Hailed as a “young titan” by the Montreal Gazette after conducting the Montreal Symphony in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Schönberg’s Erwartung, Gregory Vajda has fast become one of the most sought-after conductors on the international scene. Reflecting his growing presence and demand in North America, he has been appointed in 2011 the sixth music director of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra. In January 2026 Vajda was appointed Principal Conductor of Filarmonica de Stat Transilvania in Cluj Napoca, Romania. He has started his tenure as the Principal Conductor of Savaria Symphony in Hungary in the fall of 2022. Following 3 years as Artist in Residence he was named Principal Associated Conductor (Chef Principal Associé) of new music ensemble Ars nova in France for 2024-2026. In Hungary Mr. Vajda is the Artistic Director of the new music ensemble UMZE, and Program Director of the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation.  After concluding his 3 year tenure as Principal Conductor he was named Principal Guest Conductor of the Hungarian Radio Symphony in 2014. He has served as Artistic Director of the Armel International Opera Festival and Competition between 2014 and 2019. For his achievements as a performing artist he has been awarded the Gundel Art Prize in 2001, the Bartók-Pásztory Award in 2018, and the Artisjus Performing Arts Award in 2020. Mr. Vajda holds a DLA degree in conducting.

In the 2026-27 season Gregory Vajda makes his conducting debut at Festival Présences de Radio France (Philharmonie de Paris) and at the International Music Festival in Besançon, France, both with Ensemble Ars Nova. Mr. Vajda also returns to the helm of the Hungarian Radio Symphony and Choir at the Palace of the Arts, Budapest, this time with the Hungarian Premiere of Symphony No. 5 by Philip Glass.

Conducting career highlights:

Atlanta Opera, Baltimore Symphony, Budapest Wagner Days (Lohengrin revival), Ensemble Intercontemporain, Israel Contemporary Players, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Hamburg State Opera, Klangforum Wien, Lanaudiére Festival in Canada, Milano Musica, Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Montreal Symphony, Montreal Opera, Opera Palermo, Staatskapelle Dresden, Seattle Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony. He conducted the final performance of Bartók’s Four Orchestral Pieces, Cantata profana and Bluebeard’s Castle with the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Chorus at the Salzburg Festival in 2008.

World-Renown Artsists Mr. Vajda has Performed with (Selection)

Vocalists: Tommaso Barea, Gábor Bretz, Angela Denoke, Michelle DeYoung, Jennifer Larmore, Sergei Leiferkus, Erika Miklósa, Rebecca Nelsen, László Polgár, Falk Struckman, Linda Watson / Instrumentalists: Alan Baer, Gábor Boldoczki, Chris Coletti, Kirill Gerstein, Vadim Gluzman, Gary Hoffman, Nikolai Lugansky, Barnabás Kelemen, Olga Kern, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Simon Trpčeski, Elina Vähälä, István Várdai, William Vermeulen / Jazz, Etno, Pop: Regina Carter, Béla Fleck, Herbie Hancock, Zakir Hussain, Eileen Ivers, Bobby McFerrin, Edgar Meier, Peter, Paul and Mary, Doc Severinsen, Abigail Washburn

Mr. Vajda’s recordings are published by labels ECM, BMC (Budapest Music Center) and Hungaroton Classics, and are available on all major online platforms.