Conducting Competition candidates
SIEVA BORZAK
Born in Rome in 1997, is an Italian-Russian conductor.
After studying Opera Singing, Piano and Composition, he graduated with full marks and honours in conducting under the guidance of Marcello Bufalini, at the conservatory “Alfredo Casella” (L’Aquila). He studied afterwards with Riccardo Muti, Daniel Oren, Francesco Lanzillotta, Daniele Agiman and Niels Muus. He is currently assistant conductor to Francesco Lanzillotta. Starting in 2021 he is the new conductor in residence of the Roma Tre Orchestra. In 2022 he won the 1st prize in the Lake Como Conducting Competition. In the same year, he also won 3rd prize and the special prize “Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra” at the 10th Competition for Opera Conductors “Luigi Mancinelli”.
In 2022 he was selected as Effective Student for the Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy, and he conducted Verdi’s Requiem, with the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, at the Teatro Alighieri (Ravenna). In 2023 he made his house debut at the Teatro Petruzzelli, with Roma Tre Orchestra, conducting Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 “Ode to Joy”. In May 2023 conducted Wagner’s Die Walküre, in concert form, with Roma Tre Orchestra, and made his house debut at the National Opera House of Albania, with the new opera Scanderbeg. For the next season, he will conduct Turandot at the Aslico Circuit and will conduct symphonic concerts with Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, Orchestra Magna Grecia, Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra, Sliven Symphony Orchestra.
LORENA ESCOLAR
Born in Alcantarilla (Murcia), finished her musical studies in violin and orchestral conducting at the Conservatory of Music “Manuel Massotti Littel” in Murcia with Emilio Fenoy and José Miguel Rodilla, respectively.
She has served as assistant conductor with the Valencia Orchestra at the Palau de la Música and of the maestro Ramón Tebar by competition, in whose assistance she conducted the National Choir of Spain. She has also conducted the Symphony Orchestra of the Balearic Islands at the Teatro Principal in Palma, the Navarra Symphony Orchestra at the Baluarte Auditorium, the Wind Orchestra of the Superior Conservatory of Music of Palma de Mallorca, and the Madrid Community Orchestra at the Teatro de la Zarzuela.
She has also been assistant conductor to maestro Guillermo García Calvo at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid where she has conducted the Madrid Community Orchestra and the Choir del Teatro de la Zarzuela in operas such as Circe, by Ruperto Chapí and La Dolores, by Tomás Bretón.
She has worked at the Chemnitz Opera House as Assistant Conductor to this same maestro conducting the Robert Schumann Philharmonie. She is currently Assistant Director of the Associaciò de Concerts de Reus and Camerata XXI.
She recently won second prize at the Lake Como International Conducting Competition in Italy. And among her next commitments, she will act as Assistant Conductor in the Würth Philharmoniker together with maestro Claudio Vandelli.
RAFAEL GRAU VILAR
RAFAEL GRAU VILAR (Castelló – València–, 1990), chief conductor of the FSMCV Youth Symphony Orchestra and of the Musical Athenaeum Schola Cantorum of La Vall d’Uixó.
He has a higher degree in orchestra and choir conducting from the Superior Conservatory of Music “Joaquín Rodrigo” of Valencia, in composition from the Superior Music Conservatory “Òscar Esplà” of Alicante and a higher degree in trumpet from the Superior Music Conservatory “Salvador Seguí” of Castelló. He has a master’s degree in musical composition with new technologies from the International University of La Rioja and is currently completing his training with a master’s degree in research in specific didactics from the University of Valencia.
He has won the award for Best Director of all sections of the 42nd Music Band Contest of Valencia and the award for the best interpretation of the work of free choice of all divisions.
He has conducted solo concerts for musicians such as Eric Miyashiro, Raúl Junquera, David Pastor i Raúl García, Rafael Quirant, Bernardo Silva, José Juan Pardo, among others. He has conducted the pieces The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins and Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Finally, he has been musical director in the productions of the zarzuelas Los Claveles and Bohemios.
OREN GROSS-THALER
The young conductor Oren Gross-Thaler was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. He conducted the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Festival Strings Lucerne, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta Beer-Sheva, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Raanana Symphonette, and others. Recently he became the Music Director of the Bnei haKibbutzim Orchestra.
Gross-Thaler began at the age of ten to study saxophone at the Israel Conservatory with Gan Lev. In 2015 he won First Prize in the Israel Conservatory Competition. As a saxophone virtuoso, Gross-Thaler performed as a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra as well as with other Israeli orchestras. He began his conducting studies with George Pehlivanian in Valencia at the age of fifteen. During his studies at Thelma Yellin School of Arts, Gross-Thaler became a student of the top Israeli composer and conductor Noam Sheriff. He studied and specialized in music theory with Yitzhak Sadai, and in 2020 graduated with honours from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music of Tel-Aviv University. Recently, he completed a professional programme for conductors at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Gross-Thaler was the youngest conductor to participate in several top music festivals: Aspen Music Festival in 2017, Lucerne Festival Conducting Masterclass with Bernard Haitink in 2018, and Tanglewood Music Festival in 2022.
DANIEL HUERTAS
Began his studies in conducting at Musikene (San Sebastián) under the guidance of Arturo Tamayo, obtaining excellent qualifications, after which he moved to the Higher School of Music in Geneva to begin master’s studies in conducting with maestro Laurent Gay, which he continues to do at present. To his extensive training is added his experience as a clarinettist and pianist in chamber, orchestral and solo music; and masterclasses with Peter Ëotvos, Jaap van Zweden, Domingo Hindoyan, Baldur Brönnimann, Robert Treviño, Nacho de Paz, among others.
In 2022 he was selected as an active participant in the Gstaad Menuhin Academy & Festival for conductors in Switzerland, where he conducted the Festival Orchestra and the Biel/Bienne Symphony Orchestra in several concerts, which earned him the Neeme Järvi Prize 2022.
He won second prize in the first conducting competition of Juventudes Musicales de España in February 2023. Previously, he has conducted ensembles such as the Ensemble Contrechamps, worked as Assistant Conductor for Victorien Vanoosten at the French Basque Country Symphony Orchestra and for Arturo Tamayo; and as a fellow in the recent production of Parsifal at the Grand Theatre in Geneva.
He will soon have the opportunity to conduct the Pays-Savoie Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonie Südwestfalen and the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra.
DANIEL JOSEPH
Gloucestershire-born, runs a busy and rewarding schedule nationally and internationally as a conductor and violinist.
As an orchestral musician he regularly works and tours with many of the UK’s finest orchestras including the BBC’s Symphony, National Orchestra of Wales and Scottish Symphony Orchestras, Royal Philharmonic and Royal Scottish National Orchestras and the Welsh National Opera and Scottish Chamber Orchestras. His chamber partners have also included members of the Berlin Philharmonic.
In the summer of 2022, he was invited to become a Fellow at the world-renowned Music Academy of the West in California, where he led the Academy Festival Opera Orchestra in a series of highly acclaimed performances of Tchaikovky’s Eugene Onegin. As a concertmaster and section principal he has the privilege of working closely with Trevor Pinnock, Stéphane Denéve, Sir Mark Elder, Daniela Candillari and Semyon Bychkov.
Daniel was awarded an ABRSM scholarship for a Joint Principal degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, studying violin performance and conducting under the guidance of Joseph Swensen.
He has assisted with a variety of orchestras throughout the UK and Europe and in various settings he has worked with the Orchestra Nationale du Capitole de Toulouse, RSNO, BBC Scottish Symphony, Danubia Orchestra Obuda, BBC NOW and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera. Dan was invited to attend as a Fellow of the 2021 American Academy of Conducting at Aspen.
HAE LEE
Is a conductor from Seoul, South Korea. He was selected as the fellow conductor at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Conducting Seminar. Hae was also chosen for a conducting masterclass at the Korea National Opera.
Hae conducted Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Puccini’s La Bohème and Gianni Schicchi.
As a cover conductor of Marin Alsop, Hae worked for the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and American Composers Orchestra in various concert venues, including Joeseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Music Center at Strathmore, and Carnegie Hall.
Hae has been mentored by Neeme Järvi, Dalia Stasevska, Kirill Karabits, Mei-Ann Chen, Jonathon Heyward, Martin Sieghart, Valentina Peleggi, Kevin John Edusei, Eva Ollikainen, Peter Oundjian, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Octavio Mas-Arocas, Fabien Gabel, and Cristian Măcelaru. Through the masterclasses, Hae worked with the Richmond Symphony, Moravian Philharmonic, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
As a recipient of the Academic Performance Scholarship, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Conducting from the Korea National University of Arts. In May, Hae will receive a master’s in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University as a student of Marin Alsop. Hae is the recipient of the Career Development Grant, Peabody Graduate Assistantship, and Artistic Excellence Award.
MAXIMILIAN LEINEKUGEL
Has recently conducted the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, the Orchestra of the Czech National Theatre, the Orchestra of the Sorbian National Ensemble, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV as well as the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra.
At the age of 20, the Munich-born conductor founded in the beginning of 2016 the MUNICH CLASSICAL PLAYERS, a chamber orchestra consisting of advanced instrumentalists of German and Austrian Music Universities. Since then, every year several extraordinary concert projects are realized under his direction across Bavaria, inspiring new audiences and enthusing them with classical music. Furthermore, Maximilian has worked as assistant conductor in Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK.
Maximilian received his first conducting tuition at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. In 2021 he completed his master’s degree in orchestral conducting at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Besides, he took part in various international conducting masterclasses led by Jorma Panula, Atso Almila, Christian Ehwald, Mark Heron and others. He has received scholarships from the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, the German Academic Scholarship Foundation, and the Bavarian Elite Academy.
In 2018 he was awarded the Culture Prize of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. In 2021 he was a quarter finalist at the 3rd Antal Dorati International Conducting Competition in Budapest.
BRIAN LIAO
Is a promising young conductor from Taiwan, known for his exceptional skills and ability to inspire musicians. He gained recognition as the assistant conductor for the Nationale Orchestre d’île-de-France during the 20/21 season.
Liao’s accomplishments include winning the 2nd prize in the 2nd Only Stage International Conducting Competition and the 3rd prize in the 2nd BMI International Bucharest Conducting Competition. He was also a finalist in the 7th Lovro von Matacic International Conducting Competition and a laureate of the 3rd International Conducting Competition for Chinese Music in Hong Kong.
In 2023, Liao was selected as a finalist for the prestigious London Philharmonic Orchestra Conducting Fellowship out of 200 applicants. He was also chosen as one of the 16 finalists for the 2nd Hong Kong Conducting Competition. During the 22/23 season, he is set to debut with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and Hungary Budapest MAV Symphony Orchestra.
Liao has worked with renowned orchestras worldwide, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National d’île-de-France, South Denmark Philharmonic, and Festival Strings Lucerne. He has also collaborated with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, and George Enescu Philharmonic, among others.
He is pursuing a master’s degree at Salzburg Mozarteum University under the guidance of Ion Marin.
CHI-YUAN LIN
Born in Taoyuan, Taiwan, is the mentee of the “She’s Connected” Project from Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship for 2023-2024. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in orchestral conducting at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, studying with Marin Alsop and Joseph Young starting in 2021 through a full-tuition scholarship.
For the past seasons, she worked as a cover conductor with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and assistant conductor at Peabody Opera Theatre with Brian Garman, Laurie Rogers. In 2022-23, she served as head pianist and vocal coach in Peabody Opera Theatre. In the summer of 2021, she received the conducting fellowship of the Aspen Music Festival. An avid promoter of contemporary music, she conducted several premieres of orchestra and chamber works and was invited to conduct at Contemporary Music Festival in Taipei in the same year.
Lin is also an advocate for music education. She has constantly been working as an instructor hosting music and literature workshops for the youth with a variety of topics ranging from new media to theatre and natural conservation.
She received her master’s and bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan Normal University, where she studied conducting with Prof. Apo Ching-Hsin Hsu. She has drawn artistic inspiration from her international conducting studies with maestri including Hugh Wolff, Patrick Summers, Dalia Stasevska.
DANIEL MARTÍNEZ HERMOSO
He began his musical studies at the Musical Group “Villa de Mancha Real” specializing in clarinet and continued his training at the Professional Conservatory of Music “Ramón Garay” in Jaen. Later, he continued at the Conservatory of Music in Málaga, where he finished his studies with honours under the guidance of José María Puyana.
In parallel, at the C.S.M in Malaga, he studies for orchestral conducting with Octav Calleya. He completed his training through masterclasses with Juany Martínez, Miguel Sánzchez Ruzafa, Kurz Wolfgang, Iulian Rusu, Álvaro Albiach, Frank de Vuyst, Arturo Tamayo, José Luis Temes, Yi-Chen Lin, John Carewe… He has also been a student of the International Academy of Orchestra Conducting “José Collado”.
He has participated as assistant conductor in the historical recovery and premiere of the zarzuela “El Carillón de Brujas”, by Adolfo Wagener.
In turn, he has participated in the Cuenca Religious Music Festival and the Cullera Opera Open Air Festival.
He holds a master’s degree in orchestral conduction and a master’s degree in musical heritage. In 2022 he was the winner of the Course-Competition for Conductors of the Lugo Music Festival.
He has been assistant conductor with the Classical Choir of Granada and is currently the artistic and musical director of the Musical Group “Villa de Mancha Real”, orchestra professor at the Professional Conservatory of Music “Ángel Barrios” in Granada and musical director of the choir “Cantoría de Jaén”.
JAKUB MONTEWKA
Is assistant conductor of the Opole Philharmonic in the season 2022-2023.
He has conducted London Symphony Orchestra, Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra in Gdańsk, Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic in Łódź, Józef Elsner Opole Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Podlasie Philharmonic Orchestra in Białystok. In 2021 he founded the Flow Orchestra (former Concentus Viridis).
Montewka studied conducting at the Frederic Chopin University of Music with Monika Wolińska and Szymon Kawalla (2018-2020). He took part in masterclasses with Magnus Lindberg, Oliver Knussen, Carlo Montanaro and Massimiliano Caldi, and is now continuing his conducting studies with Paweł Przytocki at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków. He studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the FCUM in Warsaw.
Jakub Montewka participated in the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition 2023. He is a finalist in the Bartók World Competition 2020 and the 7th Witold Lutosławski Competition for Young Conductors. He won 1st Prize and the Performers’ Prize in the Composition Competition Uczniowskie Forum Muzyczne (Warsaw, 2013) and 1st Prize in the 2nd International Composition Competition “Patri Patriae” (Katowice, 2014). In 2019 he conducted the premiere recording of “Maat’s Feather” by Marcin Jachim, as a part of the CD debut of the Chopin University Modern Ensemble, nominated for the prestigious FRYDERYK 2021 award.
CLÉMENT NONCIAUX
French conductor Clément Nonciaux holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of the Arts in Berlin. After receiving numerous awards at the Conservatoires régionaux of Paris and Tours, his love for opera naturally led him to pursue his studies abroad, where he began studying orchestral conducting in Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany.
After winning second prize at the inaugural International Competition for Pianists, Conductors, and Composers Rachmaninoff in Moscow, he instantly received invitations to perform in concerts at prestigious venues including the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, the Novaya Opera Theatre in Moscow, and with the highly acclaimed National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Russia.
Nonciaux has conducted such distinguished orchestras as the London Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Komische Oper Berlin Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Russia, Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, State Symphony Capella of Russia, Brandenburg State Orchestra, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Philharmonia Orchestra.
His principal teachers were Steven Sloane, Harry Curtis, Scott Sandmeier, and Dylan Corlay. Moreover, throughout his career, he has received guidance from international conductors including Valery Gergiev, Sir Roger Norrington, Martyn Brabbins, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Alexander Sladkovsky, Attilio Cremonesi, Claude Schnitzler, George Pehlivanian, and Bruno Weil.
RIKU OKAMOTO
Is the 1st prize winner of the 4th BMI International Conducting Competition (2022/ ROM).
He was invited to the final rounds of the 57th International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors (2021/FRA), the finalist of the 2nd Only Stage International Conducting Competition (2022/ GBR), the semi-finalist of the 6th Ionel Perlea International Conducting Competition (2022/ROM).
Born in Shiga, Japan in 1998, Riku Okamoto began to study violin at the age of three, he won the 4th prize at the 26th Japan classical music competition. In 2017, he entered the Department of Conduction of the Tokyo College of Music as a Special Scholarship Student, and was taught by Junichi Hirokami, Toshifumi Tashiro, Nobutaka Masui, Akihito Mihara, Toshihiro Yonezu.
Furthermore, he was chosen as a scholar of the Toda Scholarship Foundation by the Tokyo College of Music from 2017 to 2020.
He was an assistant conductor with the Super Kids Orchestra (Artistic Director Yutaka Sado, belongs to the Hyogo Performing Arts Centre), Kyoto Junior Orchestra (Supervisor Junichi Hirokami, belongs to the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra).
He has participated in conducting masterclasses with Boris Belkin, Tsugio Tokunaga, Yasuhiko Shiozawa, Jin Wang.
FERNANDO PALOMEQUE
Pianist and conductor, born in Buenos Aires in 1990, he’s a prize-winner in several international competitions. He has performed in both métiers in the United States, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Romania, and most of South America. He has worked with great personalities such as Peter Eötvös, L. Fleischer, N. Hodges, Bruno Gelber, Akiko Ebi, among others.
His passion for contemporary music led him to cofound the Ensemble Écoute in Paris, acting as its musical and artistic director. Furthermore, he has conducted the National Symphony Orchestra (Argentina), the Danubia Orchestra Obuda (Budapest), the orchestra of the Teatro Colón Academy, Divertimento Ensemble (Italy), the OTM Orchestra in New Jersey and the Filarmonica Dinu Lipati (Romania).
In Germany, he has conducted the Ensemble Musikfabrik, Ensemble Modern, the Dortmunder Philharmoniker, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, Bergischen Sinfonikern and Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau. Furthermore, he has been in front of the Ensembles Sargo and Nomads (Switzerland), the Ensemble du DAI Contemporain of Conservatoire de Paris, the Orchestra Symphony of Bolivar (Colombia).
In 2019, he assisted Sofi Jeannin in a production of Die Jasager at Radio France and in 2017, he made his debut as a conductor in the US conducting his first opera with the Opera Theatre of Montclair in New Jersey presenting a full production of La Cenerentola by G Rossini.
He continues his studies at the Robert Schumann Hochschule.
PABLO PEGALAJAR
PABLO PEGALAJAR (Granada, 1994), conductor, musicologist, and composer, began his conducting studies with Enrique García Asensio and Jesús Amigo. In turn, he was introduced to composition by studying with renowned composers such as Jesús Rueda, Enrique Igoa and Alicia Díaz, among others.
After finishing his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship (2018) and a “la Caixa” Foundation scholarship (2020) to continue his studies in conducting in the United States. During his years in this country, he had the opportunity to study with Markand Thakar and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and Charles Peltz and Frank Battisti at the New England Conservatory, as well as being an assistant to conductors Christopher Larkin and Laszlo Marosi. Added to all the above are masterclasses with internationally renowned maestros such as Ignacio García Vidal, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Vittorio Parisi or Karel Mark Chichon together with the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra.
He is currently finishing his Ph.D. at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati under the guidance of Mark Gibson, a project that will culminate in a stay at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during the 2023/2024 season.
As a researcher, he focuses his activity on reviewing the Andalusian symphonic repertoire, counting on publications on the reception of Manuel de Falla in the US, as well as on defining the different musical bridges between Spain and the US, having worked directly with composers such as Leonardo Balada.
EROS QUESADA
Born in Burjassot (Valencia), studied tuba at the professional and superior music conservatories of Valencia, with Eduardo Nogueroles and Miguel Moreno, respectively. Afterwards, he accessed the Superior Music Centre “Musikene” of the Basque Country with high qualifications to study for a bachelor’s in orchestral conducting with maestro Arturo Tamayo, where he finishes his studies by taking an exam with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra.
He has been director and founder of the “Los Silos” Symphony Orchestra of Burjassot in 2014 and of the Grup Instrumental Turia in 2018, an ensemble with the aim of programming music from the 20th and 21st centuries.
He has belonged to the Orfeón Universitario of the University of Valencia and the Orfeón Donostiarra. He has also belonged to the FSMCV Band.
Different concerts stand out, such as El Amor Brujo, in 2017, or those performed with the Orchestra and the Musikene Student Band, distinguishing themselves last March 2023 by performing Beethoven’s Symphony no.9, filling the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián.
He has received masterclasses from Nacho de Paz, Ernest Martínez Izquierdo, Franck Ollu, Juanjo Mena, Nicholas Chalvin, Eric Nielsen and Tito Ceccherini, among others, and has recently been chosen by Robert Treviño, head of the Euskadi Orchestra, to conduct the orchestra at a subscription concert in June.
BERNAT QUETGLAS
Began his musical studies at the age of 4 with maestro Bernat Pomar. He studied for a professional degree in viola at the Conservatory of Palma de Mallorca and accessed the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid in 2011 in the specialties of composition and orchestral conducting, both finished in the academic year 2014-2015.
In 2018 he finished his master’s degree in orchestral conducting at the Alfonso X University in Madrid, obtaining honours. He is currently furthering his conducting studies at the prestigious Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar with Professor Nicolás Pasquet.
During these years, in the field of conducting, he has received tuition from maestros Nicolás Pasquet, Daniele Gatti, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Lothar Zagrosek, Johannes Wildner, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Karel Mark Chichon, Álvaro Albiach, Antoni Ros Marbà, Miguel Romea or Andrés Salado.
Today he is chief conductor of the Mallorca Chamber Orchestra and has served as assistant conductor with the ADDA Simfònica between 2019 and 2020.
In different settings, he has conducted orchestras such as the Tonkünstler Orchestra, the Balearic Islands Symphony Orchestra, the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, the Extremadura Orchestra, the Spanish National Youth Orchestra (JONDE), the Italian Giovanile Orchestra (OGI), the Berlin Sinfonietta, the Bulgarian Classic Orchestra, the Ciutat d’Eivissa Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatori Superior de les Balears, the Palma Municipal Band and other ensembles.
DANIEL ROS
Was assistant conductor with ADDA Simfònica and Orquesta Joven de Córdoba during 2019-2021. In addition, since 2019 he has been assistant conductor with the OSRM, a job that he combines with his residency in Rotterdam for his master’s studies in orchestral conducting in Codarts Rotterdam under the guidance of Hans Leenders and Sander Teepen. Likewise, he is a member of the board of directors of AESDO and, since its foundation in 2021, he is the artistic and musical director of Intensiō.
In 2017 he completed his higher studies in orchestral conducting at the Murcia Conservatory of Music. He has also studied with great maestros such as Antoni Hermus, Karel Deseure, Igor Gruppman, Jurjen Hempel, Nacho de Paz, Karel Mark Chichon and Johannes Wildner, among others. On the other hand, he has completed his postgraduate training in AIDO “José Collado” with maestro Cristóbal Soler.
He has conducted, among others, orchestras such as the OSRM, ADDA·Simfònica, Het Nederlands Studenten Kamerorkest, Sinfonia Rotterdam, Berlin Symphoniker, Berlin Sinfonietta, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta de Córdoba, Leiden Sinfonietta, Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra or JONDE.
In 2019 he was awarded a scholarship as a fellow conductor by INAEM and JONDE. AESDO Award 2021.
He has conducted at prestigious venues such as the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, the Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven, or the Spiegelzaal de la Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His next commitments are in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany.
SASHA SCOLNIK-BROWER
Is an American conductor based in Amsterdam and Boston. In the spring of 2023, Sasha led a production of Rossini’s La scala di seta with the Dutch National Opera Academy at the Bredeweg Festival in Amsterdam, made his debut with the Noord Nederlands Orkest in a programme of Schubert and Sibelius, and assisted Patrick Lange in a new production of Der Freischütz at Theater an der Wien. Other recent projects include serving as assistant conductor to James Macmillan with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and to Clark Rundell with the Nederlands Kammerorkest. As a part of the Dutch National Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting, Sasha also conducted the Residentie Orkest, Phion Orkest, and the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, working with Kenneth Montgomery, Jac van Steen and Ed Spanjaard.
Sasha is a graduate of The Juilliard School where he studied conducting with David Robertson, served as the assistant conductor to Peter Oundjian, Mark Wigglesworth, and Itzhak Perlman, and led concerts with the Juilliard Orchestra. From 2018-2019, Sasha was also a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival where he received the Robert Spano Conducting Prize. He was the longest-serving music director of Harvard’s Bach Society Orchestra (2014-2017) and the music director of the Harvard College Opera’s 2017 production of Le Nozze di Figaro, sung in the original Italian for the first time in the organization’s history. Sasha has also served as the cover conductor for the Atlanta Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and National Symphony Orchestras.
TATSUMA TAKAHASHI
Was born in Yokosuka City, Japan in 1989, and took his first piano lessons at the age of four. When he was 12, he became a member of a junior high school orchestra, playing the cello, which led him to conducting.
In 2008, he enrolled in the Conducting Division of the Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Music.
He was a Rohm Music Foundation conducting trainee in 2010, and a Meiji Yasuda Cultural Foundation scholarship student in 2011. In 2012, he graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts, achieving the Acanthus, Doseikai and Ataka Awards. He has been living in Berlin since 2016, where he studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin.
As well as being a conductor, he is also a collaborative pianist. At present, he is keenly focused on vocal music. He works very frequently with singers from all over the world. His repertoire now covers a wide range of periods, from baroque to contemporary music, whereas he especially cherishes works by romantic composers. In addition, he occasionally works as a keyboard player in several orchestras in Japan and Germany. His activities also include composing and arrangement, and his works have been performed in Japan and other countries.
He has studied orchestral conducting under Christian Ehwald, Alexander Vitlin, Ivan Anguélov, Tadaaki Otaka, Ken Takaseki, Seiji Ozawa, Yuji Yuasa, Tatsuya Shimono, Neeme Jarvi, Paavo Jarvi, Jorma Panula, Douglas Bostock and Riccardo Muti.
SCOTT GENTILE
Conductor, pianist and composer, has performed in Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Chile and across the USA. He has conducted on some of the most preeminent venues including Carnegie Hall and the Musikverein Wien.
In 2019, he received his first international honour for his conducting by winning the 2nd prize at the Klangkraft Dirigierwettbewerbs Conducting Competition in Duisburg, Germany. In January of 2020, he won back-to-back competitions at the International Conducting Competition in Atlanta, Georgia and the Eduardo Browne Conducting Competition in Santiago, Chile.
Most recently he was awarded the Respighi Conducting Prize 2022 which led to his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall with the Chamber Orchestra of New York. As a composer, he wrote the score for the film “American Murderer” which was released in October of 2022. His score for “American Murderer” was featured in film festivals such as Taormina Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, San Diego Film Festival and the 38th Boston Film Festival where he received the award for Best Film Score. Reviews from the world premiere at the Taormina Film Festival described the score as “melo, evocative and last but not least it is amazingly talented and mature work” (Carmelita Celi, “La Sicilia” Magazine).
Scott holds degrees from the Whalen School of Music at Ithaca College and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College.
He completed his advanced studies in composition at the Berklee College of Music.
CLARA WAGSTEINER
CLARA WAGSTEINER (b. Bauer) works as conductor at the Wiener Volkstheater, as chief conductor of the Alma Mahler Philharmonie and as fellow conductor at the Akademie Musiktheater heute.
Recent highlights include her debuts with the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, London Symphony Orchestra, and the Alma Mahler Philharmonie.
In 2019, she was selected as conducting fellow and Assistant Conductor of the Bergische Symphoniker in Wuppertal, Germany. In 2020, she graduated with honours from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 2021, she put a long-held dream into action: to found a virtuoso chamber orchestra that shares new concert settings and programmes with a focus on 20th and 21st-century music with its audience.
In 2022, she receives the Startstipendium (scholarship) for Music and Performing Arts from the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture, Civil Service and Sports in Austria.
Clara has a strong passion for contemporary pieces and music by composers who are hardly present in music historiography simply because of their gender or religion, thinking of Erich Zeisl, Hugo Kauder and Mélanie Bonis. There is so much fantastic music to be discovered.
