José Salazar

Featured as a Classic FM 2025 Rising Star and currently a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (2025/26), José Salazar is a dynamic young conductor with extensive experience and a flair for programming. From 2023 to 2025 he was a Jette Parker Artist at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House, working closely with the Royal Ballet, assisting on productions across two seasons, and conducting the renowned orchestra in several concert performances. Previously, as Artistic and Music Director of El Sistema Greece (2018–2023), he curated and conducted concerts in the country’s leading venues and festivals while also appearing as a guest conductor internationally.

In the 2025/26 season José returns to the Royal Ballet for performances of La Fille mal gardée at Covent Garden and on tour in Singapore and Tokyo, to Birmingham Royal Ballet for The Nutcracker, and makes his debut with the Greek National Opera Ballet (Giselle). As a Dudamel Fellow he will conduct and cover concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, making his podium debut with the LA Philharmonic in March 2026 with a programme including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, and Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari, commissioned by the orchestra.

Recent highlights include his US debut with the Symphony Orchestra of the YOLA National Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall (July 2024), his debut with Birmingham Royal Ballet (La Fille mal gardée, October 2024), his debut with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Caracas (April 2025), and conducting Sing, Dance, Leap in June 2025 – a flagship project for Bradford City of Culture featuring the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North, dancers from the Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet, and a choir of hundreds of local children.

Educated within El Sistema, José began his conducting studies with Felipe Izcaray before continuing under Gregory Carreño at the Special Program for Academic Development in Caracas. He has since taken part in international masterclasses with distinguished conductors including Riccardo Muti, Dick van Gasteren, Manfred Huss, Rüdiger Bohn, Alejandro Posada, Philippe Auguin, Eduardo Marturet, Christoph Eschenbach and Michalis Economou. Recognised as an exceptional student, he was selected for an international exchange with the University of Göteborg, Sweden, to join its master’s program in Orchestral Performance. In 2020, aged just 23, he was a finalist in the inaugural Arthur Nikisch Conducting Competition, and he has also served as assistant to Gustavo Dudamel and Christian Vasquez for major performances, recordings, and international tours.

Born in 1997 on Margarita Island, Venezuela, José first came to prominence as a teenager and has since conducted widely in Venezuela and abroad. His work has been profiled by Reuters, The Guardian, and China National TV. Born to a family of educators, he is also a passionate linguist, fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, and Greek, and currently learning French and German.

Promoters please note: We update our biographies regularly and ask that they are not altered without permission. For updated versions, please e-mail: Jessica Grime