Jiří Rožeň is rapidly gaining recognition for his thoughtful programming and deep understanding of a wide repertoire. A passionate and dedicated advocate of Czech music, he captivates audiences with his distinctive interpretations of both well-known works and rarely performed pieces by contemporary composers.
In the 2025/26 season, Rožeň makes his debut at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest, at the Opéra de Montréal with the world premiere of Clown(s) by composer Ana Sokolović, at Oper Frankfurt, and with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra Dublin, where he will conduct Dvořák's Stabat Mater. He also returns to the Interlaken Classics Festival, to the Prague Philharmonia, and to the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra, where he will present the Czech premiere of Cerha's cycle Spiegel.
In the 2024/25 season, Rožeň made debuts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Musikkollegium Winterthur, and the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra Ankara, where he conducted Brahms's German Requiem. He also returned to the Hamburg Symphoniker, the Interlaken Classics, the Orchestre National de Metz, and the Slovak State Philharmonic Košice.
On the opera stage, in the past season Rožeň began work on a new opera by Ana Sokolović for the Opéra de Montréal, and conducted Nigel Lowery's highly acclaimed production of Le Grand Macabre at the Prague State Opera. The premiere of this new production in spring 2024 marked the first ever performance of the work in the Czech Republic and opened the Opera Nova Festival, for which Rožeň served as artistic curator.
Among the highlights of the 2023/24 season were his debut at Bergen National Opera with a new production of Janáček's Katya Kabanova and his return to the Gothenburg Opera for a gala concert marking the bicentenary of Bedřich Smetana's birth, following the success of The Bartered Bride in the 2022/23 season.
Rožeň has established himself as a distinctive interpreter of avant-garde opera repertoire, including acclaimed productions of Flammen, The Seven Deadly Sins, and Erwartung for the Prague State Opera. In the summer of 2022, he conducted the Czech premiere of Nono's Prometeo, continuing his close collaboration with the Ostrava Centre for New Music. In Prague, he has also conducted Dvořák's Rusalka.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Jiří Rožeň has collaborated with most of the leading orchestras, including the Czech Philharmonic, Slovak Philharmonic, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOČR), Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOSR), Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, and the Brno Philharmonic. He has also appeared at major festivals such as the Prague Spring International Music Festival, Dvořák Prague Festival, and the Leoš Janáček International Music Festival.
Previous seasons have included debuts in the United States with the Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, and Naples Philharmonic, and across Europe with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, The Hallé, Orchestre National de Metz, MDR Leipzig, Bochumer Symphoniker, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de las Islas Baleares. In Belgium, he has worked with most of the country's leading orchestras.
Among the soloists with whom Jiří Rožeň has collaborated are
Lawrence Brownlee, Mahan Esfahani, Kirill Gerstein, Vadim Gluzman, Alban Gerhardt, Victoria Khoroshunova, Kian Soltani, Josef Špaček, Nobuyuki Tsuji, Lukáš Vondráček, and Arabella Steinbacher.
Born in Prague in 1991, Jiří Rožeň studied conducting at conservatoires and universities in Prague, Salzburg, Hamburg, Zurich, and Glasgow, where he was a recipient of the Leverhulme Conducting Fellowship. He achieved success as a finalist in both the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award and the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition.
He previously served as Assistant Conductor with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, working alongside Donald Runnicles and Thomas Dausgaard, and assisted them at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. His mentors have included Garry Walker, Dennis Russell Davies, Ulrich Windfuhr, and Johannes Schlaefli. Other significant influences on his artistic development include Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, Peter Eötvös, and Daniele Gatti, with whom he took part in masterclasses with orchestras such as the Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.
