walt Disney Concert Hall, legendary German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their album Autobahn, which was composed, produced, and recorded by Kraftwerk founders Ra...Show More
Over nine nights at Walt Disney Concert Hall, legendary German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their album Autobahn, which was composed, produced, and recorded by Kraftwerk founders Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1974.
The concert series will present eight Kraftwerk albums: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991), and Tour de France (2003). Each night will feature one complete album plus additional compositions from their catalog. Concert number nine will be a finale with groundbreaking works spanning five decades of the Kraftwerk repertoire.
Show Less
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Sat Jun 01 8:00 PM
LA Phil Natalie Merchant
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Natalie Merchant is a multi-platinum-selling American singer-songwriter and producer known for her distinctive voice and captivating literary-pop songs. She has released several critically acclaimed albums, including Tigerlily and Ophelia, and has...Show More
Natalie Merchant is a multi-platinum-selling American singer-songwriter and producer known for her distinctive voice and captivating literary-pop songs. She has released several critically acclaimed albums, including Tigerlily and Ophelia, and has received numerous awards and nominations for her work. Her music blends folk, rock, and influences from around the world, and she continues to be regarded as a groundbreaking figure in alternative music. Her newest record, Keep Your Courage (due April 14 via Nonesuch Records), finds Merchant in peak form with songs about love and human connection in its many iterations, sung with a voice that keeps you hanging on every word.
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Sat May 18 7:30 PM
Sat Jun 08 7:30 PM
LA Opera Turandot
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Captivated by a beauty who scorns love, a renegade prince enters an all but impossible contest, where the price of failure is death. But beyond the legendary riddles, he’ll find another challenge in melting Turandot’s stubborn heart.
Captivated by a beauty who scorns love, a renegade prince enters an all but impossible contest, where the price of failure is death. But beyond the legendary riddles, he’ll find another challenge in melting Turandot’s stubborn heart.
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Tour The Music Center Campus
Free tours are available of all The Music Center's theaters.