Known as Southern California’s leading performing arts institution, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which performs in Walt Disney Hall, owes its birth to William Andrews Clark, Jr., a multi-millionaire and amateur musician who established the city's first permanent symphony orchestra in 1919. Since 32-year-old Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel became the LA Philharmonic Orchestra's 11th Music Director in 2009, his infectious emotional energy has won over even the most jaded souls in audiences and orchestras alike, making it one of the world’s most outstanding orchestras today.