Born in Sion in 1993, Laurent Zufferey discovered music through the strong presence of wind bands and brass bands in the surrounding villages.
In 2016, at his first conducting competition, he was awarded third prize at the Augsburg International Conductors’ Competition, before a jury of experts including Atso Almila (Finland) and Matty Cillissen (Netherlands). This experience marked a turning point in his career, leading him to pursue professional musical studies.
That same year, he entered the Royal Northern College of Music as a percussionist, where he graduated with a Master of Music in Performance with distinction in 2017. In 2018, he was awarded a scholarship to continue at the same institution, undertaking a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting under Mark Heron and Clark Rundell—studies that were unfortunately disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, following the reopening after the pandemic, he was invited by Paavo Järvi to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich Academy, where he won the Audience Prize at the final concert. A few months later, Teodor Currentzis invited him at short notice to take part in the MusicAeterna residency in Lucerne. During a public masterclass, he had the opportunity to conduct Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in the White Hall of the KKL.
He has held positions as Assistant Conductor with the Basel Sinfonietta (Switzerland) and the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (Belgium), before being appointed Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre national de Lyon (France), where he took up a two-year position starting in September 2023. In September 2022, he made his operatic debut as assistant to Pierre Bleuse for Die Zauberflöte with Ouverture Opéra, conducting five performances.
In March 2023, he took part in the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, where he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra. The same year, he was awarded the Cultural Prize of the City of Sion.
In December 2023, he was invited to replace conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider just hours before a concert. The programme included a world premiere by Bechara El-Khoury as well as Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4. The review site Résonances Lyriques commented on his performance: “While so many conductors (Rattle, Pappano, Davis…!) drain the music of its substance, Laurent Zufferey defends an exhilarating vision in which lyricism is never exiled.” The success of this concert led to a reinvitation for two subscription concerts in June 2025, with a spectacular programme including Respighi’s Feste Romane and Debussy’s Iberia.
In March 2025, Laurent Zufferey made his debut at the Philharmonie de Paris conducting the Orchestre national de Lyon, again stepping in for Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider. This milestone moment for the young Swiss conductor allowed him to lead a vibrant programme combining Maurice Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso with the premiere of Ibrahim Maalouf’s Trumpet Concerto, performed by the composer himself.
Photo: © Agathe Seppey