Concerts by Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony at Hollywood Bowl Cancelled

In Friday’s (7/11) Los Angeles Times, Jessica Gelt writes, “In early July, the Los Angeles Philharmonic quietly canceled all four Hollywood Bowl performances featuring Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The L.A. Phil … attributed the cancellations of the L.A. leg of the orchestra’s 50th anniversary tour to ‘travel complications,’ and said it looks forward to ‘welcoming the Orchestra back in the future.’ Venezuela is on the list of countries on President Trump’s recently announced travel ban list. The ban for the country is partial, but it does affect the types of visas typically used for tourism and business…. Times classical music critic Mark Swed credited the loss of the orchestra’s visit to Trump’s travel ban and lamented that the cancellation would reduce Dudamel’s appearances on the Bowl’s stage to a single week during his 16th and penultimate season … The Bolívar Orchestra likely won’t have any trouble traveling to the United Kingdom, however, because it is set to play as a special guest alongside Dudamel for 10 sold-out shows with the rock band Coldplay at Wembley Stadium in late August and early September…. Ticket holders for the canceled Bowl shows received emails … and were told that their tickets would remain valid for newly announced programming.”