José Salazar

Born in 1997, on Margarita Island, Venezuela, José Salazar is a young conductor with considerable experience, a wide repertoire and a flair for programming. He has been appointed Jette Parker Ballet Conductor at the Royal Opera House in London, working with the Royal Ballet for the 23/24 and 24/25 seasons. From 2018 until 2023, he worked as Artistic and Music Director of El Sistema Greece, performing and programming concerts in Greece’s most prestigious concert venues and festivals, while continuing to accept multiple invitations as a guest conductor internationally.

Featured as one of Classic FM’s Rising Stars 2025, José initially came to prominence at around 14 years old, and has since conducted innumerable concerts in his native Venezuela and abroad.  His work and story has received coverage on China National TV, Reuters and in The Guardian amongst others. Always dynamic, attentive, and meticulous, José was also selected as an assistant for Gustavo Dudamel and Christian Vasquez in preparation for multiple performances, recordings, and international tours.

Initiated in conducting by his mentor Felipe Izcaray, José has also participated in masterclasses with prestigious conductors, such as Riccardo Muti, Dick van Gasteren, Manfred Huss at the Swarowsky Akademie, Rüdiger Bohn at the Robert Schumann Hochschule, Alejandro Posada, Philippe Auguin, Eduardo Marturet, Christoph Eschenbach and Michalis Economou. Being educated within El Sistema, José attended conducting studies at the Special Program for Academic Development in Caracas with Gregory Carreño. An exceptional student, he was selected to participate in an international exchange with the University of Göteborg, Sweden, for the master program of Orchestral Performance. In 2020, aged 23, José participated in the first edition of the Arthur Nikisch Conducting Competition, where he was a finalist.

Recent highlights include José’s US debut at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Symphony Orchestra of the YOLA National Festival, working closely and under the guidance of Gustavo Dudamel (July 2024), concert performances with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, and his Birmingham Royal Ballet debut, conducting performances of Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée (October 2024).

Born and raised in a family of educators, José is an avid enthusiast for languages and is fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, Greek and is currently learning French and German.

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