Alan Buribayev

Alan Buribayev is Chief Conductor of the Astana Opera House in Kazakhstan. He completed his tenure as Chief Conductor of the RTE Orchestra in 2016, and previous roles include Chief Conductor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2011, Chief Conductor of the Brabants Orchestra in the Netherlands from 2007 to 2012 and Principal Guest Conductor of the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra in Osaka from 2014 to 2018.

Highly acclaimed for his intensity, spontaneity, precision and musicianship, Alan’s success brings him regular invitations to guest conduct at the highest level. Highlights of his 24/25 season included engagements with the Tasmanian Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Nuremburg Symphony, and the Enescu Violin Competition. In 2025/26, Alan will appear with the Orquesta Clasica Santa Cecilia in Madrid, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in Auckland, Auckland Philharmonia, Tasmanian Symphony and Queensland Symphony.

Alan has also conducted the Helsinki Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Gallen Symphony, Belgrade Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra and Deutsche Symphony Orchester in Berlin, the Oslo Philharmonic, NDR Hamburg, Tonkünstler Orchestra, BBC Symphony, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Düsseldorf, City of Birmingham and Gothenburg Symphony orchestras, London and Dresden Philharmonic orchestras, as well as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He maintains a strong name in Japan having conducted most of the country’s major orchestras, including NHK Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra.

Alan began his career as Chief Conductor of Astana Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Meiningen Theatre, where he gained extensive operatic experience. Recent operatic guest engagements include Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin with the Finnish National Opera and Slovenian National Opera, and Prokofiev’s War and Peace and Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov with the Hungarian State Opera.

Alan Buribayev was born in 1979 to a family of musicians; his father is a cellist and conductor, and his mother is a pianist.  He graduated with honours from the Kazakh State Conservatory as both a violinist and conductor, before continuing his conducting studies at the University of Music in Vienna with Professor Uros Lajovic.  His victory at the Lovro von Matačić Conducting Competition in Zagreb brought him to international attention and this success led to invitations from several European orchestras.  In 2001, he reached the final of the Malko Conducting Competition in Copenhagen in which, where no first prize was awarded, he was awarded a Special Prize, which recognized his “outstanding talent and promise”. Alan Buribayev went on to win First Prize in the Antonio Pedrotti Competition in 2001.

You can see Alan Buribayev live with the Auckland Philharmonia on Thursday 11 June at Chopin & Tchaikovsky.