At 25 years old, American-Canadian conductor Kyrian Friedenberg is the Assistant Conductor of the Ensemble Intercontemporain at the Philharmonie de Paris through 2026. He came to international attention as the winner of the Neeme Järvi Prize 2022 at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and gave his debut with the Kammerorchester Basel in June 2023. In recognition of his achievements, he has been awarded a 2024 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award.

The 24/25 season’s highlights include his subscription debut with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, a return to l’Orchestra della Toscana to close the Festivale Sagra Musicale Umbra Perugia, New Year’s concerts with l’Orchestre National de Metz, and a residency at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Verdi’s Rigoletto. With the Ensemble intercontemporain, he assists Pierre Bleuse in the Grand Soir Edgard Varèse leading the first rehearsals of Varèse’s Amériques and Arcana, and then in Boulez’s Répons for the opening of the Boulez Centenary celebrations at the Philharmonie de Paris. With l’Orchestre National de France, he assists Matthias Pintscher for the Festival Présences.

He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 2020 where he has been mentored by Alain Altinoglu. He has participated in prestigious academies including the Gstaad Conducting Academy (2022) and the Accademia Chigiana (2023), where he worked closely with Jaap van Zweden and Daniele Gatti. He has worked in masterclasses with Mikko Franck, Johannes Schlaefli, Baldur Brönnimann, Pascal Rophé, Arie van Beek, and Alexandre Bloch.

He has served as an assistant conductor for Jonathan Nott, Pierre Bleuse, Stephanie Childress, Geoffroy Jourdain, and Johanna Malangré, with orchestras including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre National de Bretagne, and l’Ensemble Intercontemporain. Kyrian assisted Leonardo Alarcón in a 2023 production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Conservatoire de Paris, which he conducted from the harpsichord for a performance. Along with his association with l’Ensemble Intercontemporain, Leonardo Alarcón’s influence and mentorship led to Kyrian’s interest in programming the book-ends of the repertoire alongside each other.

Previously, he has conducted the Kammerorchester Basel, l’Ensemble Intercontemporain, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, l’Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Sinfonie-Orchester Biel Solothurn, l’Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, the Moravska Filarmonica, Orchestra Senzaspine, l’Orchestre des Lauréats du Conservatoire, and the Richmond Symphony.

Before turning to music, Kyrian spent several years working as a young professional actor, appearing in 332 performances of the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone (dir. Arthur Laurents), as well as several other Off and Off-Off Broadway shows including a lead role in Ron Hirsen’s Frugal Repast at the Abingdon Theater in Manhattan. In addition, he had a blossoming operatic career as a boy soprano, with title roles in Nico Muhly’s Two Boys, Peter Ash’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Having grown up in New York City, he completed a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Organ Performance at McGill University (Montréal, Canada) in 2020. He now lives in Paris.