IMG Artists
ILYICH RIVAS
“We now have the phenomenon of Ilyich Rivas already making a name for himself ... On the strength of his Royal Liverpool Philharmonic debut,
he is strikingly, almost disconcertingly good ... we need to keep our eyes on him." The Guardian
Born in Venezuela in 1993, Ilyich Rivas comes from a distinguished musical family. His father Alejandro Rivas was for a number
of seasons, the Music Director of the Metropolitan State Symphony Orchestra (Denver). From the time Ilyich Rivas was a very
young boy, it was clear he had a natural talent for conducting and began studying with his father who continues to be his principal
guide and mentor to this day.
In 2009, Ilyich Rivas was selected as one of seven young conductors from around the world to participate in the prestigious
Cabrillo Festival Conductors Workshop in California, where he made a significant impression on both Marin Alsop and Gustav
Meier. After an audition in front of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), he was awarded the position of Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra/Peabody Institute Conducting Fellow. This two-year position enabled Rivas to study conducting at the
Peabody Conservatory under Meier's guidance and to work closely with Marin Alsop and the BSO. In the summer of 2009, Ilyich
Rivas spent an extensive period of time in Europe at the invitation of Glyndebourne Opera, where he observed rehearsals and
performances mentored primarily by Vladimir Jurowski and then attended the first Verbier Festival Conducting Academy.
In the 2009/10 season, Ilyich Rivas made his professional debut in the US conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a
summer festival concert and made a hugely impressive debut with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the 2010/11 season,
Ilyich Rivas was again invited by Glyndebourne Opera to continue the mentoring programme and he returned to Verbier to make a
significant debut conducting the Festival Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 as well as a semi-staged
performance of La Bohème. Following this success, Ilyich Rivas won the Prix Julius Baer, a prize which is awarded by the Verbier
Festival to a musician of exceptional talent. He also made successful debuts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and with the
Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and travelled to Australia at the invitation of Michael Tilson Thomas to conduct the YouTube
Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. In 2011, he made his Royal Festival Hall debut with Lang Lang and the Youth
Orchestra of Bahia and conducted the Youth Orchestra of the Americas on tour throughout Central America.
Following his successful operatic debut in 2012 conducting Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro for Glyndebourne Touring Opera,
Ilyich returns in the Autumn 2013 to conduct Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel. He has also commenced his position as Assistant
Conductor to the London Philharmonic Orchestra where he is currently working under Vladimir Jurowski’s leadership on the
season’s subscription concerts. In the 2013/14 season, he will make his official Royal Festival Hall debut with the London
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Recent engagements/debuts have included the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stockholm Philharmonic, the Swedish
Radio Symphony, the Euskadi Orchestra (Spain), the Stuttgart Radio Symphony and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestras.
Season 2012/13
Contact: Nicholas Mathias / Nina Apollonov, IMG Artists
Tel: +44 (0)20 7957 5855 – Fax: + 44 (0)20 7957 5801 – Email: nmathias@imgartists.com