Mischa
Damev

Multi-talented Mischa Damev received his first music lessons from his grandfather Michael Lefterov, a famous Bulgarian conductor. He completed his piano studies at the Musikhochschule in Basel in 1986 with a soloist diploma. From 1990 to 1999, he was the artistic director of the Orpheum International Festival for Young Soloists in Zurich and led the Swiss Lilienberg recital series and the Lilienberg Foundation Art & Culture Division from 1992 to 2007. In 2000, he became a Trustee of the London International Master Prize Competition for Contemporary Symphonic Music.

In 1991, Damev switched from a concert pianist career to intensive conducting studies. After his successful debut with the Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio and the Sofia Opera House, he has conducted major orchestras in Europe, including the Orchestra del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and many others. He has also worked with prestigious Russian orchestras, including the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and Russian National Orchestra.

In the 2004/2005 season, he shared the podium with Georges Prêtre for productions of Carmen at Santa Cecilia and Pelleas and Melisande at La Scala. Since 2006, he has performing across many European stages and has conducted regularly in China since 2011, including tours with the China Philharmonic Orchestra.

In the 2016/2017 season, he conducted Russian orchestras and was invited to the Sao Paulo Opera Theatre. He also conducted Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Mariinsky Theatre. In 2018, Damev conducted the Russian National Orchestra at the Rachmaninoff Festival and was part of the jury at the Nutcracker competition.

Throughout the 2019/2020 season, he conducted with the Mariinsky Orchestra and Russian National Orchestra and performed with the Hungarian National Symphony Orchestra. He also continues his work as the intendant of the Migros-Kulturprozent-Classics and as artistic director of the Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey festival.