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This charming & acclaimed conductor, Gustavo Dudamel will lead the same worldwide renowned orchestra he began his career with.

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The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela (SBYOV) was founded on February 12, 1975, by maestro José Antonio Abreu, and is the most polished artistic product of the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras.

The orchestra has had two principal conductors: its founder, maestro Abreu, who held the post for over two decades and maestro Alfredo Rugeles, its current artistic director. In addition to Dr. Abreu and maestro Rugeles, the orchestra has welcomed notable guest conductors to its podium, such as Eduardo Mata, Claudio Abbado y Gustavo Dudamel,  whose contributions to the orchestra’s artistic standards proved invaluable.

The SBYOV has performed with famous soloists and renowned ensembles. It has  appeared in many music festivals, gala concerts, and special events in and out of the country, and it has played at many of the most important venues of Europe, Asia, and North and South America.

Since 1976 the Teresa Carreño Theater is its permanent home, wherein the orchestra’s weekly performances are held and the Orchestral Academic Program (Programa Académico Orquestal) is developed since 2001.

In 2008 the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra received the prestigious Prince of Asturias for the Arts Award.


Gustavo Dudamel
Internationally acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel continues to share his magnetic enthusiasm for music with audiences of all ages around the world. As he begins his twelfth year as Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, in fall 2010, he enters his second season as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and his fourth season with the Gothenburg Symphony. Armed with unparalleled passion, energy and artistic excellence, Dudamel is dedicated to leading these orchestras, as well as to increasing his commitment to opera.

This young man born in 1981 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, was brought to international attention by triumphing in the inaugural Bamberger Symphoniker Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in May 2004, Dudamel was awarded the Premio de la Latindad, an honor given for outstanding contributions to Latin cultural life,and in 2007 received the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Young Artists. Also, he was granted the 2008 “Q Prize” from Harvard University for extraordinary service to children. He was awarded the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in Paris in 2009, and is the recipient of the 2010 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT, which recognizes rising, innovative talents, Gustavo Dudamel was also named one of the 100 most influential people of 2009 by TIME magazine and has been featured three times on CBS’s 60 Minutes.