Bar Avni

Israeli conductor Bar Avni won the international La Maestra conducting competition in Paris in 2024, receiving four additional prizes. From 2021 to 2024, she served as Chief Conductor of the Bayer Philharmoniker as part of her residency with Bayer Kultur.

Born in Israel and trained as a percussionist, Bar Avni studied conducting with Yoav Talmi, Martin Sieghart and Ulrich Windfuhr and has also been mentored by artists including Barbara Hannigan and Ayelet Geva. Programming plays a central role in her artistic work, with a particular focus on creating carefully curated concert programmes that bring together works from different periods and styles.

In February 2026, Alpha Classics released her debut album Symphonies in 3 movements with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, featuring works by Charlotte Sohy, Darius Milhaud, C. P. E. Bach and Igor Stravinsky.

During the 2025/26 season, Bar Avni conducted the world premiere of Laura Bowler’s The White Book, based on a text by Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang and written for Barbara Hannigan. She also returned to the Orchestre de Paris and conducted its annual concert beneath the Louvre Pyramid.

In 2026, Bar Avni was named a Villa Albertine Artist in Residence. In the 2026/27 season, she opens the season of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and makes debuts with ensembles including the Dresden Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Further engagements include return appearances with the Orchestre de Paris and Basel Chamber Orchestra.

Alongside her concert work, Bar Avni is active in music outreach, leading workshops in schools, hospitals and corporate settings. She uses conducting as a tool for communication, body awareness and non-verbal expression.