All the finalists had to perform the Largo from the only symphony composed by Svetlanov, the legendary Russian conductor who died in 2002 and set up the competition as his bequest.<\/p>\n
Ninety minutes before the concert they were also each given the same new piece to conduct, Il Re d\u2019Itaca by Antonino Abate.<\/p>\n
The finalists had to choose one symphony to rehearse and perform. Oren opted for Dvorak\u2019s Seventh Symphony and impressed the ten judges \u2013 who voted unanimously for her \u2013 not only with her performance but with her rehearsal technique. The concert took the form of a dress rehearsal, with each finalist spending around half their allotted time working with the orchestra.<\/p>\n
Oren studied at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London, after being awarded degrees in conducting and clarinet at the\u00a0 \u00a0Buchman-Mehta School of Music<\/a> in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n This season she starts as Calleva Assistant Conductor at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and was named earlier this year as a rising star by Classic FM.<\/p>\n The runner-up, 34-year-old Mikhail Mering, also began as a clarinettist but moved to conducting, which he studied at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory.<\/p>\n