- Biography
Samuel AGUIRRE
Candidate of the 2027 Competition
Samuel Aguirre (Colombia/Netherlands) has two master studies in orchestra conducting and oboe performance from the Maastricht Conservatory. During his studies between 2018 and 2022 he was conductor and artistic director of the Limburgs Jeudg Symfonie Orkest (LJSO).
In 2022 he conducted a debut concert with the international soloists Joyce El-Khoury and Raffaella Lupinacci together with the Filarmonica dell’Opera Italiana Bruno Bartoletti at the Teatro Mario del Monaco in Treviso (Italy), and participated in the International Opera Conducting Competition organized by the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liege (Belgium), that has led to invitations as assistant conductor of The Hungarian State Opera, Staatsoper Hamburg and Orchestra della Fondazione Teatro Petruzzelli Bari. Samuel has conducted some prestigious European orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra (England), Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (France) the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia.
During the last seasons, he conducted his debut concert with the Sinfonieorchester Basel (Switzerland) and rising star Yibai Chen, and conducted a first opera production with the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liege. Last year he worked alongside the Chineke Orchestra (England) on a tour throughout the United States and and served as assistant conductor of Jonathon Heyward (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra) during the BBC Proms in London. During 2026 he has conducted the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany), Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgary), the Philharmonisches Orchester Aachen (Germany) and has already confirmed invitations to work with important orchestras in 2027, such as the Sinfonierorchester Basel in Switzerland.