Biography
"Elinor is a brilliant young conductor. Her Passion for music and natural musicianship will undoubtedly take her far."
Alan Gilbert
Israeli-born and Berlin-based conductor Elinor Rufeizen has emerged as a distinctive artistic voice—an interpreter known for her incisive musical clarity, emotionally charged performances, and deeply human approach to sound and storytelling. Equally at home on the symphonic stage and in the opera pit, she brings a rare combination of analytical precision, imaginative curiosity, and emotional sincerity to every musical setting she leads.
A recent Equilibrium Young Artist under the mentorship of Barbara Hannigan, Elinor has quickly gained recognition through a series of notable debuts, including appearances with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, New Mexico Philharmonic, and a new production of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. The 2024–25 season features conducting debuts with Symphony San Jose and Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, continuing a trajectory marked by adventurous programming and collaborative depth.
Elinor has conducted orchestras across North America and Europe, among them the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, New Jersey Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Juilliard Orchestra, Bridgeport Symphony, Haifa Symphony, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and Metropolis Ensemble. A former conducting fellow at The Dallas Opera, she was selected by Riccardo Muti to work closely with him and conduct in concert excerpts from Verdi’s Nabucco with the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini at the Fondazione Prada in Milan.
Her work is informed by meaningful collaborations with artists such as Emanuel Ax, Gabriela Montero, and Susan Graham, as well as close engagement with living composers including John Adams, Steven Mackey, Missy Mazzoli, Jörg Widmann, Shulamit Ran, Steven Stucky, Philippe Hersant, and Andrew Norman.
A passionate advocate for contemporary music and text-driven repertoire, she is drawn to works that foreground individuality, honesty, and the expressive energy of the human voice. Her artistic approach often explores the intersection of sound, movement, and narrative—performances that feel alive, embodied, and urgently communicative.
In 2024 she completed Zal’Afot, an original work for orchestra composed in the wake of the events of October 7—an intimate fusion of musical structure, historical memory, and vocal expression that reflects her belief in music as a space for reflection, resilience, and shared humanity.
Elinor holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Alan Gilbert and David Robertson, and was awarded the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship, the Charles Schiff Conducting Award, and the Morse Teaching Fellowship. Her earlier musical path included conducting studies at the Buchmann–Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv with Yoav Talmi and Yi-An Xu.
Originally trained as a clarinetist, she earned her bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, later continuing her studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where she collaborated with Daniil Trifonov and members of the Ébène, Kronos, Juilliard, and Cleveland Quartets.Rooted in her Israeli identity, shaped by the European tradition, and inspired by the openness of American music-making, Elinor Rufeizen brings to the podium a perspective that is curious, empathetic, and fearless and music that speaks with clarity, depth, and unmistakable human presence.
