Gustavo Dudamel was appointed the new music director of the New York Philharmonic, the orchestra announced on Tuesday.

The Associated Press reports that Dudamel, who was previously the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has signed a five-year deal with the New York orchestra. He will serve as the music and artistic director in New York.

“What the orchestra told us very, very clearly was that the person that they wanted, their dream candidate, was Gustavo,” Deborah Borda, CEO of New York Philharmonic said to AP. “When you’re trying to recruit the most sought-after conductor in the world, you don’t run a sort of classic search.”

Also read: Martha Stewart’s Pfizer’s Covid booster commercial criticized after Grammys Satan-worship scandal

The New York Times reports that Borda played a key role in the recruitment of Dudamel, one of the most-saught after names in the industry. Borda and Dudamel share a history as it was she who recruited him in 2009 while leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

“It’s a wonderful match,” Borda told the Times. “I’m joyous for our orchestra. I’m joyous for our city.”

Who is Gustavo Dudamel?

The Venezuelan conductor was previously with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also directs the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela since 1999 and the Paris Opera since 2021. He was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and is 42 years old.

Dudamel is a product of El Sistema, a publicly financed musical education program in Venezuela. He started learning violin at the age of ten. He then studied at the Jacinto Lara Conservatory and learned from Luis Jimenez.

Also read: Who is Maison DesChamps? ‘Pro-life Spiderman’ arrested after climbed Chase Tower in Arizona

“I gaze with joy and excitement at the world that lies before me in New York City, and with pride and love at the world I have shared — and will continue to share — with my dear Angelenos over the next three seasons and beyond,” Dudamel said reacting to the appointment.

“All of us are united in our belief that culture creates a better world, and in our dream that music is a fundamental right.”

One of the top-paid musicians in the business, Dudamel, made $2.8 million for a recent Los Angeles season.

In New York, Dudamel will become the first Latino to lead the orchestra since its founding in 1842.