Career Assistance Awards

2008-2023

Kazem Abdullah
Christopher Allen
Yaniv Attar
Ankush Kumar Bahl
Daniel Black
Elias Brown
Karina Canellakis
Gene Chang
Tiffany Chang
Austin Chanu
Tiffany Chang
Holly Choe
Yuga Cohler
Maurice Cohn
Conner Gray Covington
Roderick Cox
Andrew Crust
John Devlin
Yaniv Dinur
Nathaniel Efthimiou
James Feddeck
Kevin Fitzgerald
Stefano Flavoni
Taichi Fukumura
Chelsea Gallo
Joshua Gersen
Lina Gonzalez Granados
Keitaro Harada
Nicolas Hersh
Jonathon Heyward
Christopher Hill
Joshua Hong
Sarah Jobin
Jacob Joyce
Robert Kahn
Roberto Kalb
Roger Kalia
Gerald Karni
Matthew Kasper
Farkhad Khudyev
Stilian Kirov
Nicholas Koo
Vladimir Kulenovic
Kelly Kuo
Shizuo Z. Kuwahara
Francesco Lecce-Chong
Earl Lee
Christopher James Lees
Geoffrey Loff
Louis Lohraseb
William Long
François López-Ferrer
Benjamin Manis
Michelle Merrill
Lee Mills
Stephen Mulligan
Jacob Niemann
Gemma New
Sean Newhouse
Nico Olarte-Hayes
Vinay Parameswaran
Sameer Patel
Tristan Rais-Sherman
Michael Repper
Stephanie Rhodes Russell
Carlos César Rodríguez
Stefano Sarzani
Case Scaglione
Jacob Schnitzer
Euan Shields
Ward Stare
Matthew Straw
William Walker
Alyssa Wang
Kensho Watanabe
Joshua Weilerstein
Dean Whiteside
Lidiya Yankovskaya
Joseph Young

2023 Awardees

Elias Brown

Assistant conductor of the San Francisco Symphony (2023/24) and Colburn Conservatory Orchestra. Read more…

Austin Chanu

Assistant Conductor, The Philadelphia Orchestra. Read more…

John Devlin

Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Nathaniel Efthimiou

Assistant Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School and an Assistant Professor of Music at Berklee College of Music. Read more…

Kevin Fitzgerald

Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony. Read more…

Stefano Flavoni

Assistant Conductor of the Staatsoper Hamburg and Lakes Area Music Festival, and cover conductor of the New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony. Read more…

Taichi Fukumura

Assistant Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Gerald Karni

Conducting Fellow, Verbier Festival (2022/2023); Assistant Conductor, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin (2023). Read more…

Nicholas Koo

Cover Conductor (2022), Minnesota Orchestra, Memphis Symphony, San Diego Symphony Orchestra; Cover Conductor (2020 – present), Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Geoffrey Loff

Engagements in the 2021-2022 season include debuts with the Komische Oper Berlin and with Semperoper Dresden, as well as a return to Los Angeles Opera as assistant conductor to music director James Conlon. Read more…

William Long

Cover Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra; Guest Conductor/Teaching Artist, Music Academy of the West. Read more…

François López-Ferrer

Resident Conductor, Académie of the Opéra de Paris. Read more…

Benjamin Manis

Resident Conductor, Houston Grand Opera (2019-2022); Associate Conductor, Utah Symphony (2022-2023). Read more…

Jacob Niemann

Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow, Curtis Institute of Music.

Nico Olarte-Hayes

Pre-College Conducting Faculty, The Juilliard School; Assistant Conductor and Dean of Students, Perlman Music Program. Read more…

Tristan Rais-Sherman

Assistant Conductor, The Philadelphia Orchestra. Read more…

Michael Repper

Music Director of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, and the Northern Neck Orchestra of Virginia. Read more…

Jacob Schnitzer

Artistic Director, Density512 (Austin, Texas); Assistant Conductor, The Missouri Symphony. Read more…

Euan Shields

Assistant Conductor, Hallé Orchestra and Music Director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra (2023-2025). Read more…

Matthew Straw

Assistant Conductor, Utah Symphony; Cover Conductor, Brussels Philharmonic (2023). Read more…

William Walker

Chief Conductor and founder, Nova Orchester Wien (NOW!). Read more…

Alyssa Wang

Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Conductor of the Boston Festival Orchestra. Read more…

2022 Awardees

Tiffany Chang
Maurice Cohn
Nathaniel Efthimiou
Kevin Fitzgerald
Taichi Fukumura
Chelsea Gallo
Keitaro Harada
Robert Kahn
Farkhad Khudyev
Louis Loraseb
François López-Ferrer
Benjamin Manis
Stephen Mulligan
Tristan Rais-Sherman
Michael Repper
Matthew Straw
William Walker
Dean Whiteside

Tiffany Chang

Praised for her exceptional artistry, formidable versatility, and unshakeable integrity, Taiwanese-American conductor Tiffany Chang helps musicians feel valued, seen, and fulfilled. Read more…

Maurice Cohn

Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and regular guest conductor with the Chicago-based contemporary ensemble Zafa Collective. Read more…

Chelsea Gallo

Assistant Conductor, The Florida Orchestra; Principal Guest Conductor, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. Read more…

Keitaro Harada

Winner of the 2023 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Read more…

Robert S. Kahn

Cover conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra on several subscription programs (2021-22 season), and assistant to Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic on their European Tour. Read more…

Farkhad Khudyev

Music Director of the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Orchestral Institute at the Hidden Valley Institute of the Arts in Carmel, California. Read more…

Louis Lohraseb

Stephen Mulligan

Former Associate Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and 2018-19 Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Read more…

Dean Whiteside

Former New World Symphony Conducting Fellow. Founder and director of the Nashville Sinfonietta and winner of the 2018 American Prize in Conducting. Read more…

2021 Awardees

Nathaniel Efthimiou
Kevin Fitzgerald
Taichi Fukumura
Lina Gonzalez-Granados
Keitaro Harada
Jonathon Heyward
Roberto Kalb
Roger Kalia
Earl Lee
Lee Mills
Vinay Parameswaran
Michael Repper
Stefano Sarzani
Kensho Watanabe
Lidiya Yankovskaya

Lina Gonzalez-Granados

Conducting Fellow with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Seattle Symphony; Recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence. Read more…

Jonathon Heyward

Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and former Assistant Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra. Read more…

Roberto Kalb

Former resident conductor and head of music at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and cover/assistant conductor for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Roger Kalia

Music Director, Evansville Symphony Orchestra and Symphony NH; Music Director and co-founder, Lake George Music Festival. Read more…

Earl Lee

Winner of the 2022 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Read more…

Lee Mills

Associate Conductor or the Seattle Symphony and former Resident Conductor of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Vinay Parameswaran

Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Read more…

Stefano Sarzani

International guest conductor. Musical staff, Lyric Opera of Chicago since 2018. Read more…

Kensho Watanabe

International guest conductor. Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2016 to 2019 Read more…

Lidiya Yankovskaya

Founder and Artistic Director of the Refugee Orchestra Project; Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater. Read more…

2020 Awardees

Tiffany Chang
Holly Choe
Maurice Cohn
Conner Gray Covington
Andrew Crust
Kevin Fitzgerald
Lina Gonzalez Granados
Keitaro Harada
Jonathon Heyward
Joshua Hong
Jacob Joyce
Roger Kalia
Matthew Kasper
Lee Mills
Stephen Mulligan
Gemma New
Michael Repper
Stefano Sarzani
Kensho Watanabe

Holly Choe

Music Director, Orchesterverein Wiedikon, Music Director, University of St. Gallen Alumni Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Conner Gray Covington

Associate Conductor, Utah Symphony and Principal Conductor, Deer Valley Music Festival. Read more…

Andrew Crust

Associate Conductor, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Joshua Hong

Music Director, Campanile Orchestra. Read more…

Jacob Joyce

Associate Conductor, Indianapolis Symphony. Read more…

Matthew Kasper

Resident Conductor, The Phoenix Symphony and Artistic Director, Phoenix Youth Symphony. Read more…

Gemma New

Winner of the 2021 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Read more…

2019 Awardees

Conner Gray Covington
Aram Demirjian
Joshua Hong
Stilian Kirov
Benjamin Manis
Lee Mills
Gemma New
Stephanie Rhodes Russell

Stilian Kirov
First Prize Winner of the “Debut Berlin” Concert Competition, Stilian Kirov made his debut at the Berlin Philharmonic in 2017. The same year he began his tenure as Music Director of the Illinois Philharmonic and also continues his music directorship with the Bakersfield Symphony in California. Read more…

Stephanie Rhodes Russell

International guest conductor. Musical staff, Lyric Opera of Chicago since 2018. Read more…

2018 Awardees

Daniel Black
Roger Kalia
Stilian Kirov
Farkhad Khudyev
Stephen Mulligan
Sameer Patel
Lidiya Yankovskaya
Stefano Sarzani

Daniel Black

AssociateConductor of the Florida Orchestra, 2019-20 season. Read more…

Sameer Patel

Associate Conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival and former Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony. Read more…

2017 Awardees

Roderick Cox
Conner Gray Covington
Aram Demirjian
Roger Kalia
Stilian Kirov
Lee Mills
Gemma New
Sameer Patel

Roderick Cox

Winner of the 2018 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Read more…

2016 Awardees

Christopher Allen
Ankush Kumar Bahl
Daniel Black
Gene Chang
Yaniv Dinur
Joshua Gersen
Keitaro Harada
Stilian Kirov
Michelle Merrill
Lee Mills
Sameer Patel
Stefano Sarzani

Christopher Allen

Winner of the 2017 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Read more…

Ankush Kumar Bahl

Music Director Designate of the Omaha Symphony, summer of 2021. Read more…

Gene Chang

Assistant and Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2019. Read more…

Yaniv Dinur

Winner of the 2019 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Read more…

Joshua Gersen

Former Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. Read more…

Michelle Merrill

Music Director of the Coastal Symphony of Georgia and former Associate Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

2015 Awardees

Kazem Abdullah
Ankush Kumar Bahl
Daniel Black
Karina Canellakis
Yuga Cohler
Joshua Gersen
Keitaro Harada
Nicolas Hersh
Joseph Young

Kazem Abdullah

Music and Artistic Director of the City of Aachen, Germany from 2012 to 2017. Read more…

Karina Canellakis

Winner of the 2016 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Read more…

Yuga Cohler

Music director of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Nicolas Hersh

Music Director of the Modesto Symphony. Former Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Read more…

Joseph Young

Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony, Artistic Director of Ensembles for the Peabody Conservatory, and Resident Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra–USA at Carnegie Hall. Read more…