Mats Thiersch (*2003) is a German conductor. Since October 2024, he has served as Music Director of the Orchestre et Chœur Symphonique du COGE (Chœurs et Orchestres des Grandes Écoles) in Paris. Throughout his young career, he has already collaborated with renowned ensembles, conducting the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, among others.

 

Thiersch began his musical education at the age of six on the violin, later adding piano and composition to his studies. In 2021, he commenced his composition studies with Miroslav Srnka at the Cologne University of Music and Dance (HfMT Köln). His works have been performed by ensembles such as Ensemble Musikfabrik and have received several awards, including the Composition Prize of the German Orchestra Foundation.

 

In 2024, he was invited to the prestigious Gstaad Conducting Academy, where he studied with Johannes Schlaefli and Jaap van Zweden. Currently, he is one of the six semifinalists of the 80th Concours de Genève (Conducting Competition 2026).

 

Since 2023, Thiersch has been continuing his studies in orchestral conducting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in the class of Alain Altinoglu. He has gained additional artistic insight in masterclasses with conductors such as Mikko Franck, Alexandre Bloch, and Pierre-André Valade. Furthermore, he has served as an assistant conductor to Joseph Bastian (Orchestre National d’Île-de-France) and Benjamin Lévy (Orchestre National de Cannes).