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After a preparatory 2019/2020 season, during which he conducted the opening concert and led a tour of major Russian cities (February 2020), Danish conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider became the seventh Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) in September 2020. Two years later, his initial four-year term was extended by three additional years, running through June 2027.
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider’s appointment to the ONL marks a major milestone in an outstanding career where the baton and the violin bow have long gone hand in hand. In addition to his close ties with the London Symphony Orchestra, he is a frequent guest with many of the world’s leading ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also establishing himself as an opera conductor: following his triumphant debut at the Semperoper Dresden with The Magic Flute, he was immediately invited back for Der Rosenkavalier. In the 2020/2021 season, he made his debut at the Royal Danish Theatre in a new production of The Magic Flute.
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider is also one of the foremost violinists of our time and continues to maintain a busy schedule of solo and recital performances. He has recorded the great concertos of the repertoire with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Mariss Jansons, Riccardo Chailly, Colin Davis, and Alan Gilbert. He has also recorded the complete works for violin and piano by Brahms with Yefim Bronfman, and the complete Mozart violin concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra, which he directed from the violin — The Strad praised these recordings as “quite possibly one of the most beautiful violin sounds ever committed to disc.”
Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider performs on a 1741 Guarneri del Gesù violin, the “Kreisler”, on generous loan from the Royal Danish Theatre, made possible through the support of the Velux Foundations, the Villum Foundation, and the Knud Højgaard Foundation.
American conductor Molly Turner is currently Conducting Fellow with the New World Symphony and a 2024/25 Dudamel Fellow at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. At New World Symphony, she leads subscription, family, educational, and holiday concerts. Her Dudamel Fellowship includes conducting performances with the LA Phil New Music Group’s ‘Noon to Midnight’ series and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s ‘Symphonies for Schools’ concerts. During the 2024/25 season, Molly will debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in their education concert series and serve twice as cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic. Recent engagements include conducting appearances with the Orchestre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox Series, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, Dallas Opera Orchestra, and Tanglewood’s Festival of Contemporary Music.
Estonian conductor and clarinettist Erle Kont is recognized for her passionate advocacy of mental health and community-building through music. She regularly guest-conducts major Finnish orchestras including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Tapiola Sinfonietta. Erle completed her Master’s in conducting at Sibelius Academy under Sakari Oramo. Also a distinguished clarinettist, she has received numerous awards in international competitions and performed extensively across the Baltic and Nordic regions. Erle is founder and Artistic Director of Tartu Sound, a contemporary music organization dedicated to innovative musical experiences and cultural engagement.
Costa Rican conductor Luis Castillo-Briceño is a 2024/25 Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, working closely alongside Music Director Gustavo Dudamel and distinguished guest conductors. Previously, he served as Conducting Fellow with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner, making his UK debut at the Brighton Dome in 2023. Upcoming debuts include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sinfonieorchester St Gallen, and Philharmonie Luxembourg, as well as conducting engagements on the LPO’s U.S. tour in 2024. In June 2024, Luis was named Designate Winner at the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam. Fluent in English, Spanish, French, and German, Luis currently resides in Zurich.
Conductor Bar Avni won first prize at the 2024 La Maestra competition in Paris, awarded by an illustrious jury chaired by Natalie Stutzmann. An undisputed laureate, Bar Avni swept all the competition’s awards, also winning the Orchestra Prize, the Arte Prize, the Echo Prize, and the Prize of French Concert Halls and Orchestras. For the next two years, she is a fellow of the La Maestra Academy. Subsequently, her work garnered significant interest, and invitations were immediately extended by several major international orchestras. Avni’s astute and creative programming, combined with her clear yet elegant conducting style, makes a strong impression on all who encounter her.
Bar Avni is currently the Principal Conductor of the Bayer Philharmoniker, a position she has held since 2021. She is the first woman to hold this position in the orchestra’s 120-year history. She is deeply committed to promoting new young talent and has worked closely with the Bayer team to design a number of exciting projects in music education, a subject particularly close to her heart.
A classical percussionist by training, the Israeli conductor first performed with leading orchestras in her home country. Her desire to conduct then led her to Tel Aviv, where she studied with Yoav Talmi, later becoming Assistant Conductor of the Israel Chamber Orchestra under Talmi’s direction. She continued her studies with Martin Sieghart in Graz and Ulrich Windfuhr in Hamburg. In 2017/18, Avni served as Assistant to the General Music Director, Peter Kuhn, at the Bergischer Symphoniker, and in 2021, she became the youngest laureate and fellow of the International Kurt Masur Institute.
A fascinating personality of the international music scene, Ion Marin is one of few conductors to work on the highest level in both the symphonic and operatic domains. He has conducted virtually all the great European orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre national de France, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and St. Petersburg Philharmonic. He also appears regularly in Japan, where he conducts the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest at the world’s major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper and Opéra national de Paris. The Salzburg Mozarteum University appointed Maestro Ion Marin Professor of the Endowed Claudio Abbado chair for conducting, starting academic year 2020/2021. He is also the Artistic Director of the University’s symphonic activities.
Born in Romania, Ion Marin studied composition, piano and conducting at the George Enescu Music Academy and at Mozarteum Salzburg. He also studied philosophy and the history of religion. Defecting from Romania’s dictatorship in 1986 led to a new life and musical career as well as his receiving Austrian citizenship. He became Resident Conductor of the Wiener Staatsoper during Claudio Abbado’s tenure (1987-1991) and worked with some of the leading singers of the world. In Vienna, he also benefited from the guidance of Herbert von Karajan and Carlos Kleiber.
In 2012, Maestro Marin initiated the Cantus Mundi and the Symphonia Mundi projects in Romania, dedicated to the education and social integration of the country’s disadvantaged children through music. Today more than 70.000 children benefit from this program.
In 2021 Ion Marin was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic.
Luca Ballabio obtained a Master’s Degree in Orchestra Conducting at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, studying under Marc Kissoczy and Arturo Tamayo. He focused on opera through courses with Riccardo Muti and Daniel Oren. As assistant conductor to Sesto Quatrini from 2018 to 2020, he contributed to productions at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. Luca made his mark at the Rossini Opera Festival in 2021, conducting Il Viaggio a Reims to critical acclaim. He served as cover conductor for Norma at La Monnaie Opera House in Brussels. Invited by numerous institutions, he has conducted various orchestras worldwide. Notable performances include those at Serate Musicali and the Verdi Hall in Milan. Since the 2021/22 season, Luca has been the Music Director of the Filarmonica Ettore Pozzoli and co-founded the FEP Specialization Course in Operatic Singing. He began his musical journey with a Master’s Degree in Music Performance (Trombone) in Leipzig. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with esteemed musicians across major European orchestras and opera houses.
Nathanaël Iselin, a French conductor based in Scandinavia, secured the First Prize and Orchestra Prize at the Eighth International Jorma Panula Conducting Competition. In 2023, he served as Conductor in Residence of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and earned Second Prize at the German Conducting Award, conducting the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Gürzenich-Orchester. His notable achievements include leading performances with orchestras such as the Danish Radio Orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, and the orchestras of Odense, Aarhus, and Oulu, in repertoire ranging from Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique to Debussy’s La Mer. Nathanël has also conducted operatic productions including Cenerentola, Carmen, and Rigoletto. His extensive training in orchestra conducting includes studies in Helsinki, Paris, Zurich, and Copenhagen, under the guidance of renowned conductors like Iván Fischer, Mariss Jansons, and Sakari Oramo.Top of Form
Argentinian conductor Michelle Di Russo was recently appointed Associate Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony under the guidance of Robert Spano. She has also distinguished herself as a 2023 Dudamel Fellow with the LA Philharmonic and a mentee of the Taki Alsop Fellowship. Michelle’s accomplishments include being a former conducting fellow of the Lucerne Festival Academy, Chicago Sinfonietta’s Project Inclusion program, and The Dallas Opera Hart Institute, as well as a recipient of the Richard S. Weinert award from Concert Artists Guild. Notable guest conducting debuts with the LA Philharmonic, Knoxville Symphony, Delaware Symphony, and Vermont Symphony among others, underscore her rising stature in the conducting world. Additionally, her experience as a cover conductor for orchestras such as the St Louis Symphony and the National Symphony, and her regular performances with the North Carolina Symphony, further attest to her versatility and skill.
Rita Castro Blanco, one of Portugal’s most promising young conductors, has made significant debuts with the Orquestra Gulbenkian, Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, and Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa. Currently serving as Assistant Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for the 2023/24 season, Rita’s career continues to ascend. In addition to her orchestral engagements, she freelances as an Assistant Conductor, collaborating with esteemed conductors such as Nuno Coelho, Giancarlo Guerrero, Joana Carneiro, and Clark Rundell. Rita’s passion for opera and contemporary music has led her to prestigious festivals like Tanglewood, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Lucerne Festival. Throughout her studies, Rita has enriched her skills through masterclasses with renowned ensembles including the Royal Opera House Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and Balthasar Neumann Ensemble. Recent highlights in her career include performances with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfonica de Navarra, and Real Filarmonía de Galicia.