David Holzinger

David Holzinger “is a stroke of luck”, and delivers with “wit, charm, sense of rhythmic precision, and the gift of striking elegance.” (Acclaimed author and opera critic Dieter David Scholz”.

Since the 2022/23 season, David Holzinger has been Guest Conductor at the Theater Brandenburg and the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra (Elektra - R. Strauss, The Magic Flute - W. A. Mozart, Ba-Ta-Clan - J. Offenbach, The White Horse Inn - R. Benatzky). He made his debut with Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra after stepping in on short notice for their main guest conductor Sascha Götzel in May 2021, performing with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as guest soloists. Shortly before that, he was invited to conduct Beethoven's Symphony Nr. 9 at the Austrian Music Weeks Festival in Bulgaria with the chorus and orchestra of the State Opera Ruse, where he was assistant conductor in the prior season (G. Puccini "Gianni Schicchi“).

As guest conductor, David also performed at the Berio-Hall of the Konzerthaus in Vienna with the Konzertvereinigung Wien orchestra as well as the ASO orchestra Vienna. He was principal conductor of the TU-orchestra Dresden and the Kammerorchester Dippoldiswalde in Germany. He has also appeared in concerts with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra, the Filarmonia de Stat Sibiu as well as the Vilnius State Symphony Orchestra and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists.

A true advocate for singers, David’s affinity towards opera deepened during his four-season tenure as assistant conductor at the Tyrol Opera Festival in Erl, Austria, where he shaped the rehearsals for Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell”, “Semiramide”, "Ermione" and Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata”. In 2019, David served as assistant conductor of the "Neue Oper Wien" for the production of P. Eötvös’ "Angels in America”.  As guest conductor, David has worked with Germany based Landesjugendchor Rheinland-Pfalz, Junge Oper Rhein-Main, and led opera productions at the theaters in Rüsselsheim and Aschaffenburg (M. Egger "Caliban"). He also served as guest conductor of the "Opera plus" company in Vienna (E. Humperdinck "Hänsel und Gretel").

Committed to performing contemporary and new music, David has assisted Beat Furrer’s Violetter Schnee. He will also conduct the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra, premiering new works at the Biennale Concert in 2024/25.

David is the founder and artistic director of the EXEDRA Ensemble with which he debuted at the opening ceremony of the Salzburg Festival 2017 and since 2022, has served as the artistic director of the Beethoven Plus Festival, where he continues the tradition of arts education pioneered by his mentor, Karolos Trikolidis, and builds upon his vision of contributing to the Salzkammergut region and culture, a vibrant, imaginative and engaging music program each Summer and Fall.

David’s Far-East performances started in 2016, where he worked with the Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra during a successful month-long tour in China, which led to a return engagement tour with a program that included Gustav Mahler’s “The Song of the Earth”. During the 2023/24 holiday season, David toured China leading a Viennese Orchestra across 10 cities and 15 electrifying concerts, performing at prominent venues such as the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Tianjin Grand Theatre, Chongqing Grand Theatre, and the Beijing Concert Hall.

Born in Austria, David Holzinger trained as a violinist since age 5. He studied conducting with Maximilian Cencic at the Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna, and furthered his studies in orchestra conducting at the Carl Maria von Weber College of Music in Dresden, Germany with Christian Kluttig and Steffen Leissner. During this time he was rehearsing and performing with orchestras like the Philharmonisches Orchester Plauen-Zwickau, the Elblandphilharmonie Sachsen, the Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie, the Erzgebirgische Philharmonie Annaberg/Aue and the Landeskapelle Eisenach. In early 2015 David Holzinger was appointed head of studies of the university opera production “Treemonisha” by Scott Joplin, with which he debuted at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden.

Through masterclasses, David has worked with Manchester Camerata at the RNCM Manchester with Sir Mark Elder and Clark Rundell; the MÁV-Orchestra Budapest with Jorma Panula; and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra with Martin Sieghart. Further masterclasses led him to Nicolás Pasquet, Mark Stringer, Johannes Schlaefli, Peter Guelke.