James Fellenbaum, associate professor and director of orchestras at the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music, was invited this summer to conduct at the Hollywood Bowl for Bugs Bunny at the Symphony. The Hollywood Bowl is one of the most iconic and prestigious outdoor music venues in the world, known for hosting legendary performers such as The Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald, and John Williams. Performing there is considered a major milestone for any conductor, and the Bugs Bunny at the Symphony series, which blends live orchestral music with classic Warner Bros. cartoons, draws large, enthusiastic audiences of all ages.
The production, created by George Daugherty and David Ka Lik Wong, was first presented in 1990. The show is marking its 35th anniversary this year, the same year Bugs Bunny celebrates his 85th birthday. Fellenbaum became a regular guest conductor with the production in 2023 and was named its principal guest conductor in 2025.
“As most people know, or maybe they don’t realize, their exposure to classical music probably first occurred when they watched Bugs Bunny cartoons,” Fellenbaum said. “Retrospectively, I realized a lot of my early musical influences included hearing this music being played through these great cartoons. So subconsciously, this show has always been with me throughout my life.”
Standing on the Bowl stage was unforgettable, Fellenbaum said.
“Being on that stage, which is half the length of a football field, wow,” Fellenbaum said. “That stage appears in four or five of the cartoons that are part of this show. Personally, and professionally, it was an honor to be on that stage where so many famous people have conducted. It was really thrilling.”
Coordinating live music with fast-paced animation required careful timing. The orchestra followed a click track while watching cues on screen, a method used in most film-with-orchestra concerts.
“The film is an inflexible object. The orchestra, adaptable musicians, is a flexible object,” Fellenbaum said. “Especially with the Wile E. Coyote cartoons, the music is so fast and so zany that you must have the orchestra precisely on time. My responsibility as the conductor is to coordinate all that and make sure the orchestra is playing exactly with the click.”
“When I teach conducting, the word I continually come back to is communication,” Fellenbaum said. “The person on the podium is communicating to the ensemble, so the ensemble can communicate to the audience. I am the composer’s advocate. If the composer writes something, I need to communicate that to the ensemble. Communication is everything.”
In addition to his work with Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, Fellenbaum regularly conducts film-with-orchestra productions such as The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Home Alone, and Mary Poppins. He also serves as resident conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and is in his eighth season as music director of the Brevard Philharmonic in North Carolina. At UT, he oversees the Orchestra Program and, under his leadership, the UT Symphony Orchestra won The American Prize in orchestral performance in 2023.
For UT students, Fellenbaum’s time at the Hollywood Bowl is both an achievement to celebrate and a reminder of the unexpected directions a music career can take.
“Conducting is what I love to do, and being part of this show is really exciting and fun,” Fellenbaum said. “Professionally it was fulfilling, and personally it was a truly a thrill.”
