Eva Ollikainen
Conducting Jury 2025
Biography
Trained under Leif Segerstam and Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finnish conductor Eva Ollikainen won First Prize at the Jorma Panula Competition in 2003. She is currently Artistic Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, with whom she champions the music of composer Anna Þorvaldsdóttir. An album, released in 2023 on the Sono Luminus label, showcases this collaboration. The 2024–2025 season marks her debuts with distinguished orchestras and ensembles, including the Orchestre National de France, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
August 2025
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