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Joel Sandelson’s engaging and insightful musicianship was recognised internationally in 2021 after winning the Salzburg Festival Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award. He returned to Salzburg in summer 2022 to make his acclaimed debut with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Other recent and upcoming engagements include concerts with Dresdner Philharmonie, Staatsorchester Stuttgart, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, Copenhagen Philharmonic, NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic, Slovenian Philharmonic and Staatsorchester Hannover.
Joel has previously made successful debuts with orchestras including the Philharmonia, Camerata Salzburg, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orquestra de València, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, among others. In 2020 he completed two seasons as assistant conductor at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and has worked closely with conductors including Sir Mark Elder, François-Xavier Roth, Thomas Dausgaard, Sir Roger Norrington and Lahav Shani. He previously founded and directed the London-based period instrument orchestra Wond'rous Machine.
Joel Sandelson studied music at Cambridge University, where he twice won the conducting competition, and went on to study conducting at the Royal Academy of Music with Sian Edwards, gaining the DipRAM prize. He also studied at Tanglewood and in masterclasses with Martyn Brabbins, Jorma Panula and Thomas Søndergård. Originally a cellist, early highlights included solo recitals at Wigmore Hall, premieres of several notable contemporary works, and collaborations as a baroque cellist with leading early music ensembles.
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