BORJAN CANEV

With a career spanning both at home and abroad, Macedonian conductor Borjan Canev continues to be one of the most sought-after conductors in N. Macedonia and the wider region. With recent debuts at the Krakow Philharmonic, North Czech Philharmonic, Sofia Philharmonic and Philharmonic Orchestra of N. Macedonia, Borjan balances his career between live performances and his teaching capacity as a professor of conducting. During his 20 season tenure as a principal conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of N. Macedonia, his contribution in raising the ensemble’s level was significantly important. As an educator and musician mentor, Maestro Canev guided many generations of musicians finding their professional path at home and abroad. Winning the prestigious “Virtuosi - Best music performer” (2014) award and the "Georgi Bozhikov" (2010) prize for best performance of works by Macedonian composers, he positioned himself as one of the finest musicians in N. Macedonia. A graduate of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University - Faculty of music in Skopje, Canev earned his master’s degree at the State Academy of Music in Sofia and following his studies, he was immediately appointed conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of N. Macedonia, a post he held until 2019. 2000-2001 he spent at the Royal College of Music-London earning his Postgraduate Diploma in Performance - Conducting, during which time, he attended master classes with renowned conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Danielle Gatti, Janos Fürst. Later he was awarded the "August Manns” (2001) prize for best young conductor at the Royal College of Music – London. One of the most important periods of his early career was the opportunity to be Sir Colin Davis associate conductor at the Royal Opera School production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”. Later he was invited to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra as part of the LSO Discovery Conducting Masterclass with Sir Colin Davis. In the following years, Canev conducts numerous concerts with the Philharmonic Orchestra of N. Macedonia and its Chamber orchestra at home and abroad - Rome, Paris, Istanbul, Prague, Caen as well tours in Poland, USA and Kazakhstan. In the period 2003-2006 he was principal conductor of the "Skopje Soloists" Chamber Orchestra and from 2006-2009 he was appointed as a permanent guest conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. At the National Opera and Ballet in Skopje, he conducted few performances of Verdi’s “La Traviata”, the premiere of the new production of Mozart’s "The Magic Flute" and the premiere of the ballet “Alexander” by the composer Ljubomir Brangjolica. In October 2015 he conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra of N. Macedonia on the orchestra's first tour in the USA, including two concerts in New York at the famous venues like Carnegie Hall and Kaufman music center. Apart from his native Philharmonic Orchestra of N. Macedonia, maestro Canev has appeared a number of prominent orchestras such as: London Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Arad Philharmonic Orchestra, Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, Wagner Society Orchestra Tokyo, Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra, Croatian Chamber Orchestra, Zadar Chamber Orchestra, Macedonian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta - Sofia, Orchestra of the National Opera and Ballet in Skopje, the Jeunesses Musicales Macedonia Chamber Orchestra, "Skopje soloists" Chamber Orchestra, the contemporary music ensemble "Alea", and so on. He performed with renowned soloists such as: Ivo Pogorelich, Johannes Moser, Gautier Capucon, Sergei Nakariakov, Sayaka Shoji, Daniel Müller-Shott, Kiril Troussov, Sergio Tiempo, Ilya Gringolts, Akiko Suwanai, Simon Trpceski, Alexei Ogrintchouk, Zhang Zuo (Zee Zee), Tine Thing Helseth, Joseph Alessi, Stefan Milenkovic, Roman Simovic, David Garrett, Yuri Minenko, Stjepan Hauser, Kristof Barati, Monika Leskovar, Xavier Phillips, Janos Balint, Emmanuel Ceysson, Peter Lucas-Graf, Branimir Slokar,  Antal Zalai, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Ana Durlovski and Blagoj Nacoski among many others. He has conducted various performances at renowned festivals in his homeland such as: Ohrid Summer Festival, Skopje Summer Festival, May Opera Evenings, Days of Macedonian Music, and at festivals abroad including George Enescu, Kotor Art, Zagreb Summer evenings, Varna Summer, NOMUS, World of music Zagreb etc. Borjan Canev has appeared as conductor in USA, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Turkey, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan and has recorded music for the Macedonian radio and television, Bulgarian national radio as well as for the FAMES Project in N. Macedonia. At the moment Borjan Canev is a professor at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University - Faculty of music in Skopje, while continuing to hold the post of regular guest conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of N. Macedonia.   Biography for Season 2024/2025 Any changes must be approved prior to publishing.