The Hallé is delighted to announce the names of the ten semi-finalists in the inaugural Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition, to be held at Hallé St Peter’s in Manchester from Thursday 20 to Saturday 22 February 2020.

Ten outstanding conductors at the start of their careers (seven male and three female) from around the globe have been selected from a pool of 287 applicants representing 55 countries across six continents.

Nine nationalities will be represented in the semi-finals.

Rodolfo Barráez, 26
Birth: Venezuela, Residence: Germany

Winner of the OFUNAM International Orchestra Conducting Prize (2018) in Mexico, Barráez’s upcoming engagements include the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, Minería Symphony Orchestra, and Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra.

Diogo Costa, 30
Birth: Portugal, Residence: Portugal

Trained at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, Costa’s engagements already include the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Porto Symphony Orchestra Casa da Música, and the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra.

Chloé Dufresne, 28
Birth: France, Residence: France

Dufresne studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and is completing her Master’s degree at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, whilst being principal conductor of the Orchestre Inter-Universitaire de Paris.

Jonas Ehrler, 27
Birth: Switzerland, Residence: Switzerland

Ehrler made his debut with Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and Ensemble Modern over the past season, having completed his conducting studies at the Zurich University of the Arts.

Andres Kaljuste, 37
Birth: Estonia, Residence: United Kingdom

Following his studies at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, Kaljuste has conducted orchestras including the Estonian Youth Symphony Orchestra and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, with whom he will open the 2020 Estonian Music Days Festival.

Delyana Lazarova, 34
Birth: Bulgaria, Residence: Switzerland

Lazarova received the James Conlon Conducting Prize at the prestigious Aspen Music Festival in 2019, and has worked with Hradec-Kralove Philharmonic Orchestra in Czech Republic, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra in Greece, Meiningen and Konstanz Symphony Orchestras in Germany.

Antoine Petit-Dutaillis, 23
Birth: France, Residence: France

Petit-Dutaillis joined Alain Altinoglu’s conducting class at the Conservatoire de Paris in 2017, and has worked with the Regional Orchestra of Avignon, the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Miskolc Symphony Orchestra (Hungary).

Elinor Rufeizen, 32
Birth: Israel, Residence: United States

A recipient of the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship and Charles Schiff Conducting awards, Rufeizen recently graduated from The Juilliard School with a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting, studying with mentors Alan Gilbert and David Robertson.

Joel Sandelson, 25
Birth: United Kingdom, Residence: United Kingdom

Sandelson is currently Leverhulme Conducting Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Assistant Conductor to Thomas Dausgaard at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He previously studied conducting at the Royal Academy of Music under Sian Edwards.

Francisco Valero-Terribas, 44
Birth: Spain, Residence: Spain

Valero-Terribas studied at the Superior Conservatory of Music in Valencia, and since then has been Assistant Conductor at the Palau de les Arts Opera House in Valencia and Musical Director at the Contemporary Music Academy with the National Youth Orchestra of Spain.

Expectations

All Semi-Finalists must be available and in Manchester for the entirety of the Competition without exception. Semi-Finalists must be on time for their respective audition and interview slots as informed by the Competition Administrator. Failure to appear on time may result in disqualification.

Expenses

Any Semi-Finalists required to travel to Manchester for the Competition will be provided with:

• Free accommodation in Manchester from the evening of Wednesday 19th February until the morning of Sunday 22nd February 2020.

• A contribution towards travel expenses from their place of residence of:

  • £200 within Europe

  • £400 beyond Europe