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A conductor with an orchestra.

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Malibu Library Speaker Series: James Conlon

In-Person Program

2025-06-16 19:00:00 2025-06-16 20:30:00 America/Los_Angeles Malibu Library Speaker Series: James Conlon James Conlon has been LA Opera's Music Director since 2006. As of the end of the 2023/24 season, he had conducted 469 performances with the company, including 68 operas by 32 different composers. For adults. Malibu Library - Meeting Room

Monday, June 16
7:00pm - 8:30pm

Add to Calendar 2025-06-16 19:00:00 2025-06-16 20:30:00 America/Los_Angeles Malibu Library Speaker Series: James Conlon James Conlon has been LA Opera's Music Director since 2006. As of the end of the 2023/24 season, he had conducted 469 performances with the company, including 68 operas by 32 different composers. For adults. Malibu Library - Meeting Room

Malibu Library

Meeting Room

James Conlon has been LA Opera's Music Director since 2006. As of the end of the 2023/24 season, he had conducted 469 performances with the company, including 68 operas by 32 different composers. For adults.

The Malibu Library Speaker Series presents LA Opera Music Director James Conlon, one of the most esteemed and influential conductors of our time. His work has defined and enriched the classical music traditions of the U.S. and Europe for over 50 years. Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 1974, he has led nearly every major American and European orchestra and has conducted at most of the world’s most prestigious opera houses.

Through his extensive touring, acclaimed recordings, published writings, and widely recognized public presence, Conlon stands as one of classical music’s most visible and enduring artistic leaders.

Conlon is Music Director of LA Opera, where since 2006 he has led more performances than any other conductor in the company’s history. He will serve as Music Director of the company until his 20th season in 2026, at which time he will become Conductor Laureate. He has been Principal Conductor of the Paris Opera; General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany, where he was Music Director of both the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and the Cologne Opera; Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Nazionale Della RAI in Torino, Italy. He has served as Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony, and Artistic Advisor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He is now Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival, where he was Music Director for 37 years. As a guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, he has led more than 270 performances since his 1976 debut. 

Conlon is a noted advocate for composers suppressed by the Nazi regime and is an enthusiastic advocate of public scholarship, and he appears throughout the country as a speaker on a variety of cultural and educational topics. At LA Opera, his popular pre-performance talks — each attended by over 1,000 people — draw upon musicology, literary studies, history, and social sciences to contemplate the enduring power and relevance of opera, and classical music in general.

This event takes place at Malibu Library. RSVPs are required.

Malibu Library

Phone: 310.456.6438

Hours
Mon, Jul 28 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Tue, Jul 29 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Wed, Jul 30 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Thu, Jul 31 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Fri, Aug 01 9:00AM to 5:00PM
Sat, Aug 02 9:00AM to 5:00PM
Sun, Aug 03 1:00PM to 5:00PM

About the branch

Malibu Library, located in the Malibu Civic Center Complex, was established in 1970 by the County of Los Angeles Public Library. Prior to 1970, a bookmobile provided library service to the Malibu community serving residents in Topanga Canyon and along the Pacific Coast Highway.

On April 22, 2012, a grand opening celebration was held to mark the completion of a $6 million renovation of the Malibu Library, designed by the architectural firm of LPA, Inc. and funded by revenue generated from local property taxes.

The new sustainable, LEED-certified library has been redesigned to represent Malibu's sand, sea and sun culture with features such as:

-A replica of the Adamson House tile rug in the main lobby
-A photographic exhibit featuring historical images of the area
-The Children's area featuring a marine life motif, including an 8' by 14' porcelain tile art piece designed by artist Christine Nguyen
-A Teen area that embraces Malibu's surf culture.
 

Upcoming events

Wed, Jul 30, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Meeting Room
Learn about the biology and engineering behind spider webs. Using your knowledge of spider engineering, create and test the strength of your own web using a paper plate and other materials! For kids ages 5 – 12.

Thu, Jul 31, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Meeting Room
Duct tape is a highly versatile and durable material. Learn about its history and make yourself a water bottle holder to keep your water handy and stay hydrated during the hot summer months! Part of Summer Discovery Program. For ages 13 - 17.

Mon, Aug 04, 10:30am - 11:15am
Get loud with us this summer with Music Stars! Our small, in-person group lessons are designed specifically for aspiring young musicians ages 11-13.

Mon, Aug 04, 12:00pm - 12:45pm
Get loud with us this summer with Music Stars! Our small, in-person group lessons are designed specifically for aspiring young musicians ages 11-13.

Mon, Aug 04, 1:00pm - 1:45pm
Get loud with us this summer with Music Stars! Our small, in-person group lessons are designed specifically for aspiring young musicians ages 11-13.

Wed, Aug 06, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Meeting Room
Learn about simple machines like gears, levers, and more. Then combine them together to create your own chain reaction contraption. For ages 7 - 12.

Wed, Aug 06, 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Pepperdine Professor of Psychology Khahn Bui returns with her program that cultivates well being, restores mental health, and combats loneliness. Part of Summer Discovery Program. For adults.

Thu, Aug 07, 10:00am - 11:00am
Preschool storytime at Bluffs Park. For ages 2 - 5.
Register

Thu, Aug 07, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Meeting Room
It's just weeks to go until classes start! Have you done your last minute Summer Reading? We've got all the MHS and MMS recommended books lists and the corresponding books, and you can decorate a book bag to take them home. For teens ages 13 – 17.

Tue, Aug 12, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Brian Muirhead is a leader in the field of deep space exploration. He is Chief Architect for the Mars Sample Return campaign, JPL's effort to study and develop the key technologies needed to return samples from the surface of Mars.

Wed, Aug 13, 10:30am - 11:30am
Discover the nature that is all around us! Take a walk through Legacy Park with a City of Malibu naturalist. We'll start at Malibu Library and finish with a short storytime in the park. For ages 2 – 10 with parent or caregiver.
Register

Wed, Aug 13, 5:00pm - 6:30pm
Meeting Room
'The End of the Affair' shows the nuances, complexities, depths and strengths of love; how serious, dynamic, and mighty it is, while also showing how selfish it is. Join us to discuss this classic work by Graham Greene. For adults.

Fri, Aug 15, 10:30am - 11:00am
Meeting Room
Let’s get ready for school! Enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun. For ages 2 - 5 with their parent or caregiver.

Fri, Aug 15, 2:30pm - 4:00pm
Join us at Malibu Equestrian Park for an afternoon of relaxing open-air painting. Follow instructions to create your own masterpiece. All materials provided. Beginners welcome! We will meet at the picnic tables next to the arena. For adults.

Wed, Aug 20, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Meeting Room
Join us for a family program celebrating the end of summer! We will have recipe journals to write your own recipes as well as aprons for children to decorate. For children ages 5-12 and their families.

Thu, Aug 21, 11:00am - 11:30am
Meeting Room
Families will sing, move, and play child-friendly instruments together. For children ages 0 - 3 and their caregivers.

Fri, Aug 22, 10:30am - 11:00am
Meeting Room
Let’s get ready for school! Enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun. For ages 2 - 5 with their parent or caregiver.

Wed, Aug 27, 10:30am - 11:30am
Discover the nature that is all around us! Take a walk through Legacy Park with a City of Malibu naturalist. We'll start at Malibu Library and finish with a short storytime in the park. For ages 2 – 10 with parent or caregiver.
Register

Thu, Aug 28, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Meeting Room
The big winds of August are here! Before Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he built a 200 lb and 40 ft long tetrahedral kite that carried a man 168 ft. In his honor, lets build the biggest tetrahedral kites we can! For teens ages 13 – 17.