VC LIVE | International Conducting Competition Rotterdam

Tune in from June 17-19 for the semi-finals of this year's conducting competition

We're coming to you LIVE from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, for the semi-finals of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam (ICCR). This year's semifinals will take place from June 17–19, 2024, where six conductors will be selected for a year-long career development program before the finals in 2025.

To perform with the Sinfonia Rotterdam, the 24 semi finalists are:

• Polina Lebedieva (Ukraine)
• Aleksandra Melaniuk (Poland)
• Yukuang Jin (China)
• Roc Fargas I Castells (Spain)
• Sam Weller (Australia)
• Mateusz Gwizdalla (Poland/Australia)
• Andreas Hansson (Sweden)
• Jakub Przybycień (Poland)
• Sasha Scolnik-Brower (USA)
• David Fernández Caravaca (Spain)
• Matthew Rhodes (Sweden/UK)
• Luis Castillo-Briceño (Costa Rica)
• Sebastiaan Van Yperen (Netherlands)
• Sunny Xuecong Xia (China)
• Miguel Sepúlveda (Portugal)
• Minchao Cai (China)
• Rodrigo Sámano Albarrán (Mexico)
• Juya Jooyeon Shin (South Korea)
• Leif Tse (Canada)
• Linhan Cui (China)
• Maximilian Otto (Germany)
• Chunyi Zhao (China)
• Na’zir Mcfadden (USA)
• Zofia Kiniorska (Poland)

In the finals from June 1–13, 2025, six conductors will conduct five separate rounds in genres from opera to symphonic works with ensembles including the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Klangforum Wien, Orchestra of the 18th Century, and Laurens Symphony Chorus.

The Grand Prix is worth €15,000, while five special prizes at €3,000 will include one for each of the final rounds: Proms Open Air Concert, Contemporary Music, Classical, Opera, and Large Symphonic Works.

More awards include the Audience Award of €2,000 and the Performance Award for each of the six selected conductors from the semifinal round with €5,000 each.

The 2024 jury comprises Roberta Alexander, Marieke Blankestijn, Deborah Borda, Han-Na Chang, Brett Dean, Sian Edwards, Gaetan Le Divelec, Wolfgang Fink, Iván Fischer, Dame Jane Glover, Ara Guzelimian, Antony Hermus, Tisa Ho, Vimbayi Kaziboni, Sophie De Lint, Stephan Macleod, Johan De Meij, Cathy Milliken, Ulrike Niehoff, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Christina Pluhar, Pamela Rosenberg, Kwamé Ryan, Ed Spanjaard, Elmar Weingarten, George Wiegel, Eric Whitacre, Bas Wiegers, Mark Williams, and Yip Wing-Sie.

COMPETITION SCHEDULE

MONDAY JUNE 17 | ROUND 1 | DAY 1

7:00 AM - 8:25 AM (ET)

• Chunyi Zhao
• Andreas Hansson
• Roc Fargas I Castells
• Sebastiaan van Yperen

8:50 AM - 10:15 AM (ET)

• Polina Lebedieva
• Rodrigo Sámano Albarrán
• Maximilian Otto
• Sam Weller

10:40 AM - 12:05 PM (ET)

• Juya Jooyeon Shin
• Jakub Przybycień
• Luis Castillo Briceño
• Aleksandra Melaniuk

For this round, all semi-finalists must be prepared to conduct Beethoven's Symphony No.4, Op 60, Mendelssohn's Selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op 61 – Ouverture / Scherzo, and Britten's Simple Symphony, Op. 4. The candidates are informed of the piece they are requested to conduct right before going on stage.

TUESDAY JUNE 18 | ROUND 1 | DAY 2

5:00 AM - 6:25 AM (ET)

• Miguel Sepúlveda
• Zofia Kiniorska
• Minchao Cai
• Sunny Xuecong Xia

7:30 AM - 8:55 AM (ET)

• Yukuang Jin
• David Fernández Caravaca
• Linhan Cui
• Peggy Wu

9:30 AM - 10:45 AM (ET)

• Leif Tse
• Sasha Scolnik-Brower
• Mateusz Gwizdalla
• Matthew Rhodes

For this round, all semi-finalists must be prepared to conduct Beethoven's Symphony No.4, Op 60, Mendelssohn's Selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op 61 – Ouverture / Scherzo, and Britten's Simple Symphony, Op. 4. The candidates are informed of the piece they are requested to conduct right before going on stage.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 19 | ROUND 2

5:00 AM - 6:25 AM (ET)

• Andreas Hansson
• Rodrigo Sámano Albarrán
• Maximilian Otto
• Sam Weller

7:30 AM - 8:55 AM (ET)

• Juya Jooyeon Shin
• Jakub Przybycień
• Luis Castillo-Briceño
• Miguel Sepúlveda

9:30 AM - 10:45 AM (ET)

• Zofia Kiniorska
• Yukuang Jin
• Peggy Wu
• Matthew Rhodes

For this round, all semi-finalists must be prepared to conduct Rossini's Overture Il Signor Bruschino, Rossini's Overture La Scala di Seta, Stravinsky's Symphony in D (1st movement - Vivace), andBartók's Divertimento for Strings, BB118 (1st movement - Allegro non troppo). The candidates are informed of the piece they are requested to conduct right before going on stage.