[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 22, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE RETIREMENT OF LOS ANGELES OPERA MUSIC DIRECTOR JAMES 
                                 CONLON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIMMY GOMEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 2026

  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the retirement of James 
Conlon, the Richard Seaver Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera 
located in the community of Downtown Los Angeles.
  Since 2006, James Conlon has served as Music Director of the Los 
Angeles Opera. Conlon has led the most operas in company history, 
including conducting over 500 performances and 70 operas. In this role, 
Conlon has prioritized uplifting works by composers who were silenced 
by the Nazi regime. His efforts led to the creation of the Los Angeles 
Opera's Recovered Voices series and the Ziering-Conlon Center for 
Exiled and Suppressed Composers at the Colburn School. Both programs 
champion composers whose works were nearly eliminated from history.
  Over the last 20 years, James Conlon has received countless awards 
and honors, including the Vienna-based Zemlinsky Prize for his efforts 
to revive the composer's music, which had been suppressed by the Nazi 
regime. Additionally, Conlon's recordings of John Corigliano's The 
Ghosts of Versailles and Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of 
Mahagonny performed by the Los Angeles Opera, earned four Grammy 
Awards. Above all, Conlon's work with the Los Angeles Opera has had a 
profound impact on Los Angeles and the global community that will be 
felt for years to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring James Conlon 
for 20 years of service as Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera.

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