Euan Shields, a 24-year-old conductor from the USA/Japan, has won the second Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition. Shields came out on top of more than 200 candidates from six continents.
As the winner, Shields will become assistant to Sir Mark Elder CH CBE, Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra, for the next two years, and will take over the directorship of the Hallé Youth Orchestra. He will take up his new position with the Hallé in September 2023.
Euan Shields said, ‘It’s been a very intense few days of lots of music making and all of this is still resonating in my head. I’m so excited to get to know the entire family of the Hallé Orchestra and to learn as much as possible from the musicians of the Hallé and I’m also very excited to take the Hallé Youth Orchestra on a really exciting musical journey over the course of two years.’
The competition builds on a long-standing partnership between the Hallé and Siemens AG. As well as supporting talented young musicians through the Siemens Arts Program, the two organisations collaborate closely on delivering a variety of educational and community outreach projects.
Music Director of the Hallé Sir Mark Elder said: ‘It has been an enthralling three days and a privilege to observe such wonderful talent. Choosing the winner was very difficult, but I am delighted to welcome Euan Shields as the new Assistant Conductor of the Hallé, and look forward to working with him.’
Stephan Frucht, Artistic Director of the Siemens Arts Program, said: ‘The Hallé Orchestra is a great cultural institution with a great influence on the music scene. The Conductors Competition of the Siemens Arts Program offers young talents the ideal start to a promising career. For Delyana Lazarova, the first prize winner of the Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition in 2020, her win has brought her a real career leap and she has since conducted orchestras all over the world.’
