Applications open for Donatella Flick Competition

Applications are now open for the 2025 Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition. Set to take place in December next year, the competition offers participants aged 30 or under the chance to win a £15,000 first prize and become assistant conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) for a year.

The 2025 competition celebrates 35 years since its founding in 1990 by Donatella Flick. LSO’s St Luke’s venue will welcome 20 conductors to compete, with three finalists conducting the LSO during the grand final (streamed live globally on medici.tv). Young conductors are invited to apply until 3 April 2025.

Nicolò Foron, who won the competition in 2023, said: ‘Taking part in the Competition was such an incredible experience, and my time as Assistant Conductor with the LSO continues to be truly invaluable. For aspiring conductors, participating in the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition is not just an opportunity – it’s a gateway to a thrilling future in the world of classical music and I can’t recommend it more highly!’

In 2025, LSO chief conductor Sir Antonio Pappano will chair a jury including composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan, conductors Sian Edwards and Kirill Karabits, and LSO musicians Sarah Quinn (sub-principal second violin and chair of the board) and Rachel Gough (principal bassoon).

Sir Antonio said: ‘After being involved with the Competition for a few years now, it’s an honour to be chairing such an esteemed jury for 2025. I want to extend my thanks to Donatella Flick for bringing us together, and for her great vision and longstanding provision of such an invaluable opportunity for the next generation of conductors. To all conductors who are eligible to take part, I strongly encourage you to apply, and I look forward to hearing your work and possibly working with you next year.’

The competition has launched the careers of conductors including Elim Chan (2014) who recently conducted the First Night of the BBC Proms, Clemens Schuldt (2010), music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and David Afkham (2008), chief conductor and music director of the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España.