Rafael Payare’s prodigious musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic presence on the podium have made him one of the world’s most sought-after conductors. Born in 1980 and a graduate of the celebrated El Sistema music education program in Venezuela, Mr. Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. Since winning the prestigious Malko International Competition for Young Conductors in Denmark in 2012, Maestro Payare’s career has advanced rapidly. Since 2015, he has served as Principal Conductor of the Castleton Festival, founded by his mentor the late Lorin Maazel. He was Chief Conductor of the Uster Orchestra from 2014 to 2019 and in 2019, took up the position of Music Director of the San Diego Symphony. In recent years, Rafael Payare has conducted many of the world’s most prestigious symphony orchestras, in Berlin, Vienna, London, Munich, Chicago and Paris, among others. Beginning in the 2022-2023 season, he becomes the ninth Music Director in the history of the OSM.

Embodying music with an unparalleled dramatic sensibility, Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan is an artist at the forefront of creation. She has worked closely with the most celebrated conductors and musicians of the age, showing a profound commitment to the music of our time and giving premiere performances of over 85 new creations. She has collaborated with Boulez, Zorn, Dutilleux, Ligeti, Stockhausen, Sciarrino, Barry, Dusapin, Dean, Benjamin and Abrahamsen among others. Recently, Barbara premiered a new live video production of La voix humaine in which she both sings and conducts, She celebrated her 50th birthday at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, conducting the Ludwig Orchestra in works of Haydn, Copland, Gerald Barry, and Kurt Weill. Future projects comprise repertoire ranging from the Middle Ages to today. A multi award recipient and recording artist, she is firmly engaged in mentoring younger professional musicians with her Equilibrium Young Artists and Momentum: our Future Now initiatives.