Guest Conductor
COncours 2027 – GUEST CONDUCTOR
Competitors will have the opportunity to perform alongside the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) for the Final Round. For the occasion, the official orchestra of the Concours musical international de Montréal will be under the direction of Guest Conductor Gergely Madaras.
Hungarian conductor Gergely Madaras was named 2025 “Conductor of the Year” at the Bartók Radio Awards. He served as Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège from 2019–2025, where his successful tenure was recently marked by his being named an Honorary Citizen of the City.
His 2026-2027 season features symphonic debuts with the NDR Hannover, SWR Symphony, Slovak State Kosice and Israel Philharmonic orchestras, and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. He returns with the Dresden Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Orchestre National de Mulhouse and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as working with the NFM Wroclaw in a program that celebrates both the Beethoven and Dohnányi anniversaries, and on a contemporary project with the WDR Symphony Orchestra as part of the Witten Festival.
Recent highlights include performances with the Oslo, Luxembourg and Hong Kong philharmonics, the Dresden Staatskapelle, Budapest Festival Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Hallé Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, World Jewish Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, São Paulo State Symphony, and with Il Pomo d’Oro and Joyce DiDonato at the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), as part of the EDEN tour.
Last season included high-profile debuts with the Dresden Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Dresden Staatskapelle, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, at the Palau de la música in Valencia and in Mulhouse, Tampere, and Trondheim, as well as at the Welsh National Opera (Tosca). He also conducted the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Turku Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as at the Hungarian State Opera and a special project with the Hungarian Radio Symphony celebrating the 100th birthday of György Kurtág.
Gergely Madaras was the inaugural Sir Charles Mackerras Fellow at the English National Opera. In recent seasons, he has conducted critically acclaimed productions at the Dutch National Opera, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, La Monnaie, and the Hungarian State Opera.
The Concours musical international de Montréal Guest Conductor is housed at the Ritz-Carlton – Montréal
