We are delighted to welcome Swiss-Australian conductor, Elena Schwarz, to Sulivan Sweetland for general management. 

Schwarz (b. 1985) is currently assistant conductor to Mikko Franck at the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, an appointment which has been extended until the end of the 2017/18 season. In May she stepped in at the last minute to conduct a programme of works by Ravel at Maison de Radio (Ma mère l’Oye, Shéhérazade, Daphnis et Chloé).

After studies in cello and musicology at Geneva University she took up conducting studies with Laurent Guy and Arthur Tamayo at the University of Geneva and Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana. This was followed by further studies and masterclasses with Peter Eötvös, Matthias Pintscher, Bernard Haitink and Neeme Järvi. 

Elena Schwarz’s success in the Panula Competition (2nd Prize, 2015), and Princess Astrid Competition (1st Prize, 2014) was followed by her appointment as the first ever Joint Assistant Conductor to two orchestras in Australia: Asher Fisch at the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Marko Letonja at the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra where this season she conducts a range of programmes and repertoire.
 
Her recent performances also include the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta de Lausanne and Orchestre de Cannes, and “Portraits” of Nicolas Bacri with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and of Olga Neuwirth with the Lucerne Festival Academy. She collaborates regularly with contemporary music ensembles such as Contrechamps, Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain and Argonaut.  Her first commercial recording of Berg's Chamber Concerto with Renaud Capuçon and Marta Argerich was released last week on Warner Classics.