Joel Sandelson came to international attention in summer 2021 after winning the prestigious Salzburg Festival Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award.
He returned to the Salzburg Festival in summer 2022 to make his acclaimed debut with the RSO Wien and highlights of the 22-23 season include his debuts with the Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, Dresdner Philharmonie and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
Joel has recently worked with orchestras including the Philharmonia, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Camerata Salzburg, Hallé, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
In 2020 he completed two seasons as Assistant Conductor at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Leverhulme Conducting Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He is also founder and director of the London-based period instrument orchestra Wond’rous Machine. He has assisted conductors including Sir Mark Elder, François-Xavier Roth, Thomas Dausgaard, Edward Gardner, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Jac van Steen.
Sandelson graduated from Cambridge University with a double starred First in music and went on to study conducting at the Royal Academy of Music with Sian Edwards, gaining the DipRAM prize. Joel has also studied at Tanglewood as well as in masterclasses with Sir Roger Norrington, Martyn Brabbins, Thomas Søndergård, Joseph Swensen, Jorma Panula and Mark Stringer. He won third prize at the Siemens-Hallé International Conductors Competition in 2020, and at Cambridge he won first prize in the Cambridge University Conducting Competition in 2014 and 2015. Originally a cellist, early highlights included solo recitals at Wigmore Hall and concertos with orchestras in the UK and Europe.
Photo credit Jon Holloway