“I learned more in a week than in seven years of full-time study”

The Conductors’ Academy has developed under the joint direction of Jonathan Brett and Maciej Żółtowski, both former students of the legendary Russian conductor, Yuri Simonov, who acts as consultant to Conductors’ Academy.
Both directors are performers with a wide range of experience in countries all over the world. As teachers they share their knowledge with complete frankness and generosity of spirit. Our Budapest-based partner organisation for classes since 2019, the Solti Chamber Orchestra, is a group of great skill and sensitivity which – apart from playing brilliantly, of course – is incredibly friendly and supportive to the participants.

Jonathan Brett
As a performer, Jonathan Brett is known for his exceptional interpretative insight and flair combined with brilliance and clarity of technique. Added to a rare sense of daring, these attributes mean that his performances are imbued with a real sense of adventure. As a teacher, he is noted for exceptional knowledge about connecting gesture and sound and the clarity of his explanations as to how this can be most effectively achieved.

Maciej Żółtowski
One of the most versatile and visionary conductors of his generation, Maciej Żółtowski is noted particularly for his interest in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Being himself a composer, he has developed strong links with the contemporary music scene as well as with leading interpreters and the breadth and diversity of his knowledge allows him an unprecedented insight into the music he conducts.