【Breaking News!】Italian Opera Academy in Tokyo vol.4 introduces 4 young conductors (original) (raw)

From left: William Garfield Walker, Michelle Bushkova, Riku Okamoto, Xiaobo Hu/©Taira Tairadate

Michelle Bushkova, Xiaobo Hu, Riku Okamoto, William Garfield Walker have been selected after the auditions by Maestro Riccardo Muti.
They will participate Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy in Tokyo vol.4 "Attila", and will receive instruction from Riccardo Muti for nearly two weeks starting today.

Michelle Bushkova
Born in Moscow in 2004. She currently studies violin and piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has received conducting guidance from Carlos Kalmar, Jorma Panula, and Victor Yampolsky. She is assistant conductor of the Case Western Reserve University Orchestra, and has appeared with the Minsk Chamber Orchestra and the Kecskemét Symphony Orchestra.

Xiaobo Hu
Born in China, he is assistant conductor to Tan Dun. In 2023/24 season he served as principal conductor of Kunming International Philharmonic Orchestra. He won the Special Prize at the 1st Rachmaninoff International Conducting Competition. He graduated from University of Music Würzburg in Germany and currently is enrolled in University of Music Saar. He has studied with Paavo Järvi and others.

Riku Okamoto
Born in 1998. He won the 1st prize at the 4th BMI International Conducting Competition (2022, Romania). He graduated from Tokyo College of Music in composing/conducting major (conducting). He studied under Junichi Hirokami, Toshifumi Tashiro, Nobutaka Masui, Akihito Mihara, and Toshihiro Yonezu. Currently based in Helsinki, he is studying with Jorma Panula.

William Garfield Walker
He is a three-time recipient of the Sir Georg Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award and the 2023 First Prize winner of the American Prize for Conducting. He was selected for the 2020 Ansbacher Fellowship for a residency at the Salzburg Festival, and served as the Solti Conducting Fellow at Washington National Opera in the 2023/24 season. He is chief conductor of Nova Orchester Wien.