Bar Avni

Conductor Bar Avni won first prize at the 2024 La Maestra competition in Paris, awarded by an illustrious jury chaired by Natalie Stutzmann. An undisputed laureate, Bar Avni swept all the competition’s awards, also winning the Orchestra Prize, the Arte Prize, the Echo Prize, and the Prize of French Concert Halls and Orchestras. For the next two years, she is a fellow of the La Maestra Academy. Subsequently, her work garnered significant interest, and invitations were immediately extended by several major international orchestras. Avni’s astute and creative programming, combined with her clear yet elegant conducting style, makes a strong impression on all who encounter her.

Bar Avni is currently the Principal Conductor of the Bayer Philharmoniker, a position she has held since 2021. She is the first woman to hold this position in the orchestra’s 120-year history. She is deeply committed to promoting new young talent and has worked closely with the Bayer team to design a number of exciting projects in music education, a subject particularly close to her heart.

A classical percussionist by training, the Israeli conductor first performed with leading orchestras in her home country. Her desire to conduct then led her to Tel Aviv, where she studied with Yoav Talmi, later becoming Assistant Conductor of the Israel Chamber Orchestra under Talmi’s direction. She continued her studies with Martin Sieghart in Graz and Ulrich Windfuhr in Hamburg. In 2017/18, Avni served as Assistant to the General Music Director, Peter Kuhn, at the Bergischer Symphoniker, and in 2021, she became the youngest laureate and fellow of the International Kurt Masur Institute.