Bio
Yaroslav Shemet
Yaroslav Shemet
Yaroslav Shemet is a conductor recognised for his orchestra-building leadership and insightful, architecturally expressive interpretations. With extensive experience across symphonic and operatic repertoire, he serves as the Artistic Director of the Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice and the General Music Director of the Baltic State Opera in Gdańsk, making him the youngest director in the history of both institutions. From 2020 to 2022, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Neue Philharmonie Hamburg, and in the 2020/2021 season he held the position of Chief Conductor of the INSO-Lviv Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic in Lviv. In the 2023/2024 season, he received nominations for several prestigious awards, including the International Opera Awards (Rising Star category), the Polityka Passports and the Fryderyk Award.
Shemet commands an exceptionally broad symphonic repertoire, encompassing the core Austro-German tradition as well as Central and Eastern European music and contemporary works. Before the age of thirty, he conducted complete symphonic cycles of Mahler, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms, with a particular artistic focus on the music of Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner. Alongside this, he maintains a deep and sustained engagement with the works of Karol Szymanowski, Antonín Dvořák, Witold Lutosławski, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, and other composers of the Central and Eastern European tradition.
He began his conducting career at the age of 13, subsequently developing an international career across Europe and Asia. He has led renowned ensembles including the Orchestra of the National Theatre in Prague, Staatstheater Braunschweig, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia and the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, among others. His performances have taken place in major international venues such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konserthuset Stockholm, the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Harbin Opera House, as well as at festivals in Bayreuth, Munich and Hong Kong. He has collaborated with distinguished soloists including Sonya Yoncheva, Tomasz Konieczny and Roman Simović.
“The energy that this young conductor passes on to his orchestra is incredible!”
Sebastian Koik, "Klassik Begeister"“Shemet performed at the filled-up-to-capacity Elbphilharmonie exhibiting his youthful and untamed temperament. He lives on music and breaths it – by conducting he presented all his skills.”
Marion Nevoigt, "Das Opernmagazine"“The orchestra, which plays well and in time […], gains a deep sound under the baton of Yaroslav Shemet who conducts almost in an organic way.”
Łukasz Rudziński, trojmiasto.pl“While interpreting the old Haydn’s piece, Shemet and his musicians breathed a new life into it. As if one listened to it for the first time – it was vigorous, fresh, delicate and balanced (…).”
Sebastian Koik, "Klassik Begeister"
In the operatic field, his career began in 2018 at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk with a production of Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers. He later became Music Director of the Baltic Opera, where he developed a broad and stylistically diverse repertoire, spanning Classical and Romantic opera, works of the twentieth century and contemporary music. His productions in Gdańsk include Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger, Stanisław Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor, Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, Georges Bizet’s Carmen and Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème. He has also conducted Richard Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer both at the Baltic Opera Festival and in subsequent performances at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk.
Alongside his work in Gdańsk, Shemet has appeared at major opera houses in Poland and abroad. In the 2023/2024 season, he made his debut at the National Theatre in Warsaw, conducting a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. In the 2025/2026 season, he appears at the National Theatre in Prague, conducting Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, and leads a new production of Richard Strauss’s Salome at the Wrocław Opera. At the Silesian Opera, he conducted Mozart’s La finta giardiniera and a new production of Puccini’s La rondine. He has also collaborated with the Odessa National Opera, conducting productions of Bizet’s Carmen and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. In May 2026, he conducts the premiere of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk.
Shemet is also actively engaged in contemporary opera. He conducted the world premiere of The Monster’s Voice(Głos Potwora) by Aleksander Nowak at the Malta Festival, further expanding his involvement in new music and interdisciplinary projects.
Born in 1996, Yaroslav Shemet began his musical education at the age of three. After completing primary music studies in voice, piano and clarinet, he was invited to pursue conducting studies at the Kharkiv Conservatory. During this period, he received awards at several international competitions, including those held in Milan and Theodosia. At the age of 17, he continued his education at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, studying conducting under Prof. Warcisław Kunc. During his studies, he founded the Musique Moderne Orchestra, dedicated to contemporary music, and initiated the Polish Symphony Orchestra project, serving as its Artistic Director and bringing together outstanding young musicians from across Poland. In 2018–2019, he worked as assistant conductor to Oksana Lyniv, Artistic Director of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. He further expanded his education at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, studying under Prof. Johannes Wildner. At the age of 22, he graduated magna cum laude from the Academy of Music in Poznań, marking the beginning of his parallel career as an academic teacher.
From 2018 to 2023, Shemet served as the youngest academic teacher at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, where he taught at the Institute of Conducting. He has also been a lecturer at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. Beyond his academic appointments, he regularly conducts masterclasses for young conductors in Poznań, Lviv and Kharkiv, and has served as a jury member at international competitions including the International Grzegorz Fitelberg Conducting Competition in Katowice and the International Polish Music Competition in Rzeszów.
