Applications have opened for the 18th Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition, set to take place on 2-4 December 2025 at LSO St Luke’s, London. Young conductors are invited to apply from today, 11 December 2024 until 3 April 2025 via the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition website.

Wednesday 11 December 2024

• Applications for 2025 Competition now open

• Sir Antonio Pappano chairs jury for first time, joined by Sir James MacMillan, Sian Edwards, Kirill Karabits, Sarah Quinn and Rachel Gough

• Final Round of Competition to be streamed worldwide by medici.tv

2-4 December 2025, LSO St Luke’s, London

Applications have opened for the 18th Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition, set to take place on 2-4 December 2025 at LSO St Luke’s, London. Young conductors are invited to apply from today, 11 December 2024 until 3 April 2025 via the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition website.

With a first prize of £15,000 and the opportunity to become Assistant Conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) for a year, the internationally-renowned Competition provides a transformative career opportunity for talented conductors aged 30 or under from all over Europe.

Established in 1990 by Donatella Flick, the biennial competition bridges the gap between conservatoire training and professional careers for young conductors. Over 30 years, it has launched the careers of many esteemed winners, 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.

In 2025, the Competition celebrates its 35th year and will see 20 conductors compete at LSO St Luke’s, London, with three finalists conducting the London Symphony Orchestra during the grand final, streamed live globally on medici.tv.

Sir Antonio Pappano, Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, chairs the jury for the first time for the 2025 Competition. He is joined by an impressive roster of musicians 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.”

Donatella Flick, Founder of the Competition, said: “I’m delighted that we are underway for 18th LSO Conducting Competition. After 35 years, I am constantly impressed by the talent, dedication and creativity of those who take part in the Competition and I’m sure this year will be no exception. I hope that young conductors will be inspired to apply to share their talent with us, and I look forward to meeting successful applicants in London next year.”

The Final Round of the Competition will also be streamed live on medici.tv, allowing viewers from around the globe to catch the excitement of the Competition and see the winner announced live. Further details on the broadcasting of the Competition will be announced in due course.

Full information on the Competition, how to apply and details of rules and repertoire are available on the DFCC website.

-ENDS-

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Notes to Editors

Please find a selection of images from the 17th Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition here.

The Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition

In 1990, Donatella Flick founded her Conducting Competition to offer much-needed support to young conductors at the start of their careers. She remains at the helm of the Competition working with a small team and in partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra to present the Competition every two years.

Donatella Flick became aware of the challenges faced by young conductors bridging the gap between conservatoire training and a professional career, the point at which many talented conductors falter or even abandon their conducting ambitions completely, and in 1990 she founded the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition to help address the issue.

Over thirty years later, and around 300 young conductors have taken part in 17 biennial Competitions in London and there have been 18 winners (in 2000, two conductors took the prize jointly).

In 1996 a partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra began which has continued to grow ever since. The Finalists are lucky enough to conduct the LSO during the Competition’s Final, and the Orchestra has a collective vote as part of the judging panel.

Many of the Competition’s winners have developed excellent careers. In 2014, Elim Chan became the first woman to win the Competition and her star has been rising sharply ever since. She was appointed to the Dudamel Fellowship programme with the LA Philharmonic in 2016/17 and in 2018 she became Principal Guest Conductor at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 2019 saw her BBC Proms debut with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and she was appointed Chief Conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra from the 2019/20 season.

Donatella Flick has always worked hard to ensure that the Competition benefits everyone who takes part, and not only the winners. She achieves this through carefully considered repertoire for each round, and by inviting conductors and musicians of the highest calibre to be on the jury, giving their time for free and bringing with them a wealth of experience and wisdom.

In 2018 the Competition broadened its reach through live-streaming and the production of an award-winning documentary. The Competition Final was streamed live for the first time, allowing a worldwide audience on Medici TV to experience the Competition at home.

In 2018 and 2021, Il sogno del podio, a major award-winning documentary about the Competition by was produced by RAI TV, Italy’s national broadcaster.

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra believes that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere – from orchestral fans in the concert hall to first-time listeners all over the world.

The LSO was established in 1904 as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO’s reputation for quality, ambition and a commitment to sharing the joy of music with everyone.

The LSO performs some 70 concerts every year as Resident Orchestra at the Barbican, with its family of artists: Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J Thomas.

The LSO has major artistic residencies in Paris, Tokyo and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and a growing presence across Australasia.

Through LSO Discovery, the LSO’s learning and community programme, 60,000 people each year experience the transformative power of music. The Orchestra’s musicians are at the heart of this unique programme, leading workshops, mentoring bright young talent, and visiting schools, hospitals and community spaces. The home of much of this work is LSO St Luke’s, the LSO’s venue on Old Street. In 2025, following a programme of works, the LSO will open up the venue’s facilities to more people than ever before, with new state-of-the-art recording facilities and dedicated spaces for LSO Discovery.

The LSO’s record label LSO Live is a leader among orchestra-owned labels, bringing to life the excitement of a live performance in a catalogue of over 200 acclaimed recordings, and reaching millions through streaming services and online broadcasts. The LSO has been prolific in the studio since the infancy of orchestral recording, and has made more recordings than any other orchestra – over 2,500 projects to date – across film, video games and bespoke audio collaborations. Through inspiring music, learning programmes and digital innovations, the LSO’s reach extends far beyond the concert hall.