Concours de Genève Announces Conducting Semi-Finalists
- The Violin Channel
- Nov 4, 2025
- 2 min read
The conducting edition will culminate in 2026, showcasing six young conductors
2 MIN READ
Switzerland’s Concours de Genève has welcomed back its Conducting Competition for the first time since 1994, when it was won by the acclaimed conductor Alan Gilbert.
Taking place over two years, the 2025/26 conducting edition will culminate in the semi-finals and finals in 2026, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the Concours de Genève. In the first round, 24 candidates led the HEM Orchestra and were each given 25 minutes to work on excerpts from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and Schubert’s Symphony No. 5.
In the Second Round, 12 selected candidates led the Geneva Chamber Orchestra for 45 minutes, on excerpts from Stravinsky’s Danses concertantes, Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, and Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, drawn by lot.
From this performance, six semi-finalists were chosen. They are:
Alejandro Cantalapiedra (30)
Jacobus De Jager (28)
Michal Oren (28)
Gabriel Pernet (26)
Mats Thiersch (22)
Leonard Weiss (32)
Between 2025 and 2026, the six semi-finalists will take part in a range of professional development activities, masterclasses, workshops, and meetings with orchestras, all designed to support their growth and build artistic connections before the final stage in 2026.
Three finalists will conduct the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande at Geneva’s Victoria Hall from November 10–13, 2026.
First prize will be awarded with CHF 20,000; second prize is CHF 12,000; and third prize is CHF 8,000. Three semi-finalists not selected for the finals will be awarded CHF 3,000 each. Special prizes include the Audience Prize with CHF 1,500.
Chaired by Bertrand de Billy, the 2025/26 jury comprises Sonia Ben-Santamaria, Baldur Brönnimann, Martin Campbell-White, Marzena Diakun, Rémi Durupt, Laurent Gay, Claire Levacher, Sarah Nemtanu, Eva Ollikainen, Peter Oundjian, Natalia Ponomarchuk, Mark Stringer, Arturo Tamayo, and Wingsie Yip.
Comments