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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 the following year to make his acclaimed debut with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has established a busy series of debuts and returns including main season concerts with Gothenburg Symphony, Bremer Philharmoniker, Staatsorchester Hannover, Copenhagen Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Sinfonica di Milano, Slovenian Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony, NFM Wroclaw, Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Bournemouth Symphony, Orquestra de Valencia and Tiroler Symphonieorchester.
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​Other highlights have included concerts with the Munich Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Dresdner Philharmonie, Camerata Salzburg, Hallé and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, among many others. He has worked closely with leading conductors including Sir Mark Elder, François-Xavier Roth, Thomas Dausgaard, Sir Roger Norrington and Lahav Shani. At the start of his career, he served for two seasons as Conducting Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and assistant conductor at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He also founded and directed the successful London-based period instrument orchestra Wond'rous Machine.
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Joel Sandelson studied at Cambridge University, where he graduated first in his year with a double starred first in Music and twice won the university conducting competition. He went on to study conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, where he gained the DipRAM prize, alongside further study at Tanglewood and in masterclasses with leading conductors. Originally a cellist, early highlights included solo recitals at Wigmore Hall, premieres of notable contemporary works, and collaborations as a baroque cellist with several early music ensembles.
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