Six conductors have been selected to participate in the Semi-Final of the Concours de Genève Conducting Competition:
- Mr. Alejandro Cantalapiedra, 30 years old
- Mr. Jacobus De Jager, 28 years old
- Ms. Michal Oren, 28 years old
- Mr. Gabriel Pernet, 26 years old
- Mr. Mats Thiersch, 22 years old
- Mr. Leonard Weiss, 32 years old
The First Round (31 Oct – 1 Nov 2025) brought together 24 candidates who conducted the HEM Orchestra, each given 25 minutes to work on excerpts from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and Schubert’s Symphony No. 5, revealed immediately before their appearance.
The Second Round (2–3 Nov 2025) then featured 12 selected candidates leading the Geneva Chamber Orchestra for 45 minutes, on excerpts from Stravinsky’s Danses concertantes, Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, and Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, drawn by lot.
7 November 2026: Semi-Final 1 with the Orchestre de Chambre Genève, Victoria Hall
8 November 2026: Semi-Final 2 with the Ensemble Contrechamps
9 November 2026: Semi-Final 3 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Victoria Hall
10-11 November 2026: Final 1 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Victoria Hall
12-13 November 2026: Final 2 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Victoria Hall
Between 2025 and 2026, the six semi-finalists will take part in a range of professional development activities, masterclasses, workshops, and meetings with orchestras, all designed to support their growth and build artistic connections before the final stage in 2026.