Kyrian Friedenberg is a 26-year-old American-Canadian conductor currently serving as Assistant Conductor of the Ensemble intercontemporain at the Philharmonie de Paris through 2026. He first came to international attention after winning the 2022 Neeme Järvi Prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and was awarded a 2024 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award for his artistic achievements.

In the 2025–26 season, he returns for a second year with the Ensemble intercontemporain and makes several major debuts, including with Les Violons du Roy in a play-conduct program in Quebec City and Montreal; l’Orchestre National d’Île-de-France in the Grande Salle Pierre Boulez at the Philharmonie de Paris; l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice; l’Opéra de Bordeaux; and l’Orchestre National de Cannes.

Highlights of the 2024–25 season include his debut with the Ensemble intercontemporain, a return to l’Orchestra della Toscana to close the Sagra Musicale Umbra in Perugia, New Year’s concerts with l’Orchestre National de Metz, and a residency at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Verdi’s Rigoletto. With the Ensemble intercontemporain, he assists Pierre Bleuse in the Grand Soir Edgard Varèse—leading rehearsals for Amériques and Arcana—and in Boulez’s Répons to open the Philharmonie’s Boulez Centenary. He also assists Matthias Pintscher and l’Orchestre National de France at the Festival Présences.

He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris in the class of Alain Altinoglu, and has participated in the Gstaad Conducting Academy (2022) and the Accademia Chigiana (2023), working closely with Jaap van Zweden and Daniele Gatti. He has also taken part in masterclasses with Mikko Franck, Johannes Schlaefli, Baldur Brönnimann, Alexandre Bloch and others. He currently studies Baroque conducting and Maestro al cembalo with Leonardo García-Alarcón at the Haute École de Musique de Genève.

He has served as assistant conductor to 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 the Ensemble intercontemporain. In 2023, he assisted Leonardo García-Alarcón in a production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Conservatoire de Paris, conducting one performance from the harpsichord. García-Alarcón’s mentorship has been instrumental in shaping Kyrian’s approach to programming, fostering a deep interest in juxtaposing early and contemporary repertoire.

He has previously conducted the Orchestre National de Lille, Ensemble intercontemporain, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Sinfonie-Orchester Biel Solothurn, Orchestre de Picardie, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Moravska Filarmonica, Orchestra Senzaspine, and Orchestre des Lauréats du Conservatoire.

Before turning to conducting, Kyrian worked as a professional actor, appearing in 332 performances of the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone (dir. Arthur Laurents), as well as in several Off- and Off-Off-Broadway productions, including a lead role in Ron Hirsen’s Frugal Repast at the Abingdon Theater in Manhattan. He also performed widely as a boy soprano, singing 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.

Originally from New York City, Kyrian holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from McGill University and now resides in Paris.