They have been selected from among 270 applicants and represent 12 nationalities. In addition to Poland, they come from the United States (5), China (3), France (3), the United Kingdom (2), Italy (2), as well as Canada, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, and Switzerland (1 each).
The Polish entrants are Kinga Głowacka, Julia Kurzydlak and Jakub Przybycień.
Głowacka, 27, studied conducting at the Music Academy in Kraków, southern Poland, graduating in 2023. She is the winner of the International Conducting Masterclass & Competition in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 2024, and of the Ionel Perlea International Conducting Competition in Romania in 2023. She has taken part in masterclasses with such acclaimed conductors as Marin Alsop, Martyn Brabbins, Rüdiger Bohn, and Patrick Fournillier.
Kurzydlak, 24, is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Currently she is an assistant conductor to Paavo Järvi at the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich. She is a passionate promoter of contemporary music.
Przybycień, 30, made his conducting debut in 2018 at London's Wigmore Hall conducting the European Union Youth Orchestra. Currently based in Switzerland, he has collaborated with many orchestras in Switzerland, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, and Poland. He served as assistant conductor at the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, concluding his two-year tenure at the end of the 2024/25 season. In 2025 he received the Ernst-von-Schuch Prize, which honours the esteemed Austrian conductor Ernst Edler von Schuch.
Founded in 2004, the Mahler Competition is one of the most prestigious music competitions of its kind. Its 8th edition takes place from June 23 to July 3.
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