Michal Oren said; “I’m looking forward to joining the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as Calleva Assistant Conductor. As a young conductor you need time on the podium to grow, and I am deeply grateful to have this opportunity with the BSO.”
Currently based in London, Michal completed her professional studies with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music, where she held the Bianca Falcone Sorrell Award. Gaining her master’s degree from the Royal College of Music, as a full scholar, Michal studied both conducting and clarinet at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel-Aviv.
Michal Oren
New to the South West of the UK, Michal said “Everyone has been so welcoming and I’m excited to get to know the musicians and audiences over the coming months ahead.”
Oliver Cope was voted in second place, with semi-finalists Jacobus de Jager and Max Todes.
Let’s meet the shortlisted contestants…
Oliver Cope completed his Master’s in Conducting with Martyn Brabbins at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he was awarded the Hugh S. Roberson Prize for Conducting. He was also the winner of the 6th International Athens Conducting Competition in 2024, the Koussevitsky Conducting Competition in 2025 - and was a finalist in our 2024 Calleva Assistant Conductor Competition. This year, he leads British Youth Opera’s production of The Rake’s Progress, and is a finalist in the 8th Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition.
Kinga Głowacka is currently Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic where she has “gained significant artistic and professional experience”. She is also a regular guest conductor of Cracow Chamber Opera. Kinga completed a Master’s degree in Conducting from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music.
Jacobus de Jager is a South African conductor who in 2025/26 was the recipient of the Mills Williams Junior Fellowship in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music. He studied with Martyn Brabbins at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), where he won the RCS Conducting Prize. He won the 5th South African Conductors’ Competition and is a two-time semi-finalist in the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award in Salzburg.
Matthew Rhodes has worked with orchestras in Scandinavia and Europe and was recently the youngest semi-finalist of the 2023 Donatella Flick Conducting Competition with the London Symphony Orchestra. He graduated with his Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Royal College of Music, Stockholm.
Max Todes currently studies conducting with Martyn Brabbins at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is a former Cambridge Conducting Scholar. Max is both a singer and a cellist and is the artistic director of Cavatina Orchestra.
Sebastian Zinca was the Assistant Conductor at the Galicia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from 2024-25, describing it as “an extraordinarily formative chapter in [his] development.” Sebastian also held the position of Assistant Conductor at the Philharmonia Orchestra in 2025. He studied Advanced Conducting Studies at the Berlin University of the Arts.
We can’t wait to work with Michal Oren in 2026/27, and we’ll watch with interest the careers of these other brilliant next generation conductors. To read the full press release click here.
The Calleva Assistant Conductor programme in 2024-2030 is funded by The Calleva Foundation, in memory of Jack Butt. Trustees Stephen and Caroline Butt said: “Supporting the Calleva Assistant Conductor programme is our investment in the next generation of outstanding young artists, and we’re delighted to welcome Michal Oren to the role.”
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