Yaniv Dinur, Conductor & Pianist

Yaniv Dinur is the winner of the 2019 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Fellow Award and Music Director of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. He is lauded for his insightful interpretations and unique ability to connect with concertgoers of all ages and backgrounds, from season subscribers to symphony newcomers.

In New Bedford, he has brought star soloists such as Yefim Bronfman, Pinchas Zukerman, Karen Gomyo and Vadim Gluzman to play with the orchestra. Under his leadership, the New Bedford Symphony has been nationally recognized for its bold, engaging programming and artistic quality, leading to the League of American Orchestras selecting the orchestra to perform at the 2021 League Conference.

Dinur served as Resident Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony from 2015-2023. During this period, he conducted 372 concerts, including 144 performances for youth and children. Recognizing his leadership and impact, the Milwaukee Business Journal selected him as a 40 Under 40 honoree, an award for young professionals making a difference in the community.

Dinur’s recent and upcoming guest conducting highlights include subscription debuts with the symphonies of San Diego, Edmonton, Tulsa, Sarasota, Fort Worth, Illinois, Present Music in Milwaukee, Orchestra Haydn in Italy, and Filarmonica de Madrid. He made his conducting debut at the age of 19 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, which led to multiple return engagements. Since then, he has conducted orchestras around the world, including the Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Houston Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Portugal Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Festival Orchestra/Bulgaria, State Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Torino Philharmonic, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

An accomplished pianist, Dinur established a chamber music series at the Villa Terrace Museum in Milwaukee, where he performs with musicians from the Milwaukee Symphony. Recent concerto performances include Brahms' First Piano Concerto with the New Bedford Symphony and Mozart’s D Minor Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony, for which he received critical acclaim for his “fluid, beautifully executed piano passages” and “deeply musical playing” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Dinur is the winner of numerous awards, among them the 2017 and 2016 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Awards, 2nd Prize at the 2009 Mata International Conducting Competition in Mexico, and the Yuri Ahronovitch 1st Prize in the 2005 Aviv Conducting Competition in Israel. He is also a recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and the Zubin Mehta Scholarship Endowment.

Born in Jerusalem, Dinur began studying the piano at the age of six with his aunt, Olga Shachar, and later with Prof. Alexander Tamir, Tatiana Alexanderov, Mark Dukelsky, and Edna Golandsky. He studied conducing in Israel with Dr. Evgeny Zirlin and Prof. Mendi Rodan, and holds a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he was a student of Prof. Kenneth Kiesler.