Conductors' Academy 2025/26 – these are the academy members

They are between 21 and 30 years old - and dream of a career as a conductor. They have already realised 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 Conductor's Academy: another important step on a long journey.

The public can accompany them, the masterclasses are open to the public and free of charge. And there is no doubt that this year, too, we will see how differently the young conductors approach their task. For all those who would like to know more about the candidates for this year's Conductor's Academy: We present them to you here.

Lamar Elias

Born in Bethlehem, Lamar Elias began her musical journey with violin before studying conducting under the guidance of Sabrie Bekirova and Tugan Sokhiev in Toulouse. She has participated in masterclasses led by conductors such as Johannes Schlaefli and Leonid Grin and has been invited to participate at the prestigious Järvi Conducting Academy in 2025. She regularly works with youth orchestras and conservatories in France and abroad. She is Music Director of the Orchestre Symphonique Étudiant de Toulouse, Principal Conductor of the Palestine Youth Orchestra and Associate Conductor of the Orchestre DEMOS-Toulouse and the Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2025 & 2026). As the winner of the 2026 La Maestra competition at the Philharmonie de Paris, Lamar Elias was awarded the Paris Mozart Orchestra’s Music Prize and received a special award from the ECHO Committee (European Concert Hall Organisation).

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Wayne Gao

Wayne Gao is a conductor and composer with a deep commitment to classical and contemporary music. He is currently a New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) Conducting Fellow and a SOUNZ Composer. He aspires to create and interpret music that resonates with audiences through universal emotions, innovative ideas, and a unique artistic vision, in the hope of uniting the people and making the world a better place. As an NZSO Conducting Fellow, Wayne Gao studies with Hamish McKeich and James Judd and has conducted the NZSO during the Fellowship. In April 2026, he guest-conducted the Auckland Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in a program of Dvořák's 8th Symphony, Grieg’s Piano Concerto with pianist Justin Bird, and the premiere of his orchestral work, «Aurora». As an Assistant Conductor, he has worked with conductors such as Gemma New, André de Ridder, and Giordano Bellincampi.

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Myrto Gkekou

Myrto Gkekou is currently based in Austria, where she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting at the Mozarteum Universität Salzburg, studying under Ion Marin and Alexander Drčar. She previously completed her Bachelor’s degree at the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia in the class of Georgios Vranos, and holds a Violin Diploma from the Municipal Conservatory of Volos, Greece. She has performed, among others, with the Bad Reichenhaller Philharmoniker, the Akademieorchester and the Sinfonieorchester of the Mozarteum Universität, as well as the contemporary music ensemble NAMES. In addition, she has collaborated with the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra and the Thessaloniki City Symphony Orchestra as part of masterclasses. Myrto Ghekou has also received guidance from distinguished conductors including Karen Ní Bhroin, Symeon Ioannidis, and Miltos Logiadis.

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Yukuang Jin

Yukuang Jin has been principal conductor of the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra since the 2024/25 season. He is founder of Camerata Novus-Classica, winner of the 2023 Neeme Järvi Prize and one of China’s «Ten Outstanding Young Conductors». In 2025, he became one of six prize winners at the Second International Conducting Competition Rotterdam. He has collaborated with artists including Laufey, Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Denis Kozhukhin, and worked with conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Paavo Järvi and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Yukuang Jin was admitted to the Conducting Program at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music High School in 2015. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts under Christoph-Mathias Mueller, while continuing his artistic practice with his long-time mentor, Long Yu.

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Daniel Seonggeun Kim

Daniel Seonggeun Kim is an emerging conductor based in Germany. In the 2025/26 season he serves as Assistant Conductor to Chief Conductor Michael Sanderling at the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. In 2024 he was awarded First Prize at the 12th Conducting Competition of the Central German Universities of Music and has been a fellow of the Forum Dirigieren of the German Music Council since 2023. He is currently pursuing the Konzertexamen in orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, where he studied with Nicolás Pasquet and Ekhart Wycik. He has worked with orchestras including the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, the Jenaer Philharmonie and the Staatskapelle Weimar. Since 2024 he has served as Chief Conductor of the Leipziger Universitätsorchester.

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Mats Thiersch

Mats Thiersch began his musical education at the age of six on the violin, later adding piano and composition to his studies. Since 2023, he has been continuing his studies in orchestral conducting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in the class of Alain Altinoglu. Since 2025, he has been a scholar in the Forum Dirigieren programme of the German Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat). Since October 2024, he has served as Music Director of the Orchestre et Chœur Symphonique du COGE (Chœurs et Orchestres des Grandes Écoles) in Paris. Throughout his young career, he has already conducted renowned ensembles, including the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. In 2024, he was invited to the prestigious Gstaad Conducting Academy, where he studied with Johannes Schlaefli and Jaap van Zweden. Currently, he is one of the six semifinalists of the 80th Concours de Genève (Conducting Competition 2026).

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