Aug. 10--Conductor Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla is having perhaps the best year in her budding career. After a stellar debut at the Hollywood Bowl last year, the 2012 winner of Salzburg, Austria's, young conductor competition has been promoted from assistant conductor to associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
"As both a Dudamel Fellow and assistant conductor, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has afforded me tremendous growth, both personally and professionally," said a not-yet-30-years-old Grazinyte-Tyla in a statement. "I'm very grateful to build upon this invaluable experience, and continue this journey with such an esteemed orchestra."
Grazinyte-Tyla -- slowly becoming known as Mirga, sans surname -- studied choral music at the University of Music and Fine Arts in Graz, Austria. Eventually, she decided to switch to orchestral conducting.
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"I chose the field that was less known to me at the time," she told The Times' David Ng last year. "I want to concentrate on that and see how much that could become my homeland as much as vocal music and choir was."
In addition to her work with the L.A. Phil and a well-reviewed concert at Disney Hall in March, Grazinyte-Tyla has led concerts with numerous European ensembles. She has also been appointed music director of the Salzburger Landestheater.
"I'm still developing my style," she said. "I'm just interested in continuing to explore how clear a conductor should be -- how much organizing does an orchestra need, how much inspiration should a conductor give? It's a very interesting subject, and you're never done researching."
Grazinyte-Tyla's new title becomes effective after the end of 2015-16 season, extending her L.A. Phil contract through the end of the 2017 season.
She makes her second appearance at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 20, at 8 p.m., leading the L.A. Phil and violin soloist Alexandra Soumm in a program of Bernstein and Bizet.
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