Mihail Agafița – one of Europe’s most talented young conductors
Since being acclaimed as “one of Europe’s most talented young conductors”, Mihail Agafița has conducted over 650 symphonic concerts, operas, and ballet performances with ensembles from Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Spain, Finland, the United States, Italy, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Belarus; as well as concerts in Germany, Denmark, Greece and Portugal. He has been invited to conduct some of the most prestigious world-renowned orchestras including: The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, The “George Enescu” Philharmonic of Bucharest and The National Radio Orchestra of Romania, The National Philharmonics of Belarus and Republic of Moldova, Orquesta de Extremadura (Spain), Pori Sinfonietta (Finland), Owensboro Symphony and Great Falls Symphony (USA); several major Romanian orchestras and many other ensembles and companies.
After studying conducting at the State Institute of Arts in Chisinau (Moldova), he later received both undergraduate and Master’s degrees in orchestral conducting from the National University of Music in Bucharest (Romania). Here he studied under the renowned professor Dumitru Goia, a master of the esteemed St. Petersburg school of conducting.
In 2004 he was appointed as Permanent Conductor at the National Philharmonic of the Republic of Moldova. Between 2009 and 2013 he held the position of Permanent Conductor of the “Transylvania” State Philharmonic in Cluj, Romania.
Since 2013, he has held the prestigious position of Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Symphony Orchestra of Moldova.
Mihail Agafița has been invited to perform at several prestigious international music festivals throughout Europe, where his conducting prowess has met with great enthusiasm by both public and media alike. His extensive repertoire contains diverse works of several genres and styles ranging from Baroque to contemporary music and including several world premieres.
A particular career highlight included collaborating with the famous Spanish singer Isabel Pantoja, with whom he and the National Philharmonic performed in all major cities in Spain including three remarkable concerts in Barcelona’s prestigious Palau de la Musica (available to purchase on CD and DVD through Sony).
The collaboration with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the appearance at the “George Enescu” International Music Festival with the “Transilvania” Cluj Philharmonic (Bucharest, 2011) represents special moments of his career. Also remarkable was his idea to include performances within the Republic of Moldova in the “George Enescu” Festival program. This idea was realized through a symphonic concert in Chisinau in September 2017. Among his other significant realizations worth to mention are his collaborations with the “Gerorge Enescu” Philharmonic and The Romanian National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
National Awards and recognition:
Mihail Agafița’s contribution to the artistic and cultural life of Moldova has been recognised nationally several times.
As of 2016, by presidential decree Mihail Agafiţa holds the highest title of honor of the Republic of Moldova in the field of culture – “People’s Artist”, awarded for remarkable achievements and extraordinary stage performance.
He also has been awarded the title “Honoured Master in Arts” (2010 in Rep. of Moldova) in recognition of his outstanding dedication in developing and promoting music and his extraordinarily intensive concert practice regime.
In February 2012, he has been awarded the “Lya Hubic” trophy (Cluj, Romania) in recognition of the outstanding merits and contribution to the lyric stage, and in January 2016 Mihail Agafița was awarded the “Gavriil Musicescu” trophy awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova for outstanding contribution in promoting the symphonic art and remarkable performances in exceptional events.