Mark Stringer
Vice-President of the Conducting Jury 2025
Biography
Mark Stringer is an American conductor and professor. He served as Music Director of the Stadttheater in Bern from 1991 to 1998. His debut at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1996 led to invitations from numerous orchestras, festivals, and opera houses, including the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Since 2004, he has been Professor of Conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and regularly gives masterclasses across several continents.
August 2025 - Full biography on markstringer.com/
Events
Dedicated to the great symphonic repertoire, the second Final of the Conducting Competition sees the three finalists conduct the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in works by Bartók, Mahler, Prokofiev, Strauss and Stravinsky.
The Final is followed by the Awards Ceremony.
Broadcast live on RTS-Espace 2 and streamed live on our YouTube channel, medici.tv and amadeus.tv.
Joint final for the Composition and Conducting Competitions: the three finalist conductors will, by drawing lots, conduct one of the three finalist works for symphony orchestra from the Composition Competition, performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
Finalist works :
SING-YAT CHEN (26, Hong Kong)
Shattered sky / remaining land
HANURIJ LEE (21, South Korea)
Stuff #1
RAFAEL MARINO ARCARO (37, Brazil / Italy)
invention in language of child, op. 22
The final is followed by the Composition Competition Awards Ceremony.
Broadcast live on Espace 2 and streamed live on our YouTube channel, medici.tv and amadeus.tv.
The six semi-finalists of the Conducting Competition each lead a 45-minute public rehearsal with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, working on excerpts from Debussy’s La Mer and the first movement of either Schumann’s Piano Concerto or Cello Concerto, assigned by draw at the beginning of the round.
Session 1: 2:30 PM
Session 2: 7:30 PM
Semi-Finalists:
Soloists:
Kevin Chen (1st Prize, Piano 2022)
Michiaki Ueno (1st Prize, Cello 2021)
With the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The six semi-finalists of the Conducting Competition each have a 45-minute public rehearsal with Ensemble Contrechamps, working on excerpts from Ligeti’s Kammerkonzert and a contemporary work of their choice: Unsuk Chin’s Gougalon or Rebecca Saunders’ Scar.
Session 1: 2:30 PM
Session 2: 7:30 PM
Semi-Finalists:
With the Ensemble Contrechamps
The six semi-finalists of the Conducting Competition each have a 45-minute public rehearsal with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, conducting excerpts from symphonies by Bizet, Farrenc and Mendelssohn, assigned by draw at the beginning of the round.
Session 1: 2:30 PM
Session 2: 7:30 PM
Semi-Finalists:
With the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève
During the second round of the Conducting Competition, the 12 selected candidates will be leading the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève. Each candidate will have 45 minutes to run through an excerpt from Stravinsky’s Danses concertantes and work on excerpts from Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings and Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, selected by random draw:
Ballot 1
Stravinsky: I. Marche-Introduction + II. Pas d’Action
Wagner: Bar 116 to bar 295
Tchaikovsky: II. Valse + IV. Finale
Ballot 2
Stravinsky: III. Thème varié
Wagner: Beginning to bar 181
Tchaikovsky - II. Valse + I. Pezzo
Ballot 3
Stravinsky: IV. Pas de Deux + V. Marche-Conclusion
Wagner: Bar 243 to the end
Tchaikovsky: II. Valse + III. Elegie
SESSION 1 – SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER, 14:00
- Simon Schmied, 30 years old
- Leonard Weiss, 32 years old
- Gabriel Pernet, 26 years old
SESSION 2 – SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER, 19:00
- Julia Cruz Carceller, 28 years old
- Jacobus De Jager, 28 years old
- Nathanaël Iselin, 32 years old
SESSION 3 – MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER, 14:00
- Josephine Korda, 29 years old
- Yu-Te Wu, 30 years old
- Giovanni Fanizza, 29 years old
SESSION 4 – MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER, 19:00
- Mats Thiersch, 22 years old
- Alejandro Cantalapiedra, 31 years old
- Michal Oren, 28 years old
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Sessions at 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM
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Ansermet Auditorium
2 Passage Marie-Claude Leburgue
1205 Geneva
During this first round of the Conducting Competition, the 24 candidates will each have 25 minutes of public rehearsal with the Orchestre de la Haute école de musique de Genève to work on or run through excerpts from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and Schubert’s Symphony No. 5, drawn by lot at the beginning of the round.
Ballot n°1
Beethoven – Symphony n°2, 1st movement (Adagio molto – Allegro con brio)
Schubert – Symphony n°5, 3rd movement (Menuetto: Allegro molto)
Ballot n°2
Beethoven – Symphony n°2, 2nd movement (Larghetto)
Schubert – Symphony n°5, 4th movement (Allegro vivace)
Ballot n°3
Beethoven – Symphony n°2, 3rd movement (Scherzo: Allegro)
Schubert – Symphony n°5, 1st movement (Allegro)
Ballot n°4
Beethoven – Symphony n°2, 4th movement (Allegro molto)
Schubert – Symphony n°5, 2nd movement (Andante con moto)
SESSION 1 – FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER, 14:00
- Lars Corijn, 29 years old
- Celia Llácer, 31 years old
- Moyue Zhou, 29 years old
- Simon Schmied, 30 years old
- Leonard Weiss, 32 years old
- Jaehyuck Choi, 30 years old
SESSION 2 – FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER, 19:00
- Zofia Kiniorska, 28 years old
- Gabriel Pernet, 26 years old
- Chao Dong, 27 years old
- Jooyoung Chang, 27 years old
- Julia Cruz Carceller, 28 years old
- Sunny Xuecong Xia, 29 years old
SESSION 3 – SATURDAY 1st NOVEMBER, 14:00
- Jacobus De Jager, 28 years old
- Nicolò Azzena, 32 years old
- Guro Ansteensen Haugli, 31 years old
- Nathanaël Iselin, 32 years old
- Josephine Korda, 29 years old
- Zhongling Fang, 28 years old
SESSION 4 – SATURDAY 1st NOVEMBER, 19:00
- Ondrej Soukup, 30 years old
- Yu-Te Wu, 30 years old
- Giovanni Fanizza, 29 years old
- Mats Thiersch, 22 years old
- Alejandro Cantalapiedra, 31 years old
- Michal Oren, 28 years old
——
Open to the public
Sessions at 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM
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Auditorium Ansermet
Passage Marie-Claude Leburgue 2
1205 Genève