Gustavo Dudamel is the new musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and it seems to be a marriage made in musical heaven. In one of the most populous Latino cities in the United States, it only makes sense that one of its top classical stars would be a young man from a lower middle class beginning from Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
Dudamel wasn't quite known as a child prodigy, but he comes from a musical background. His father was a violinist and his mother a voice teacher, so he had music in his household early in life. He didn't start playing an instrument until he was 10 years old, which is considered aged when talking about most prodigies, but he turned out to be very good, enough so that only a couple of years later he was enrolled into the Jacinto Lara Conservatory, where he studied violin with Jose Luis Jiminez. After that he went to study with Jose Francisco del Castillo at the Latin American Violin Academy.
At 14, he started studying conducting with Rodolfo Saglimbeni, and was named Music Director of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra. Later on, in 1999, he began
studying with Jose Antonio Abreu, and was also named music director of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. It's obvious he did have the talent to move so fast, even at a young age. It was evident in the fact that 60 Minutes did a story on him, the young violinist who was quickly becoming the up and rising new conducting star of the world.
He started touring with his group in 2000, first to Germany, and then later all throughout Europe, always to enthusiastic crowds. In 2004, Dudamel won the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition at age 23, and a couple of years later he was offered the position as conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden. In 2005, he signed his first recording contract.
In an interview he did in 2006, he talked about his early life, how music always seemed to be a part of it. He told a story on how his mother used to buy him plastic army men and how he'd arrange them so that they looked like an orchestra and pretend that he was conducting them. Being from a family that didn't have enough money, he was a product of one of the music programs Venezuela set up for underprivileged children. He stated that he doesn't see himself as a prodigy, just a regular person with an extraordinary love of music.
Dudamel wasn't finished collecting awards and other accolades either. In 2007 he was awarded the Premio de la Latinidad, and in 2008 the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, which he still conducts, was granted Spain's Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. He's been asked to be the guest conductor for many of the world's best symphony's, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in 2005. Others include the Israel Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Harmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He also conducted the opera Don Giovanni at La Scala in Milan, Italy. While conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2007, he was named the heir apparent to the role of Musical Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the 2009/2010 season. In the same month, he conducted the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in commemoration of the Pope Benedict XVI's 80th birthday.
Not one to sit around, Dudamel continued traveling and conducting in 2008. He conducted at La Scala again, this time giving a performance of La Boheme. He performed in all the major cities of Europe, and a few cities within the United States as well. He was still doing special guest performances for many orchestras across the world, and he scored his second 60 Minutes story; not bad for someone who still is yet to reach the age of 30.
In 2009, he has become a much sought after interview and celebrity. In July 2009 he was awarded The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize by José Antonio Abreu. He is the toast of the town in Los Angeles, with many people trying to learn more about him. He's married to a classically trained ballet dancer and journalist also from Venezuela; there are no kids. His first performance as conductor of the LA Philharmonic was to be Beethoven's 9th Symphony, an audacious opening performance that should introduce him as a tour de force to be reckoned with for years to come. With someone like Gustavo Dudamel, who says he hears music in his head at all times of the day, even when he's resting, the Philharmonic should be an interesting place to be for the coming years.
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