Forty-two-year-old Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel will officially take over as the New York Philharmonic's conductor at the beginning of the 2026-27 season on a five-year contract. The news was revealed by the New York Philharmonic in a released statement. 

"Today, above all else, I am grateful. I am grateful to the musicians and management of the New York Philharmonic for embarking together on this beautiful new journey; to my beloved Los Angeles Philharmonic and YOLA (Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles) family for helping me learn and grow through countless challenges and triumphs," Dudamel said in the statement. 

Dudamel also quoted poet Federico García Lorca with the phrase: "Every step we take on earth leads us to a new world," referring to the path he has traveled in the arts over the past decade. 

New York Philharmonic executive director Gary Ginstling said that "with Gustavo Dudamel, the Philharmonic is poised for what I believe will be one of the most exciting chapters in its history."

Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic's outgoing executive director, has worked with Dudamel on several occasions before he arrived in New York and will be conducting a joint venture with him upon his arrival. 

Dudamel is also music director of the Paris Opera, a position he has held since 2021, and has been music director of Venezuela's Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra since 1999.