Competitors

Birth year: 1994
Country: Colombia

Born in Colombia, Sebastian Almánzar serves as assistant conductor of the Montpellier National Opera Orchestra until 2027. He has appeared with orchestras including the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia. In 2025, he reached the semi-finals of the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Competition. He studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Birth year: 1998
Country: Israel

Yael Avivi earned his master’s degree in 2024 at the Cologne University of Music and Dance, studying under Alexander Rumpf and Arne Willimczik. He was previously conductor of the Tel Aviv-based Thelma Yellin Youth Orchestra and is currently assistant conductor and tutor of the Collegium Musicum at the University of Cologne. He has participated in numerous international masterclasses, including those led by Omer Meir Wellber, Marzena Diakun and Paavo Järvi. This year, he received a scholarship from the International Richard Wagner Society.

Birth year: 1992
Country: Switzerland / Italy

The Swiss-Italian conductor was assistant conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra alongside Michael Sanderling for the 2024–2025 season. He has worked with a large number of European ensembles, including the Orchestra of Italian Switzerland and the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate. A successful participant in several international conducting competitions, he earned his master’s degree from the Zurich University of the Arts in 2024.

Birth year: 1997
Country: France / Mexico

Célia Nashely Cano is currently a second-year master’s student in orchestral conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts in the class of Christoph-Mathias Mueller. In 2024, she won the Geneva Chamber Orchestra Prize and has also taken part in several international competitions, including the Almería International Conducting Competition. She has been based in Switzerland as the conductor for Bühnen Bern since October 2025.

Birth year: 1999
Country: United Kingdom

Born in 1999, the British conductor won first prize at the Athens International Conducting Competition in 2024 and at the Koussevitzky International Conducting Competition in 2025. He studied at the University of Cambridge, the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He has since worked with a number of leading British orchestras, including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and has also conducted the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra and the Athens Philharmonia.

Birth year: 1999
Country: Hong Kong, China

Virgil Fok is currently a master’s student in conducting at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. From 2024 to 2026, he is serving as a conducting fellow with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, where he also contributes to the orchestra’s artistic endeavours. Alongside his studies, he has also participated in numerous international masterclasses, working with JoAnn Falletta, Jun Märkl, Daniele Gatti and Jorma Panula, among others.

Birth year: 1992
Country: Argentina

The Argentine conductor is the winner and audience prize-winner of the 21st Khachaturian International Conducting Competition, as well as a semi-finalist at the 2025 Toscanini Conducting Competition. He has conducted orchestras all over Europe, North and South America, including the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal and the Munich Symphony Orchestra. He has studied in Buenos Aires, Cincinnati, Munich and Boston.

Birth year: 1997
Country: Israel / Germany / Hungary

The Israeli conductor has worked with numerous ensembles across Europe and Israel and is currently music director of the Bnei HaKibbutzim Orchestra. He has conducted the Magdeburg and Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestras, among others, as well as the Festival Strings Lucerne. Noam Sheriff was a major influence on his career having asked him to conduct his work Lenny, a tribute to Leonard Bernstein.

Birth year: 2003
Country: Hungary

Belián Hámori began his education as a pianist and has been a student at the Liszt Academy since 2022. He is currently studying under Ádám Medveczky and Gergely Ménesi. It was a defining moment in his career when he won third prize at the Budapest International Chopin Piano Competition. He has worked with orchestras including the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Budafok Dohnanyi Orchestra and the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra.

Birth year: 1993
Country: France

Nathanaël Iselin is artistic partner to the Finnish Kymi Sinfonietta and guest conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, he won first prize at the Jorma Panula International Conducting Competition, and he took second prize at the German Conducting Award in 2023. He appears regularly at the helm of Scandinavian and French orchestras and has gained considerable experience in opera conducting. He studied in Paris, Helsinki, Zurich and Copenhagen.

Birth year: 2000
Country: China

Yukuang Jin is chief conductor of the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra and founder of the Novus-Classica Camerata. A prize-winner at several international conducting competitions, he was awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize in 2023. He has conducted the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Mozarteum Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, among others. Since 2024, he has been a master’s student at the Zurich University of the Arts in the class of Christoph-Mathias Mueller.

Birth year: 1992
Country: South Korea

Sukjong Kim earned her master’s degree at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre under Ulrich Windfuhr and is currently continuing her postgraduate studies at the same institution. In 2023, she was a finalist at the Fitelberg International Conducting Competition. In 2024, she won the Daniele Gatti Special Prize at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, which is awarded to outstanding female conductors. Since 2025, she has served as a répétiteur and assistant conductor at the Lüneburg Theatre.

Birth year: 1993
Country: South Korea

Currently a master’s student in conducting at the Carl Maria von Weber Academy of Music in Dresden. In 2023, he received a special prize at the Korean Conductors Association masterclass. In recent years, he has worked with several German and South Korean orchestras and has conducted d’Albert’s Die toten Augen at the Gera-Altenburg Theatre and Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Radebeul Theatre.

Birth year: 2002
Country: Japan

Yuji Maruoka began his studies as a pianist, winning the Grand Prize at the Tokyo International Young Pianists Competition in 2012. He later turned to conducting and has been a student at the Liszt Academy since 2025. He draws particular inspiration from the works of Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, as well as Hungarian folk music traditions, which he plans to explore further during his studies in Budapest.

Birth year: 1995
Country: Spain

Since 2025, Jesús Ortega Martínez has been chief conductor and artistic director of the Bayer Philharmonic Orchestra. He regularly conducts German and international orchestras, and is a guest at prestigious festivals. In recent years, he has worked with many renowned soloists as a guest of the stARTfestival and the Richard Strauss Days. He studied guitar and later conducting in Alicante, Helsinki and Munich. His diverse repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary music.

Birth year: 1999
Country: United Kingdom

Matthew Rhodes studied conducting in Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. He has appeared with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and the MÁV Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, he reached the semi-finals of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition and participated in the Bamberg Mahler Competition. He has been mentored by Kristiina Poska and Simone Young.

Birth year: 1992
Country: Switzerland

The Russian-born conductor and violinist Fedor Rudin is a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and artistic director of the Webern Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted ensembles such as the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has also worked as assistant conductor to Teodor Currentzis, Manfred Honeck and Philippe Jordan.

Birth year: 1995
Country: Switzerland

The Swiss conductor and violinist reached the final of the competition organised by the German Music Council’s Forum Dirigieren in 2026. He has worked as assistant conductor to Mark Elder and David Afkham, and as a guest conductor with several European orchestras. In the same year, he participated in a masterclass held by Daniele Gatti. He studied in Basel and Lucerne and is currently learning conducting at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid.

Birth year: 1993
Country: Hungary

A pianist, composer and conductor, Apor Szüts is a member of the Budafok Dohnanyi Orchestra and artistic director of the BDZ Chamber Lab. He has studied at the Béla Bartók Conservatory and the Liszt Academy. As a soloist and conductor, he has performed across Europe, Asia, North and South America, and his compositions are frequently played in Hungarian concert halls. He has won prizes at several Hungarian and international piano competitions.

Birth year: 1999
Country: The Netherlands

Drummado Wijnhamer is a master’s student at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar. In 2025, he won prizes at several prestigious competitions, including first at the Central German Academies Conducting Competition, where he conducted the MDR Leipzig Symphony Orchestra in the final. He has worked with orchestras such as the Dresden and Rotterdam Philharmonics and this year holds a scholarship from the German Music Council’s Forum Dirigieren.

Birth year: 1995
Country: Canada

The Canadian conductor and composer has been resident conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since 2025, having previously served as conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he co-founded the Ottawa Pops Orchestra, of which he was music director until 2019. He has led many of Canada’s leading ensembles as a guest conductor, and he has also conducted European orchestras as an assistant to Gustavo Gimeno.

Birth year: 1994
Country: Taiwan, China

Yu-Te Wu’s repertoire ranges from opera to symphonic and contemporary music. As a scholarship holder from the Finnish LEAD! Foundation, he is being mentored by Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Paul Hughes. He is currently music director of the Guandu Philharmonic Orchestra, and assistant conductor of the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, the Taoyuan Wind Symphonic Band and the Con Bello Symphonic Band.

Birth year: 2000
Country: Hungary

He has been a master’s student at the Liszt Academy since 2025, having previously studied in the classes of Ádám Medveczky and Gergely Ménesi. At his graduation concert, he conducted the Duna Symphony Orchestra, and has also appeared with the Miskolc and Tatabánya Symphony Orchestras. He is currently conductor of the Oroszlány Miners’ Concert Festival Wind Orchestra.

Birth year: 1996
Country: Hungary

Levente Zsiros earned his master’s degree in 2021 at the Liszt Academy before being appointed assistant conductor at the Hungarian State Opera until 2024, where he made his debut conducting Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2022. He has conducted numerous Hungarian symphony orchestras and took second prize at the Erich Bergel International Conducting Competition in 2022. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Szeged’s Béla Bartók Faculty of Arts.