THE TOKYO INTERNATIONAL CONDUCTING COMPETITION in 2024

Participant Profiles vol.2

No.115

DONG Chao

China / Born on January 7, 1998

Chao received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He has been studying under Guoyong Zhang since 2013. He has also attended master classes with Jorma Panula and John Nelson. He was one of the three finalists at the 58th Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors and won the Special Mention Award. Chao won third place at the Malko Competition 2024 in Copenhagen. In 2023, he made his Chinese debut with Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Medium” at the Beijing Chamber Opera Festival.



No.124

YOSHIZAKI Ayano

Japan / Born on January 21, 2001

After graduating from the Piano Department of the KITAKAMAKURA Girls’ Senior High School, Ayano went on to graduate from the Department of Conducting, Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts in March 2023 and gain admission into the master’s program in conducting in the same university in April 2023. She is studying conducting under Ken Takaseki and Kazufumi Yamashita, and has also attended master classes with Zsolt Nagy and Sian Edwards. Ayano has performed with the Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra, Tokyo. Currently, having been accepted into the Nippon Steel Arts Foundation, 2023 Young Conductor Development Support Program, Ayano is a conducting researcher for the Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra Tokyo.



No.145

Abner PADRINO

Venezuela / Born on June 22, 1992

Abner studied at El Sistema in Venezuela. He has studied under José Antonio Abreu and Dick van Gasteren and was mentored by Christian Thielemann. Abner has been a cellist with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela since 2009. Since 2011, he has also been a touring conductor with El Sistema. He made his debut with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela in 2018. In 2023, he won the Audience Prize in the 2nd Hong Kong International Conducting Competition.



No.151

Kyrian FRIEDENBERG

USA / Born on February 19, 1999

Kyrian studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris and earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Organ from McGill University. He has studied under Alain Altinoglu, Daniele Gatti, and Jaap van Zweden. Starting this year, he is serving as an assistant conductor for the Ensemble Intercontemporain under Music Director Pierre Bleuse. He has performed with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, the Orchestra della Toscana, the Orchestra de Picardie, and others.



No.152

XU Leyuan

China / Born on July 29, 2001

Leyuan studied composition and conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She has studied under Daye Lin and Guoyong Zhang. In 2022, she went to the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg as an exchange student. She has attended master classes with Mark Gibson and David Hayes and performed with the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra, and Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra.



No.156

Nikita SOROKIN

France / Born on December 18, 1990

Nikita studied musicology at the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory and conducting at the Conservatoire de Paris, studying under Alain Altinoglu. He also attended master classes with Tugan Sokhiev. Nikita served as assistant to Altinoglu at the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. He won the All-Russian Conducting Competition in 2019. He has performed with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Picardie, and the Miskolc Symphony
Orchestra （Hungary）.