Malko Competition for Conductors Announces 2024 Candidates

Over 20 young conductors have been selected to perform at the competition from April 15–20, 2024

Presented by the Fondation Caris and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DNSO), the Malko Competition is open to international conductors aged 35 and under.

The first-prize winner will receive €20,000, performance engagements with acclaimed European symphony orchestras, as well as three years of personal mentorship from DNSO’s chief conductor Fabio Luisi.

Second prize is valued at €15,000, third prize is €12,000, and the winner of the audience prize will receive €1,500.

The competition’s opening round involves 24 emerging conductors from 20 nationalities across five continents. They are:

Luis Castillo-Briceño, 27 (Costa Rica)

Chao Dong, 26 (China)

Euan Shields, 25 (US)

Jakub Przybycień, 28 (Poland)

Wilson Ng, 34 (Hong Kong)

Dayner Tafur-Díaz, 26 (Peru)

Samuel Seungwon Lee, 34 (Korea)

Magnus Fryklund, 34 (Sweden)

Andreas Hansson, 28 (Sweden)

Alizé Léhon, 26 (France)

Nils Erik Måseidvåg, 31 (Norway)

Anna Handler, 26 (Germany)

Luka Hauser, 26 (Germany)

Sieva Borzak, 27 (Italy)

Miguel Sepúlveda, 26 (Portugal)

Francesco Cagnasso, 32 (Switzerland)

Richard Octaviano Kogima, 33 (Brazil)

Nathanaël Iselin, 30 (France)

Omar El Jamali, 32 (Morocco)

Sasha Yankevych, 32 (Ukraine)

Chloe Rooke, 27 (UK)

Ana María Patiño-Osorio, 28 (Colombia)

Omer Shteinhart, 29 (Israel)

Alexander Sinan Binder, 33 (Germany)

Chaired by Luisi and moderated by Per Magid, the 2024 jury comprises Mei-Ann Chen, Elise Båtnes, Karl-Heinz Schütz, Martin Menking, Eva Steinaa, Richard Krug, Anthony Fogg, Ilona Schmiel, Kim Bohr, and the DNSO (represented as a unit).

“The high level of candidates means that we can expect a week full of great musical moments in DR Koncerthuset,” saidDR Koncerthuset’s director Kim Bohr. “In any case, I can guarantee that the musicians in the Danish National Symphony Orchestra will be ready to follow the conductors' slightest movement throughout the competition week.”

For more on each of the candidates, click here.