José Salazar
About this Artist
Born in 1997 on Margarita Island, Venezuela, José Salazar is a young conductor with considerable experience, a wide repertoire, and a flair for programming. He was appointed Jette Parker Ballet Conductor at the Royal Opera House in London, where he has been working with the Royal Ballet through 2025. From 2018 to 2023, he worked as Artistic and Music Director of El Sistema Greece, performing and programming concerts in Greece’s most prestigious concert venues and festivals while continuing to accept multiple invitations as a guest conductor internationally.
Having initially come to prominence at the age of 14, José has conducted innumerable concerts in his native Venezuela and abroad, collaborating with different professional and youth orchestras. His work and story have received coverage on China Central Television, Reuters, and in The Guardian, among other outlets. Always dynamic, attentive, and meticulous, José was also selected as an assistant for Gustavo Dudamel and Christian Vásquez for multiple performances, recordings, and international tours.
Mentored by Felipe Izcaray, José has also participated in master classes with prestigious conductors, such as Riccardo Muti, Dick van Gasteren, Manfred Huss at the Hans Swarowsky Akademie, Rüdiger Bohn at the Robert Schumann Hochschule, Alejandro Posada, Philippe Auguin, Eduardo Marturet, Christoph Eschenbach, and Michalis Economou. Being educated within El Sistema, José attended conducting studies at the Special Program for Academic Development in Caracas with Gregory Carreño. An exceptional student, he was selected to participate in an international exchange with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden as part of its Master’s program in orchestral performance. In 2020 at age 23, José participated in the first edition of the Arthur Nikisch Conducting Competition, where he was a finalist.
Recent highlights include José’s US debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall conducting the YOLA National Symphony Orchestra during the YOLA National Festival, working closely under the guidance of Gustavo Dudamel (July 2024) and his Birmingham Royal Ballet debut, conducting several performances of Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée (October 2024).
Born and raised in a family of educators, José is an avid enthusiast for languages and is fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, and Greek and is currently interested in French and German.