Assistant conductors
The annual competition for the recruitment of assistant conductors has led to the appointment of Canadian conductor Maria Fuller (35, previously noted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin) and young Finnish-British conductor Ross Jamie Collins (24, a student of Jorma Panula and Esa-Pekka Salonen). They will be joining the OPRL family for one season, alongside Lionel Bringuier.
MARIA FULLER
Canadian conductor Maria Fuller (35) radiates energy, versatility, and contagious enthusiasm. Selected by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, she is among the Canadian conductors invited to take part in a unique mentorship in Montreal with him and the Orchestre Métropolitain.
A pianist, trumpeter, award-winning composer, and acclaimed arranger, she also stands out as a vocal coach. Trained at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati and at McGill University in Montreal, she currently serves as Resident Conductor at the Grand Theatre in Łódź (Poland) and is co-founder of Ammolite Opera in Calgary (Alberta, Canada). A finalist at the Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conducting Competition (Poland, 2023), she has conducted numerous orchestras across Canada and Europe and continues to pursue a distinguished international career.
ROSS JAMIE COLLINS
Born in 2001 in Nottingham (United Kingdom), Finnish-British conductor Ross Jamie Collins is also an accomplished cellist, pianist, and baritone. At the age of 15, he conducted his first full symphonic concert. He went on to study with Jorma Panula—who has trained some of the most prominent conductors of recent decades—in Finland, and with Esa-Pekka Salonen in Los Angeles.
Winner of the Panula Competition, he has conducted numerous European orchestras. A Dudamel Fellow in Los Angeles in 2023–2024 and Resident Conductor in Iceland, he will join the symphony orchestras of Boston, Helsinki, Tokyo, and Taipei in the 2024–2025 season, among others. He will also lead the American tour of Icelandic artist Laufey. Collins has collaborated with major figures such as Andrew Davis, Yuja Wang, and the San Francisco Symphony.