Andrés David Ascanio Abreu and Enluis Montes Olivar

The Glenn Gould Foundation is delighted to announce the winners of the $25,000 Protégé Prize, Andrés David Ascanio Abreu and Enluis Montes Olivar.

Andrés David Ascanio Abreu is a celebrated Venezuelan conductor and trumpeter. As Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, he led the ensemble in a notable performance in Vienna in 2018. He has served as Assistant Conductor to Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and has been a guest conductor for multiple youth orchestras and festivals. Ascanio Abreu directed the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble during their Greece Tour and conducted the Guinness World Record-setting largest orchestra in 2021. He is currently the Musical Academic Director of El Sistema and Associate Conductor of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.

Dynamic 27-year-old Venezuelan conductor Enluis Montes Olivar is garnering international acclaim. As the Associate Conductor of the Simón Bolívar Chamber Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Schwob Philharmonic, he recently won 1st Prize and the Orchestra Prize at the 2nd International Conducting Competition of University of Almería. Montes Olivar has debuted with the San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and New West Symphony. He previously served as a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, leading performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, where he was praised for his “virtuosic splendor.”