Rafael Payare

conductor

Rafael Payare’s innate musicianship, technical brilliance, and charismatic energy on the podium have established him as one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation. The 2025–26 season marks his fourth as Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and his sixth as Music Director of the San Diego Symphony.

From 2014 to 2019, Payare served as Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra, with whom he made two appearances at the BBC Proms (2016 and 2019). In recognition of his significant artistic contributions to the orchestra and to the City of Belfast, he now holds the title of Conductor Laureate.

Payare regularly works with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Wiener Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Staatskapelle Berlin, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the New York Philharmonic. In the 2025–26 season, highlights include his debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and return engagements with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras.

The 2024–25 season saw Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony inaugurate San Diego’s newly renovated Jacobs Music Center. With the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Payare opened the season with a performance of Schoenberg’s monumental Gurre-Lieder, marking the composer’s 150th anniversary. This milestone was further commemorated with the release of an all-Schoenberg album — their third collaboration on the Pentatone label — adding to a rapidly growing and critically acclaimed discography.

As an opera conductor, Payare has led acclaimed productions at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Festival, Staatsoper Berlin, Royal Swedish Opera and the Royal Danish Opera.

Dedicated to nurturing the next generation of musicians, Payare maintains a close relationship with the Royal College of Music in London, where he leads the Symphony Orchestra each season. He has also worked with youth ensembles including the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Americas, and the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia.

Born in 1980, Payare is a graduate of the renowned El Sistema program in Venezuela. He began his formal conducting studies in 2004 under the guidance of José Antonio Abreu and has since conducted all of Venezuela’s major orchestras, including the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.