Dayner Tafur-Díaz prevails in the conducting competition against 68 applicants from 29 countries
26-year-old conductor from Peru will begin working with Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker on October 1, 2024
Scholarship includes serving as project-based assistant to chief conductor Kirill Petrenko and guest conductors of the Karajan Academy and Berliner Philharmoniker
Peruvian conductor Dayner Tafur-Díaz has won the International Conductors Competition by Siemens and the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. The 26-year-old up-and-coming conductor won out the competition in the Berlin Philharmonic against 68 applicants from 29 countries. Tafur-Díaz impressed the jury with his performance of Richard Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, among other things. Tafur-Díaz has won a two-year scholarship. In addition to collaborating on concert projects of the Karajan Academy, the conducting scholarship includes acting as project-based assistant to the chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko, and visiting guest conductors. Among other activities this coming season, Tafur-Díaz will take part in rehearsals and concerts with conductor Ivan Repuši? and the 2024–2025 Artist in Residence of the Berliner Philharmoniker, pianist Seong-Jin Cho. In one of the carte blanche concerts of the Karajan Academy, Tafur-Díaz will also have an opportunity to introduce himself to the Berlin audience.
“I have no doubt that we will hear a lot more from Dayner Tafur-Díaz in the next few years,” said Stephan Frucht, Artistic Director of the Siemens Arts Program and jury member. “He impressed us in the selection process with his precision. The Siemens Conductors Scholarship is intended to enable up-and-coming talents to achieve and professionally develop their artistic excellence and musical vision.”
The selection process was carried out in two stages: after reviewing 69 selected applications, the Siemens Arts Program and the Karajan Academy invited three finalists to each lead a rehearsal with a chamber orchestra made up of members of the Karajan Academy, and then speak with the jury in a follow-up discussion at the Berlin Philharmonic on June 9, 2024. The jury consisted of Andrea Zietzschmann, General Manager of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation, Eva-Maria Tomasi, Orchestra Board Member and member of the 2nd Violin Group of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Stefan Dohr, Orchestra Board Member and Principal Horn of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Stefan Schweigert, Principal Bassoonist of the Berliner Philharmoniker, and Simon Rössler, Managing Director of the Karajan Academy and Percussionist of the Berliner Philharmoniker, as well as the Artistic Director of the Siemens Arts Program, Stephan Frucht.
Simon Rössler, Managing Director of the Karajan Academy, said: “I am delighted to welcome Dayner Tafur-Díaz, a new conducting scholarship holder, to the Karajan Academy. By working on concerts and projects at the Karajan Academy and with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the scholarship offers aspiring conductors the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the work of experienced conductors and musicians and to learn from them. I would like to thank the Siemens Arts Program for supporting this two-year scholarship.”
The Siemens Conductors Scholarship was supported for the first time in 2021. At that time, the winners were Christian Blex and Oscar Jockel.
The Siemens Arts Program is active in the fields of music, the visual arts, and cultural education, and sees itself as a creative platform for company-sponsored projects in the arts and culture. It creates innovative projects with outstanding individuals and institutions throughout the arts and culture scene.
One important aim of the program is to nurture excellent new rising talent worldwide. It does so by sponsoring its own emerging talent competitions and forging links between young artists and established international cultural institutions, such as the Bavarian State Opera, Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Salzburg Festival, and the ARD International Music Competition.
Press pictures

see & read more on
https://press.siemens.com/global/en/pressrelease/emerging-conductor-dayner-tafur-diaz-wins-siemens-conductors-scholarship