Following his long tenure at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel has been announced as the new Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, with an initial five-year contract. The Venezuelan conductor will take up the position in 2026, succeeding the Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden, who will leave the orchestra after a six-year tenure.
Dudamel will be music director designate in the 2025-26 season, before taking up the directorship - becoming the first hispanic conductor in the orchestra's 181-year history to do so.
Born in 1981 in Venezuela, the son of a trombonist and voice teacher, Dudamel studied music through El Sistema, the famous Venezuelan musical education programme, taking up the violin aged 10.
He began to study conducting in 1995 with Rodolfo Saglimbeni. Four years later, he was appointed artistic director of his home country’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, taking up his role at the LA Philharmonic in 2009. In 2021, he was announced as the new music director of the Opéra National de Paris.
Outside the traditional classical music sphere, Dudamel has also made appearances on Sesame Street and was the inspiration for a character on Mozart in the Jungle.
On his new appointment with the orchestra, Dudamel commented: 'I am grateful to the musicians and leadership of the New York Philharmonic as we embark on this new and beautiful journey together.'
He added: 'I gaze with joy and excitement at the world that lies before me in New York City. All of us are united in our belief that culture creates a better world, and that music is a fundamental right. I look forward to the work ahead.'
The conductor has said that his main goals in his upcoming role are to champion new music and to develop the orchestra's sound.
Pic: Getty Images
