Five Poles qualify for UK conducting competition

Five up-and-coming Polish conductors have been selected by a panel of judges to compete in the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, which will take place in London on March 21-23.

Five up-and-coming Polish conductors have been selected by a panel of judges to compete in the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, which will take place in London on March 21-23.

Image by Tatyana Kazakova from Pixabay

The Polish contingent, which includes three women (Zofia Kiniorska, Aleksandra Melaniuk and Agata Zając) and two men (Jakub Montewka and Jakub Przybycień), is the largest in a pool of 20 contestants. 

Here's a quick look at Ep. 5 with Agata Zajac, out tomorrow! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/YIzgGSxHsL

— Karen Ní Bhroin (@KarenNiBhroin) November 28, 2022

Also represented are France with four participants, Germany with three and the UK with two, while the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, Greece and Switzerland each have one contestant.

In the competition, each of the conductors will direct the London Symphony Orchestra, which has a collective vote as part of the judging panel.

Named after the Italian philanthropist who founded the contest in 1990, the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition ranks among the most prestigious events of its kind. 

👀 Calling all conductors aged 30 and under: the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition 2023 (21–23 March 2023) is now accepting entries.

All the details: https://t.co/PWSbPCCJbt - the closing date is 22 August.

Prizes include the position of LSO Assistant Conductor! pic.twitter.com/W9iNdAyi87

— London Symphony Orchestra (@londonsymphony) April 22, 2022

Based in London, it is open to conductors who are aged 30 or under and offers them much-needed support at the start of their careers.

Past winners of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition include Poland’s Michał Dworzyński, who received First Prize in 2006. 

(mk/pm)