The following candidates were nominated for the international competition for concert and opera conducting, to take place from 11th through 18th October 2019 in Cologne: Johannes Braun, Ka Hou Fan, Julio García Vico, Niklas Benjamin Hoffmann, Gábor Hontvári, Nicolas Kierdorf, Marc Leroy-Calatayud, Simon Proust, Vitaly Shevelev, Chloé van Soeterstède, Katharina Wincor and Johannes Zahn.

The Conductors' Forum of the German Music Council (Dirigentenforum des Deutschen Misikrates) organises the competition in partnership with the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cologne Opera, the Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne and the WDR Symphony Orchestra. Conductors from all nations 32 years of age or younger were allowed to apply.

The jury, presided by Lothar Zagrosek, did a video-based preselection between 3rd and 4th of May 2019. Part of this jury were also Siegwald Bütow (WDR Symphony Orchestra), Patrick Hahn and Ulrike Schäfer (Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne) as well as Michael Mund (Cologne Opera). The candidates Johannes Braun and Gábor Hontvári qualified for the German Conductors’ Award through their successful participation in the Conductors’ Forum (Dirigentenforum), which is involved in several jury decisions.

As of the 2nd evaluation round, the competition is open for the general public, starting on 16th October 2019 at 10 a.m. in Cologne’s Philharmonie concert hall. Tickets for the final concert, on 18th October 2019 at 8 p.m. – involving the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne as well as the singers of the ensemble and the International Opera Studio of Cologne’s Opera – can be procured in due time under: koelner-philharmonie.de and koelnticket.de.