Rafael Payare (born 23 February 1980) is a Venezuelan conductor.

Background

Born in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela, Payare's parents were Trina Torres de Payare, an elementary school teacher, and Juan R. Payare, a cartographer for the city. He began his music studies at age 14 at the in Puerto la Cruz, learning the French horn. He graduated from the . He and his brother Joel each joined

El Sistema El Sistema (which translates to The System) is a publicly financed, voluntary sector, music-education program, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu.Lesniak It later adopted the motto "M ...

. Payare eventually became principal horn of the

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela ( es, Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar de Venezuela) is a Venezuelan orchestra. Named after the Venezuelan national hero Simón Bolívar, it is the apex of the nation's system of youth orches ...

. In 2004, Payare began conducting studies with

José Antonio Abreu José Antonio Abreu Anselmi (May 7, 1939 – March 24, 2018) was a Venezuelan orchestra conductor, pianist, economist, educator, activist, and politician best known for his association with El Sistema. He was honored with the 2009 Latin Grammy T ...

. He won first prize at the

Malko Competition The Malko Competition is an international competition for young conductors. It is held by the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, to commemorate its founding conductor, Nicolai Malko Nicolai Andreyevich Malko (russian: Никола́й Андре� ...

for Young Conductors in May 2012, He subsequently became an assistant conductor to

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

during Abbado's work with the

, and to

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

at the Staatsoper Berlin. In October 2013, Payare first guest-conducted the

Ulster Orchestra The Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, is the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United K ...

. On the basis of this appearance, the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

announced his appointment as its 13th chief conductor, effective with the 2014–2015 season, his first lead orchestral post. In October 2016, the orchestra announced a contract extension through the 2018–2019 season, and also a change in his title from chief conductor to music director. In February 2018, the orchestra announced the scheduled conclusion of his music directorship at the close of the 2018-2019 season. Payare now has the title of conductor laureate of the orchestra. In the United States, Payare worked as an assistant to

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

at the

Castleton Festival The Castleton Festival, launched in the summer of 2009, is a program of The Chateauville Foundation, established in 1997 by Lorin Maazel and Dietlinde Turban-Maazel. The Castleton Festival is located on Lorin Maazel's estate in Castleton, Virgini ...

. Following Maazel's death in 2014, Payare became principal conductor of the festival in 2015. In January 2018, Payare first guest-conducted the

San Diego Symphony The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. The orchestra is resident at Copley Symphony Hall. The orchestra also serves as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera. History On December 6th 1910, the ...

. On the basis of this concert, the San Diego Symphony named Payare as its next music director, effective 1 July 2019 with an initial four-year contract. Payare assumed the title of music director-designate with immediate effect. In October 2020, the San Diego Symphony announced an extension of Payare's contract as music director through the 2025-2026 season. Payare first guest-conducted the

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orche ...

(OSM) in 2018. He returned as a guest conductor of the OSM in 2019. In January 2021, the OSM announced the appointment of Payare as its next music director, effective with the 2022-2023 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons. He held the title of music director-designate for the 2021-2022 season. Payare and the American cellist

Alisa Weilerstein Alisa Weilerstein (born April 14, 1982) is an American classical cellist. She was named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow. Life and career Weilerstein was born in Rochester, New York. to a secular Jewish family. She started playing the cello at age four. ...

married on 18 August 2013. The couple have a daughter, and reside in Berlin.

References

External links

Askonas Holt agency page on Rafael Payare
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payare, Rafael Venezuelan conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Venezuelan classical musicians 21st-century conductors (music) 1980 births Living people 21st-century male musicians People from Puerto la Cruz