José Antonio Abreu

José Antonio Abreu Anselmi (born May 7, 1939) is a Venezuelan orchestra conductor, pianist, economist, educator, activist, and politician. He is Catholic. He was honored with the 2009 Latin Grammy Trustees Award, an honor given to personalities that have contributed to music by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

Politics and academics

Born in the city of Valera, Abreu graduated ¨Summa Cum Laude¨ as an Economist at Universidad Católica Andres Bello and he was awarded a PhD degree in Petroleum Economics from the same university in 1961. Abreu also did some graduate work at the University of Michigan. He served as a Deputy at the Chamber of Deputies in the Congress of Venezuela (1959-1964). After his political career, he also worked as a professor of economics and law at Universidad Simón Bolívar and his Alma Mater. He would return to politics in 1983 to serve as Minister of Culture and president of the National Council of Culture. Abreu even served as president of the Economic Planning Commission but a combination of disillusionment and health problems made him leave politics and "devote myself entirely to music".