Bachtrack Article

Euan Shields wins the Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition 2023


Published: March 14, 2023

Euan Shields from the U.S. has won the Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition 2023. The 24-year-old emerging conductor demonstrated his talent to the seven-strong jury at yesterday’s final held at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, United Kingdom. At the three-day competition, Shields came out on top among a pool of more than 200 conductors from six continents. The international conducting competition sponsored by Siemens and the Hallé Orchestra took place for the first time in 2020 and was held for the second time in March 2023. Shields grew up in Osaka (Japan) and San Francisco (U.S.). He completed his master’s degree in orchestral conducting at the Juilliard School in New York and has worked with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sønderjylland Symphony Orchestra of Denmark and the Juilliard Lab Orchestra in New York.

About the competition

The Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition seeks to provide a talented and emerging conductor with a platform to develop their skills on an international level. The Winner of the competition will become Assistant Conductor of the Hallé, with the opportunity to work alongside the Hallé’s Music Director, Sir Mark Elder CH CBE, for a minimum 2-year period in a meaningful and varied role which represents an invaluable chance for an emerging conductor to build a career and establish themselves on the world stage. It will be, quite literally, a life changing opportunity. The Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition celebrates the innovative partnership between the Hallé and Siemens AG, a global technology powerhouse, that has been developed over the last two decades.

Competition timeline

The Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition will take place in Manchester from Sunday 12th to Tuesday 14th March 2023. Semi-Finalists will attend the entirety of the Competition in Manchester from Sunday 12th to Tuesday 14th March 2023. All Semi-Finalists will work in Hallé St Peter’s with the Hallé Youth Orchestra on Sunday 12th March, before completing the chamber music workshop on Monday 13th March. Finalists will be selected by the end of Monday 13th March. Finalists will be interviewed on Tuesday 14th March morning before working with the Hallé in the Final. The Winner of the Competition will be announced in a public concert event on the evening of Tuesday 14th March 2023.

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