Earlier this spring I was tasked with creating orchestral arrangements for a collaboration between the celebrated Colombian musician Carlos Vives and his band, with conductor Gustavo Dudamel and his band, commonly known as the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The resulting set of six songs was recorded under strict COVID guidelines at the Hollywood Bowl without an audience. I’m grateful to life for giving me these opportunities to learn, listen and find the right tools to contribute, and to those intrepid moments when people take chances with their art and see it in a new light. This goes for everyone involved — to Carlos Vives, who heard his music with a live orchestra for the first time, and to Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil who believed that this music would come alive and bring so much joy in their hands. Thank you to Carlos’s music director, bassist Luis Ángel “El Papa Pastor”, for his patience and insights into these songs, and for his friendship, and to Rafael Mariño for being a steadfast presence along the way. The concert film is directed by Alberto Arvelo and Grant James.

LA Phil videos have a tendency of disappearing from the internet after a few months so I highly suggest that you enjoy the concert today. In other happy news, Carlos Vives, Gustavo Dudamel and LA Phil will reunite at the Hollywood Bowl for two in-person performances on August 27 and 28. Grab your tickets here.

For those of you interested in music notation, all six scores were notated in Dorico, as six flows in a single file!

Thank you to all and enjoy the music!

(UPDATE: The original video has indeed been removed after six months or so, but some selections have been preserved on YouTube – I’m sharing them below.)

Also below –– some glam. 🙂

||> See a playlist videos of Ljova’s new music released during the COVID-19 pandemic.
||> Support Ljova’s ongoing work of creating new music for the fadolín — join his Patreon community for exclusives and updates! Thank you for your support.