SEBASTIAN ALMANZAR

Sebastian Almanzar is Assistant Conductor at the Opéra-Orchestre
National Montpellier Occitanie for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons.

In December 2024, he made his debut with the Royal Danish Opera and
the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, conducting over 30 performances of
Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Earlier that season, he served as Assistant
Conductor to Marie Jacquot with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and
Euskadiko Orchestra, and to Marta Gardolińska at Lorraine National
Opera on Haydn’s The Creation.

He was a semifinalist for the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors
Award at the Salzburg Festival, leading the Mozarteum Orchestra and the
Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik, and reached the final rounds
of the 59th International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors.
In 2020, he was awarded 2nd Prize at the European Union Conducting
Competition in Bulgaria.

Sebastian has led distinguished ensembles including the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Spanish National Orchestra, Orchestre
Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Royal Danish Opera, Vienna Symphony
Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony
Orchestra, Opéra-Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie, Colombian
National Symphony Orchestra.

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In June 2024, he was one of four selected participants in the Ammodo Conducting Masterclass with Paavo Järvi
and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He was also among 12 conductors chosen for the Artist Diploma program
at OAcademy, under the mentorship of Carlos Miguel Prieto, and has participated in masterclasses with Marin
Alsop, Roberto González-Monjas, and Andrés Orozco-Estrada.

Born in Medellín, Colombia, Sebastian began his musical journey as a chorister and choirmaster. He holds a Master’s
degree in Conducting from the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.