Gustavo Dudamel

Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist.

He is currently music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Paris Opera.

He is scheduled to become music director of the New York Philharmonic in 2026.

Dudamel was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, the son of a trombonist and a voice teacher.

He studied music from an early age.

In 1986 he became involved with El Sistema, the famous Venezuelan social action music programme, initially learning the violin.

He soon began to study composition.

He attended the Jacinto Lara Conservatory, where José Luis Jiménez was among his violin teachers.

He then went on to work with José Francisco del Castillo at the Latin-American Violin Academy.

Dudamel began to study conducting in 1995, first with Rodolfo Saglimbeni, then later with José Antonio Abreu.

In 1999, he was appointed music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the national youth orchestra of Venezuela, and toured several countries.

He attended Charles Dutoit's master class in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2002, and worked as assistant conductor to Simon Rattle in Berlin, Germany and Salzburg, Austria in 2003.

Dudamel won a number of competitions, including the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in Germany in 2004.

His reputation began to spread, attracting the attention of conductors such as Simon Rattle and Claudio Abbado, who accepted invitations to conduct the Simón Bolívar Orchestra in Veneite.

Dudamel made his US conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LAP) at the Hollywood Bowl on 13 September 2005 in a program consisting of "La Noche de los Mayas" by Silvestre Revueltas and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5.

In April 2006 Dudamel was appointed as principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony for the 2007/2008 season.

Dudamel made his debut at La Scala, Milan, with Don Giovanni in November 2006.

On 10 September 2007, he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic for the first time at the Lucerne Festival.

On 16 April 2007 he conducted the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall in a concert in commemoration of the 80th birthday of Pope Benedict XVI, with Hilary Hahn as solo violinist, with the Pope and many other Church dignitaries among the audience.

Dudamel was subsequently invited back to conduct the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in January 2007 in performances of "Dances of Galánta" by Zoltán Kodály, the third piano concerto of Sergei Rachmaninoff with Yefim Bronfman as soloist, and Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra (the latter of which was recorded live and subsequently released by Deutsche Grammophon).

In April 2007, the LAP announced the appointment of Dudamel as its next music director, effective with the 2009–2010 season.

Dudamel first guest-conducted the New York Philharmonic in 2007.

Following 26 additional guest-conducting appearances with the orchestra, the New York Philharmonic announced the appointment of Dudamel as its next music director, the first Latin American named to the post, effective with the 2026–2027 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.

His initial contract in Los Angeles was for five years, beginning in September 2009.

In February 2011, the orchestra announced the extension of Dudamel's contract through the end of the 2018–2019 season.

In 2013, El Sistema arranged for Dudamel to conduct the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra during the funeral of Hugo Chávez, which was attended by nearly two dozen heads of state.

In 2015, Dudamel conducted both the opening and end titles, at the request of John Williams, for the official motion picture soundtrack and film of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In March 2015, the orchestra announced a further extension of his Los Angeles Philharmonic contract through the 2021–2022 season.

At the 2016 Super Bowl, Dudamel and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) accompanied Coldplay and sang along with Chris Martin, Beyoncé, and Bruno Mars.

On 1 January 2017, Dudamel conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in the New Year's Day Concert, the youngest conductor to lead this event.

Dudamel first guest-conducted at the Opéra national de Paris in 2017.

In April 2021, the Opéra National de Paris announced the appointment of Dudamel as its next music director, effective 1 August 2021, with an initial contract of six seasons.

In May 2023, Dudamel announced his resignation as music director of the Opéra National de Paris, effective August 2023.

Dudamel conducted the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra during its appearance at the 2023 Edinburgh International Festival.

It was the first time he had conducted the orchestra since 2017.

In December 2018, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, conducting Verdi's Otello.

Dudamel served as the 2018–2019 artist-in-residence at Princeton University in New Jersey near New York, in celebration of Princeton University Concerts' 125th anniversary.

This engagement included cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural panels & discussions, chamber concerts featuring musicians from his associated orchestras (the Met, in NYC; Los Angeles; and Berlin), and in April 2019, Dudamel conducted the Princeton University Orchestra and the Princeton University Glee Club as the culmination of his year-long residency.

In January 2020, the LAP announced a further extension of his contract through the 2025–2026 season.

In February 2023, the LAP announced that Dudamel is to conclude his music directorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2025–2026 season.