Since January 2024, Francesco Cagnasso is working as the Assistant Conductor at the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, alongside Maestro Michael Sanderling. From 2022 to 2024, he held the same position at the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz under Chief Conductor Michael Francis. He has participated in several international competitions, such as the 2024 “Malko Competition for Young Conductors,” where he reached the quarter-finals, and the 2024 “IX Jorma Panula International Conducting Competition,” where he advanced to the semi-finals. From 2021 to 2023, he was a scholarship holder of the “Forum Dirigieren” (German Conductors’ Forum).
Born in Lugano, Francesco Cagnasso successfully completed his Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting in 2024 at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in the renowned class of Prof. Johannes Schlaefli and Prof. Christoph Mathias Mueller.
Prior to that, he earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Music Theory at ZHdK, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Orchestral Conducting in 2021 at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg under Prof. Ulrich Windfuhr.
Francesco Cagnasso has received valuable musical inspiration from prominent conductors such as Michael Sanderling, Daniele Gatti, Tomáš Netopil, Michael Francis, Johannes Schlaefli, Nicolás Pasquet, and Ole Kristian Ruud.
He has assisted conductors including François-Xavier Roth with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne (2022 – Momentum: our future, now), Kent Nagano with the Symphony Orchestra of the HfMT, and during the 2016/17 season, Nicolas Fink and Philippe Savoy with the Swiss Youth Choir.
Francesco Cagnasso has gained operatic experience through various productions and venues, including two chamber operas by Leoš Janáček: Twice Alexander and Tears of the Knife in 2022. This was followed by the operettas The White Horse Inn in 2022 and Countess Maritza in 2024 at the Fricktaler Bühne (Basel). He also conducted performances of The Gypsy Baron in 2023 and The Duchess of Chicago in 2024 at the Stadttheater Sursee (CH).
Throughout his career, he has worked with a wide range of European orchestras, including the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Mecklenburgische Staatskapelle Schwerin, the Symphoniker Hamburg, the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra Konstanz, the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra (CZ), the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra (GR), the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra Zlín (CZ), the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, the Philharmonic Orchestra Regensburg, and the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra (BG).
Since January 2024, Francesco Cagnasso is working as the Assistant Conductor at the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, alongside Maestro Michael Sanderling. From 2022 to 2024, he held the same position at the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz under Chief Conductor Michael Francis. He has participated in several international competitions, such as the 2024 “Malko Competition for Young Conductors,” where he reached the quarter-finals, and the 2024 “IX Jorma Panula International Conducting Competition,” where he advanced to the semi-finals. From 2021 to 2023, he was a scholarship holder of the “Forum Dirigieren” (German Conductors’ Forum).
Born in Lugano, Francesco Cagnasso successfully completed his Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting in 2024 at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in the renowned class of Prof. Johannes Schlaefli and Prof. Christoph Mathias Mueller.
Prior to that, he earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Music Theory at ZHdK, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Orchestral Conducting in 2021 at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg under Prof. Ulrich Windfuhr.
Francesco Cagnasso has received valuable musical inspiration from prominent conductors such as Michael Sanderling, Daniele Gatti, Tomáš Netopil, Michael Francis, Johannes Schlaefli, Nicolás Pasquet, and Ole Kristian Ruud.
He has assisted conductors including François-Xavier Roth with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne (2022 – Momentum: our future, now), Kent Nagano with the Symphony Orchestra of the HfMT, and during the 2016/17 season, Nicolas Fink and Philippe Savoy with the Swiss Youth Choir.
Francesco Cagnasso has gained operatic experience through various productions and venues, including two chamber operas by Leoš Janáček: Twice Alexander and Tears of the Knife in 2022. This was followed by the operettas The White Horse Inn in 2022 and Countess Maritza in 2024 at the Fricktaler Bühne (Basel). He also conducted performances of The Gypsy Baron in 2023 and The Duchess of Chicago in 2024 at the Stadttheater Sursee (CH).
Throughout his career, he has worked with a wide range of European orchestras, including the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Mecklenburgische Staatskapelle Schwerin, the Symphoniker Hamburg, the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra Konstanz, the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra (CZ), the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra (GR), the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra Zlín (CZ), the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, the Philharmonic Orchestra Regensburg, and the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra (BG).