The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

A modern artist who is at home across a wide range of repertoire, disciplines and cultural contexts, Elias Brown conducts leading orchestras, curating imaginative collaborations across artforms. He recently made debuts with Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Danish Chamber Orchestra (broadcast on Denmark’s Radio P2), Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Ensemble Modern at the Acht Brucken Festival.
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The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Recently named the Principal Conductor and Musical Advisor of Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Korean-American conductor Holly Hyun Choe will succeed Petr Popelka and step into the role at the beginning of 2026. Currently in her third season as Principal Conductor of the chamber orchestra Ensemble Reflektor, which views itself as an ambassador for a musical culture without borders, the sought-after guest conductor also serves as Artiste Associate with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Spanish-American conductor François López-Ferrer has carved an impressive path in the world of classical music, distinguished by his dynamic artistry and compelling performances. Recipient of the prestigious 2024 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, his international career has been marked by recent debuts with esteemed orchestras worldwide, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica Radio Televisión Española, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Ensemble intercontemporain, Opéra de Lausanne, and George Enescu Philharmonic. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Named Music and Artistic Director Designate for Dayton Philharmonic for the 2024–25 season, Keitaro Harada will begin a five-year tenure as Music and Artistic Director with the 2025–26 season. As Music Director of the Savannah Philharmonic since the 2020–21 season, Harada has transformed the orchestra and energized its audiences throughout the community with his imaginative programs and charismatic presence. In 2024, Harada became Permanent Conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Earl Lee is in his second season as Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and in his third season as Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he has led in subscription concerts both at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. His 2023/24 season includes guest conducting engagements with the Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, The Florida Orchestra, and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra Toronto.

Lee previously held positions as Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and as the Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony. In 2022, he appeared with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam as a participant in the Ammodo masterclasses led by Fabio Luisi. Read more...

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

New Zealand-born Gemma New is the Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of Canada’s Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.

The 2023/24 season will mark New’s ninth and final season as Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and her second season as Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Read more...

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Aram Demirjian has built a reputation as an insightful interpreter of the symphonic repertoire and drawn praise for his “rejuvenating” (Washington Post) leadership as Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO). Widely considered an engaging, “even electric” (San Francisco Classical Voice) presence on the podium, he is sought after for his “graceful, energetic direction” (Sarasota Herald Tribune), dynamic programs that broaden the idea of what one can expect to see on the symphonic stage, and distinctive ability to speak to, cultivate, and connect with audiences.

As the eighth Music Director of the KSO, Aram has led the orchestra to new artistic heights and national distinction for its achievements. A devoted champion of American music, Aram has grown the ensemble’s repertoire through bold programming with broad audience appeal, particularly emphasizing music by living composers, artists from underrepresented groups, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Read more...

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Yaniv Dinur is the Music Director of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra.  

Dinur served as Resident Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony from 2015-2023. During this period, he conducted 372 concerts, including 144 performances for youth and children.

Dinur’s recent and upcoming guest conducting highlights include subscription debuts with the symphonies of San Diego, Edmonton, Tulsa, Sarasota, Fort Worth, Illinois, Present Music in Milwaukee, Orchestra Haydn in Italy, and Filarmonica de Madrid. He made his conducting debut at the age of 19 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, which led to multiple return engagements. Since then, he has conducted orchestras around the world, including the Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Houston Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Portugal Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Festival Orchestra/Bulgaria, State Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Torino Philharmonic, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Roderick Cox’s invitations with the highest level of international ensembles include Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. He is also founder of the Roderick Cox Music Initiative (RCMI, 2019)— a programme that nurtures and provides scholarships and opportunities for young musicians in order to make music more accessible. Elk Mountain Productions’ award winning 2020 documentary film Conducting Life maps his journey and reflects his passionate belief in the transformative power of music.

Recent highlights include Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Last season Roderick made his Canadian debuts with Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal and National Arts Centre, Ottawa. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Christopher Allen has led acclaimed performances with the Atlanta Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Philadelphia, English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Washington National Opera, Detroit Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Atlanta Opera, North Carolina Opera, Daegu Opera House in South Korea and China National Opera Orchestra and Chorus. As The John L. Magro Resident Conductor for Cincinnati Opera, Maestro Allen has joined the company for three consecutive seasons, in addition to leading the Cincinnati Symphony in the annual Washington Park Concert each summer. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solt Conducting Award

Karina Canellakis is the Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

This season, Karina was the featured Artist-in-Residence at Vienna’s famed Musikverein, conducting four different orchestras; the Wiener Symphoniker, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, London Philharmonic and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic.

Karina’s 2023-24 guest engagements also included her debut with the New York Philharmonic as well as return engagements with the Boston Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and NDR Elbphilharmonie. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solt Conducting Award

Among Mr. Kulenovic's recent guest conducting engagements are the Württembergisches Kammerorchester/Heilbronn, the Basque National Orchestra, the Minas Gerais Philharmonic/Brazil, in addition to the symphonies of Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Winston-Salem and the Southwest Florida Orchestra. In 2023/24, he will make his subscription debut with the Indianapolis Symphony, a return engagement with The Florida Orchestra, and a tour with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester, including a performance at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Cristian Măcelaru is the Music Director Designate of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a post that commences in the 2024/25 season. He leads his inaugural season as Music Director in 2025/26. Măcelaru holds the titles of Artistic Director of the George Enescu Festival and Competition, Music Director of the Orchestre National de France, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Music Director and Conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Chief Conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, Germany, where he will serve through the 2024/25 season and continue as Artistic Partner for the 2025/26 season. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

He is hailed as a “gifted conductor who’s clearly going places” (Chicago Tribune), and is Principal Conductor of Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan, Italy. Alongside his orchestral and operatic engagements in Milan, Feddeck’s return visits include Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre National de Lille and to the Residentie Orkest. Recent engagements include the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Japan. Read more…

The Emerging Conductor Award

GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor Cristian Măcelaru is the Music Director Designate of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a post that commences in the 2024/25 season. He leads his inaugural season as Music Director in 2025/26. Măcelaru holds the titles of Artistic Director of the George Enescu Festival and Competition, Music Director of the Orchestre National de France, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Music Director and Conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Chief Conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, Germany, where he will serve through the 2024/25 season and continue as Artistic Partner for the 2025/26 season. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Case Scaglione is currently in his sixth season as a Chief Conductor of the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn in Germany and in his fifth season as a Music Director of Orchestre national d’Île de France. He has previously served as Associate Conductor with the New York Philharmonic and as Music Director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles. Case was the driving force behind the artistic growth and diversification of the organisation, founding their educational outreach initiative ‘360° Music’. Read more…

The Emerging Conductor Award

Ryan McAdams has established himself as one of the most exciting and versatile conductors of his generation. Equally prized in symphonic, operatic, and contemporary repertoire, he made a highly successful subscription European debut in February, 2010 with the orchestra of the Maggio Musicale in Florence, where he has returned three times in the past three years. He made his Eastern European debut with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Julian Rachlin, and Mischa Maisky in Dubrovnik in September, 2010. His subscription debut with the Israel Philharmonic, replacing an indisposed Raphael Fruhbeck de Burgos, was hailed as "extraordinary," "masterful," and "immense[ly] dramatic" by the Jerusalem Post; a live recording of the concert was released by the IPO on the Helicon Classics label. He has returned to the Israel Philharmonic twice since, most recently in a run of performances featuring concerti with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and Orff's "Carmina Burana." A Fulbright scholar, he previously served as Apprentice Conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, assisting then-Chief Conductor Alan Gilbert. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Erik Nielsen is a conductor equally at home in opera and in concert.

A pianist since an early age, he later studied oboe and harp as a double major at The Juilliard School and conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music. He moved to Germany in 2001 as the harpist in the Berlin Philharmonic’s Orchestra Academy.

In 2002 he began a 10-year association with the Frankfurt Opera, beginning as a Korrepetitor (pianist) and later as a Kapellmeister. There he amassed a large repertoire from Monteverdi to Lachenmann.

Erik conducted the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (Bilbao Orkesta Sinfonikoa) for the first time in 2012 in Korngold’s TOTE STADT and was named Chief Conductor in September 2015. He will step down as Music Director in 2024 after 9 completed seasons. 

Additionally he was Music Director of TheaterBasel (2016-2018) and most recently was appointed the Chief Conductor of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl in 2022. Read more…

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award

Anthony Barrese has earned accolades as both a composer and a conductor in North America and Italy.

As Artistic Director and Principal conductor of Opera Southwest he has performed Rossini’s Otello with the American staged premiere of the finale lieto, and in 2014 he lead the new World Premiere of Amleto, not heard anywhere since 1871. He also notably led productions of Wagner’s Lohengrin (2019), a new world premiere of Bottesini’s Alì Babà (2019), and a company premiere of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (2021)

As Music Director of Opera Delaware he conducted the west coast premiere of Amleto in 2016, and the company premiere of Rossini’s Semiramide in 2017. In the 2022 season he conducted new productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia and Le nozze di Figaro. Read more…

The Solti Foundation U.S. Award

Based in Vienna, Austria, Eric Melear enjoys a diverse career as a conductor and pianist, working regularly on multiple continents and with a wide variety of singers and companies. A member of the music staffs at both the Vienna State Opera and The Metropolitan Opera, he has guest conducted at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival and at numerous U.S. opera houses, including Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, among others. Mr. Melear has also long been a champion of young artists, having led Studios at both Houston Grand Opera and Wolf Trap Opera, as well as serving as a guest coach for programs and universities in the U.K., Italy, and the U.S. Read more…

The Solti Foundation U.S. Award

As conductor, Carlos Cesar Rodríguez has performed throughout the Americas. In 2005 he was chosen as award recipient of the prestigious Georg Solti Foundation US fellowship for outstanding young conductors. With the encouragement, mentorship and collaboration of Maestro Plácido Domingo Mr. Rodríguez became founder and coordinator of the Zarzuela Program (Spanish Operetta) of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program with Washington National Opera in 2002 and continues to serve in this capacity. In addition he continues to be sought after as music director/conductor of Zarzuela Productions in the USA and the Americas. Read more…

The Solti Foundation U.S. Award

Thomas Rimes is an Australian musician who has worked throughout Europe, the United States, China and Australia as an operatic and symphonic conductor and as a composer/arranger of numerous stage works. From 2009-2019 he was engaged as a Kapellmeister (staff conductor) at opera houses in the German cities of Kassel and Gelsenkirchen and appeared throughout the Europe, Asia and America as guest conductor. Read more…