Julia Kurzydlak – Assistant Conductor 2025/26

In June 2024, Julia Kurzydlak took part in Paavo Järvi's Conductors' Academy at the Tonhalle Zurich - and impressed not only our music director, but also those sitting in the auditorium. After the final concert, she received both the "Paavo Järvi Scholarship" for his festival in Pärnu and the Audience Award.

In the 2025/26 season, another Zurich chapter will follow for her: As Paavo Järvi's Assistant Conductor, Julia Kurzydlak will accompany all of his projects with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. She will sit in on rehearsals, check the sound balance, note technical and interpretational details and compare what she hears with the score. And she will also conduct herself: On 11 January 2026, she will conduct the orchestra in the family concert "The Frog Prince" with works by Rodolphe Schacher and Thomas Adès. She will also conduct the two final concerts in the "Kunterwunderbunt" series on 5 July.

Julia Kurzydlak studies at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. She completed her bachelor's degree with Tomasz Bugaj and is currently studying for a master's degree with Rafał Janiak. She has taken part in masterclasses, including with Marin Alsop at the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. Her great passion is contemporary music. She has premiered numerous works by young composers. she made her debut at the Warsaw Autumn Festival in 2022. As an assistant conductor, she has worked with artists such as Andrzej Boreyko, Rafał Janiak, Lilianna Krych and Paweł Przytocki.