IMG Artists is delighted to welcome conductor Bar Avni to our roster for General Management. She will be represented by Artist Manager Isabelle Cottet, with Kathryn Enticott, Director of Enticott Music Management, consulting.
Avni was triumphant at the 2024 La Maestra competition in Paris, sweeping the board winning the First Prize, the Orchestra Prize, the Arte Prize, the Echo Award and the Prize of the French Concert Halls and Orchestras. Her astute and creative programming coupled with her clear, yet elegant conducting style is capturing the attention of the classical world with performances and invitations with major international orchestras.
She became Chief Conductor of the Bayer Philharmoniker in 2021, the first female conductor to hold this position in the orchestra’s 120-year history. Throughout her tenure, Avni has shown her commitment to the promotion of new, young talent through a number of exciting music education projects developed with the Bayer team.
Bar says: “As I continue my journey in the extraordinary world of music making, I recognize the importance of finding the right partners to illuminate the path ahead. I wish to thank my former manager, Martin Müller, for our time together. I am thrilled and fortunate to announce my new partnership with Isabelle Cottet as my manager, with consultation from Kathryn Enticott. It is truly exhilarating to connect with such dedicated professionals who share my vision for music in this vibrant and exciting industry.”
Isabelle adds: “I was struck by Bar Avni’s musical and leadership skills from the first moment I saw her conduct; I am both privileged and thrilled to be working with her. I could not be happier to embark on this new journey with Bar alongside the team at IMG Artists and Kathryn Enticott.
Kathryn writes: “I really look forward to working with Bar and with Isabelle as a consultant in an advisory capacity. I am extremely impressed by Bar, both as a conductor and as an exceptionally creative programmer. I know she will go far.”
Since her conducting debut in 2016, Bar Avni has worked with a variety of different orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Resonanz, the Sinfonia Varsovia and the Hamburg Camerata. Her flexibility and her curiosity when it comes to programme making and her versatility and ability in a wider range of repertoire are regularly remarked on. Barbara Hannigan has been a key supporter and adviser to Bar Avni and earlier in 2024, Avni made her debuts with the WDR Funkhaus Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony as assistant to Ms Hannigan, sharing the podium at the subsequent concerts. Orchestras Avni has already been invited to conduct in the coming seasons include the Orchestre National de Lille and the Orchestre National de Bordeaux, the Hamburg State Youth Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Kammerorchester Basel as well as assistantship with Klaus Mäkelä in Paris (Orchestre de Paris).
A trained classical percussionist, the Israeli conductor initially performed in her country’s leading orchestras, after which her desire to conduct took her to Tel Aviv where she studied with Yoav Talmi, later becoming the assistant conductor of the Israel Chamber Orchestra under Talmi’s direction. She continued her studies with Martin Sieghart in Graz and Ulrich Windfuhr in Hamburg. In 2017/18, Avni was assistant to General Music Director, Peter Kuhn, at the Bergischer Symphoniker and in 2021, she became the youngest prize-winner and Scholarship holder of the International Kurt Masur Institute.
