La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors Announces Dates & Jury for 2026 Edition
By David SalazarThe Philharmonie de Paris and the Paris Mozart Orchestra are set to continue their collaboration with the fourth edition of the La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors.
The competition, scheduled for Feb. 23–28, 2026, at the Philharmonie de Paris, received a record 225 applications. Sixteen conductors were selected, representing 13 nationalities, with an average age of 28.
Over five days, candidates will conduct the Paris Mozart Orchestra. For the first time since the competition’s creation, finalists will also conduct the Orchestre de Paris during the final rounds on Feb. 27 and 28, 2026.
For the quarter-finals, contestants are required to perform Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in addition to either the first movement of Mayer’s First Symphony, Fauré’s “Masques et Bergamesques,” or Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin.”
The repertory for the semi-final includes either an aria from Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” or from Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” with mezzo-soprano Victoire Bunel or baritone Félix Merle. Also on the program is either a concert for flute by Odette Gartenlaub or “Fachwerk for bayan, percussion and strings” by Sofia Goubaidoulina.
The final requires conductors to lead works by Ravel, Diana Soh, Brahms, or Beethoven.
The jury will be chaired by Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv, Music Director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and Principal Guest Conductor of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra. Jury members include Claire Gibault, Wayne Marshall, Vineta Sareika, Matías Tarnopolsky, Fabienne Voisin, and Philipp von Steinaecker.
At the conclusion of the competition, prizes of €20,000, €10,000, and €5,000 will be awarded, in addition to several special prizes.
Finalists and semi-finalists will also participate in the La Maestra Academy, receiving personalized artistic and professional mentoring in collaboration with French and international partners of the Philharmonie de Paris and the Paris Mozart Orchestra.
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