The order of appearance has been drawn by the chair of the jury, David Alberman, and competition founder Donatella Flick.
In round one, competitors will conduct the London Symphony Orchestra in one of three works: Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 or Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1.
The five-strong Polish contingent, which also includes Zofia Kiniorska, Aleksandra Melaniuk, Jakub Montewka and Jakub Przybycień, is the largest national group at the prestigious British conducting competition.
Also represented are France with four participants, Germany with three and the UK with two, while the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, Greece and Switzerland each have one contestant.
After the first day of competition the jury will select 10 conductors for round two. From these, three finalists will be chosen after the second day for Thursday’s final round.
Founded in 1990 by Italian philanthropist Donatella Flick, the competition is among the most prestigious events of its kind. It is open to conductors who are aged 30 or under and offers them much-needed support at the start of their careers.
Poland's Zając is 27 years old.
Past winners of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London include Poland’s Michał Dworzyński, who won first prize in 2006.
(mk/gs)