This concert a few nights ago was the final LA Phil concert at the Hollywood Bowl for the season. Summer is now officially over. I picked the wrong night to forget my jacket as it was by far the chilliest night at the Hollywood Bowl that I ever remember experiencing. I was surprised and delighted to see such a large audience for a Tuesday night classical music concert. It was an all-Mozart program and a perfect way to close out the 2021 Summer season.

The final concert of the season felt a little different this year. As I was exiting, I kept looking back and trying to take it all in. “Until next season” didn’t feel as guaranteed as it did every other time before the pandemic. When I said farewell to this wonderful summer venue in 2019, never in my wildest nightmares would I have imagined that there would be no 2020 season and that the 2021 season would be in limbo due to a crisis faced by the entire world. So on this last concert of the 2021 Hollywood Bowl season, I was grateful to have been blessed with the opportunity to attend seven concerts; and I am hopeful that in 2022 the show will go on.

Next week, I get to go back to the LA Opera for the first time, and the week after that I will be returning to my beloved Walt Disney Concert Hall after almost two years.