Gustavo Dudamel

One of today’s most gifted conductors, Gustavo Dudamel continues to thrill international audiences and bring the highest level of musicianship to orchestras worldwide. He is currently Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, has been appointed the Music Director of Los Angeles Philharmonic (effective the 2009–10 season), and is Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. He has appeared as guest conductor with esteemed orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Berlin Staatskapelle, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, and London Philharmonia Orchestra.

Born in 1981 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he studied violin with José Luis Jiménez at the Jacinto Lara Conservatory and with José Francisco del Castillo at the Latin American Academy of Violin. In 1996, he began his conducting studies with Rodolfo Saglimbeni and during the same year was named music director of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra. In 1999, along with assuming the Music Director position of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, he began conducting studies with José Antonio Abreu, the Orchestra’s founder. In May 2007, Dudamel was awarded the Premio de la Latindad by the Union Latina, an honor given for outstanding contributions to Latin cultural life, which is presented by the 37 Latin American and African member states of the Union Latina organization.