Music Director Paavo Järvi has selected six candidates from six countries from among 353 applicants.
They are between 20 and 29 years old - and dream of a career as a conductor. They have already realized part of their dream; they have completed their studies, received prizes and scholarships, and gained experience with a wide variety of orchestras. And now they have been selected for Paavo Järvi's annual Conductors' Academy: another important step on a long journey.
The audience can accompany them, the master classes are open to the public. And there is no doubt that this year, too, we will see how differently the young conductors approach their task. For all those who want to know more about them already: Here we present the candidates of this year's Conductors' Academy.
Micah Gleason recently completed a conducting fellowship at the Curtis Institute of Music as a mentee of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, was selected by Dallas Opera for its prestigious Hart Institute for Women Conductors, and is the recipient of the 2024 Taki Alsop Conducting Award. She has collaborated with renowned ensembles, served as music director for productions (including the world premiere of JL Marlors «The Final Veil Opera»), and as assistant conductor for productions with Washington National Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Beth Morrison Projects, and others. In the summer of 2025, she looks forward to attending the Tanglewood Conducting Seminar, assisting Marin Alsop in the Cliburn Competition Finals with the Fort Worth Symphony, and Gianandrea Noseda with the National Youth Symphony on their annual tour. Micah Gleason is represented worldwide by Intermusica.
In 2023, Kinga Głowacka will graduate from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, where she studied conducting with Łukasz Borowicz. She was recently appointed Dudamel Fellow for the 2025/26 season at the LA Phil. She has participated in international conducting masterclasses with Johannes Schlaefli, Baldur Brönnimann, Marin Alsop, Martyn Brabbins and others. In 2018 she founded the Krakow-based chamber orchestra Arco Andare, which she still directs. In 2024/25 she made her opera debut conducting the Krakow Chamber Opera production of «Il geloso schernito». In November 2023 she worked as assistant conductor on Stravinsky’s «The Rite of Spring» with Marin Alsop and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland in Dublin. She has won several prizes, including the CySO International Conducting Master Class & Competition in Nicosia, Cyprus (2024).
Gabriel Pernet is currently based in Zürich, where he is studying at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) under the guidance of Christoph-Mathias Mueller and Johannes Schlaefli. Previously, he studied at the Hochschule Luzern – Musik in the class of Clemens Heil and improved his skills with Johannes Schlaefli during various conducting academies. He also had the opportunity to learn from Jaap van Zweden during the Gstaad Conducting Academy. Since 2019, he is the chief conductor, artistic director and co-founder of the Orchestre Symphonique en Vogue. At the age of 26, he has already worked with the Berner Symphonieorchester, the Göttinger Symphonieorchester and the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava. Before starting his conductor’s career, he studied the clarinet, leading him to play in various professional orchestras in Switzerland.
Sean Tan is a sophomore at Stanford University pursuing a B.S. in symbolic systems (artificial intelligence) and a B.A. in music (conducting). He studies conducting with Paul Phillips and composition with Jarosław Kapuściński and François Rose. He is currently assistant conductor of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia. Beyond his artistic endeavors, he has also completed internships at The Asia Society, ERMu Labs, iDAGIO, and ArtBasel. His diverse projects have taken him across the globe to top-tier venues, including the Konzerthaus Berlin, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall. Last summer he served as assistant conductor of the Moritzburg Festival, collaborating with renowned artists such as Jan Vogler, Benjamin Beilman and Margarita Balanas.
David Walter recently completed a Bachelor’s degree in violin and is now continuing with his studies in orchestral conducting with Rasmus Baumann at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart. He has conducted, among others, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, the North Czech Philharmonic Teplice and the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra. He has worked as an Assistant Conductor in a production of Johann Strauss’ «Die Fledermaus» at the Wilhelma-Theater in Stuttgart in 2024 as well as a production of Viktor Ullmann’s «Der Kaiser von Atlantis» with the Junge Oper Baden-Württemberg in Freiburg in 2023. Other mentors of him include Ulrich Windfuhr, Norbert Baxa, Johannes Klumpp and Michel Tabachnik.
Since 2019, Jorge Yagüe has been chief and artistic conductor of the Youth Orchestra of León, which under his leadership has become one of the most sought-after orchestras for young Spanish musicians. At the age of 28, he has already worked with the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra and the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz. He currently lives in Zurich, where he has been studying since 2022 at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) under the guidance of Christoph-Mathias Mueller and Johannes Schlaefli, and where nowadays he also serves as the Assistant of the Conducting Studio. He has had the opportunity to receive lessons from renowned conductors such as Nicolas Pasquet, Marin Alsop or Ole Kristian Ruud. Since 2023, Jorge Yagüe is part of the roaster of Musiespaña for representation in Spain and Portugal.
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The four masterclasses and the closing concert will be livestreamed from 26 to 28 May. After the closing concert, the audience will have the opportunity to vote for the audience winner.
Supported by the Freundeskreis Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich – exclusive project partner
Board and lodging for the academy members supported by Ruth Burkhalter
