Venezuelan conductor José Ángel Salazar made his Birmingham Royal Ballet debut in 2024, conducting Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée. He joined the Jette Parker Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House for the 2023/24 Season as Ballet Conductor. From 2018 to 2023, he was Artistic and Music Director of El Sistema Greece and its youth orchestra. Salazar began conducting with his mentor Felipe Izcaray and has participated in many masterclasses including with Ricardo Muti, Alejandro Posada and Rüdiger Bohn. Educated within El Sistema, he studied conducting at the Program for Academic Development and took courses at University of Göteborg in Sweden. In 2020, he was a finalist in the Arthur Nikisch Conducting Competition and took part in the Deutscher DirigentPreis 2021. An advocate for music education and social action, Salazar has served as music director of various young and professional ensembles in his native Venezuela and internationally. He works regularly as a teacher for international programmes including the Academy of Impact Through Music and the International Teaching Artist Collaborative. Recent highlights include José’s US debut at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Symphony Orchestra of the YOLA National Festival, working closely and under the guidance of Gustavo Dudamel (July 2024).