The Glenn Gould Foundation presented the 14th Glenn Gould Prize to Maestro Gustavo Dudamel in a special ceremony at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Along with the main prize for Dudamel, the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize was awarded to Andrés David Ascanio Abreu and Enluis Montes Olivar. The Protégé Prize winners were selected by Dudamel for the honour.
The presentation was part of Carnegie Hall’s World Orchestra Week (WOW!), which put Dudamel’s contributions to the world of music, and nurturing talent in young musicians through education, under a spotlight.
Dudamel is set to take over the reigns of the New York Philharmonic as Music and Artistic Director in 2026.
The Glenn Gould Prize
The Glenn Gould Prize is awarded every two years to someone who demonstrates not only exceptional artistic achievement, but whose practice embodies Gould’s innovative spirit, and who has made a significant contribution in their field. The main prize comes with a cash award of $100,000 CAD, while the Protégé Prize winner receives $25,000 CAD.
In making the award, an international jury convenes in Toronto after an open and public nomination process. Nominations can be made in a range of artistic fields, including film, dance, video, television, electronic media, and theatre along with music.
Previous Laureates include Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Leonard Cohen, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Alanis Obomsawin, Philip Glass, Robert Lepage, and Oscar Peterson. In 2009, when Dudamel’s mentor Dr. José Antonio Abreu was awarded the Glenn Gould Prize, he selected Dudamel for the Protégé Prize. Dudamel is the first person to have received both awards.
The Awards Concert
The Prizes were presented onstage during a concert where Dudamel led the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, the organization where he began his musical career. The Canadian Consul General to New York, the Hon. Tom Clark, and Glenn Gould Foundation Executive Director Brian Levine were on hand to make the presentation.
Brian Levine, CEO, The Glenn Gould Foundation introduced Maestro Dudamel to the audience. “He is a musician of singular passion and charisma with the power to communicate the classics of the past and the musical creations of today with equal vitality and freshness. Aside from his commitment to bringing symphonic music to a wider audience globally, our Laureate is renowned for his deep social conscience, his dedication to the ideals instilled in him by his Maestro, Dr. Abreu, and his inspired work to enshrine music and music education as a human right for every young person. He is the first Glenn Gould Protégé to go on to be chosen as a Laureate in his own right, and I know that he will soon become an irreplaceable jewel in the crown of New York’s musical life, as he already is to the world.”
Dudamel presented the Protégé Prize winners, Andrés David Ascanio Abreu and Enluis Montes Olivar.
About the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize Winners
Andrés David Ascanio Abreu is Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, and a trumpet player. He has served as Assistant Conductor to Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, as well as guest conducting many youth orchestras and at several festivals. He is currently the Musical Academic Director of El Sistema and Associate Conductor of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.
Enluis Montes Olivar is the Associate Conductor of the Simón Bolívar Chamber Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Schwob Philharmonic. The prize-winning conductor made his debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and New West Symphony.
Gustavo Dudamel, Glenn Gould Prize Laureate
After presenting their Prizes, Gustavo Dudamel commented on the event.
“It is a huge honour to receive this prize. Years ago, I was a Protégé Prize winner, given to me by my Maestro Abreu. It makes me very proud, especially to be here with all these amazing young people from my country, Venezuela,” he said.
“This is the Venezuela we want. These are the values that we have learned in El Sistema. El Sistema is a program that has been in the life of my country for 50 years, and has given the values of love, of community, of harmony and of peace,” he said.
“I want to dedicate this prize to the children and the youth of my beloved country Venezuela.”
#LUDWIGVAN
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