L2 Artists LLC is proud to announce a dynamic expansion of its conductor roster, marking a bold new chapter in the company’s ongoing evolution. This strategic growth reflects L2 Artists’ dedication to nurturing exceptional talent and strengthening its presence in the global classical music landscape.
This expansion introduces an impressive group of conductors to the L2 family—artists whose vision, artistry, and leadership embody the values at the heart of the agency’s mission. The roster additions span a range of experience and artistic voices, and position L2 Artists to offer greater diversity and versatility to its presenter partners around the world.
President and Founder Jeffrey Larson shared his enthusiasm for this new phase: “This moment feels like a very organic development in the life of L2 Artists. We’ve always believed in building long-term, thoughtful partnerships with artists and presenters, and the expansion of our conductor roster is a natural extension of that vision. We’re thrilled to begin this new chapter, and equally excited to be working in close collaboration with colleagues from other agencies who share our passion for representing world-class talent with integrity and care.”
YVES ABEL
Yves Abel is Principal Conductor of San Diego Opera and a frequent guest at the world’s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, La Scala, Opéra National de Paris, and Bayerische Staatsoper. He has also appeared with major orchestras such as the San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Previously, he served as Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and Principal Guest Conductor at Deutsche Oper Berlin. A Franco-Canadian conductor, Abel received the Rubies Award from Opera Canada and was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government. His operatic repertoire spans Mozart, Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, and French grand opera, with recent highlights including Salome, Tosca, Macbeth, and La traviata. His recordings feature Renée Fleming, Andrea Bocelli, Susan Graham, Patricia Petibon, and Elīna Garanča on Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, and others.
JAMES S. KAHANE
James S. Kahane was appointed Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in 2024. He also serves as Principal Conductor of the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestre de chambre de la Drôme. His recording with the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra for Resonus Classics was praised as “a colossal album that will inspire generations to come” (The Flute View). He has conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, Ensemble Miroirs Étendus, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, and St. Michel Strings, among others. In 2024, he was assistant conductor to Hannu Lintu at the Bayerische Staatsoper for Pelléas et Mélisande. In the operatic field, Kahane has led productions including The Tragedy of Carmen, The Rape of Lucretia, The Last Temptations, and the world premieres of Bas Sheve and Years of Silence. He appears regularly with Finnish Chamber Opera and at the Helsinki Contemporary Opera Festival. He is featured in the documentary Conductivity, which followed his years of training at the Sibelius Academy and was released in cinemas in 2020.
VINCENT DE KORT
Dutch conductor Vincent de Kort is in demand with many of the world’s leading orchestras and opera houses. He has conducted the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Mariinsky Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, New Japan Philharmonic, and Sinfonia Varsovia. In opera, he has led productions at the Royal Swedish Opera, Bolshoi Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre, Semperoper Dresden, New National Theatre Tokyo, and Edinburgh Festival, among others. He is especially noted for his interpretations of Mozart and Beethoven, and his repertoire spans classical masterworks to contemporary world premieres. De Kort was Principal Guest Conductor of the Zürcher Symphoniker and founded both the European Sinfoniëtta and the Opera Festival Alden Biesen in Belgium. His international breakthrough came in 1997, stepping in for Gennady Rozhdestvensky at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam with Radu Lupu and the European Union Youth Orchestra.
CELIA LLÁCER
Celia Llácer is Chief Conductor of the Junges Kammerorchester Ostschweiz, beginning with the 2024/25 season. She has conducted the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Opera, Göttinger Symphonie Orchester, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Philharmonie Konstanz, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Gran Canaria. She has appeared at the Gstaad Conducting Academy with the Gstaad Festival Orchestra and at the Tanglewood Festival with the Young Artists Orchestra of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. In 2023, she was selected for The Linda and Mitch Hart Institute with The Dallas Opera. Recent assistantships include the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège under Gergely Madaras and the Schweizer Jugend-Sinfonie-Orchester. She previously led the JOECOM Orchestra and held assistant roles with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria and the Joven Orquesta de Córdoba. She is currently completing her Master’s in orchestral conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts, where she studies with Christoph-Mathias Mueller and Johannes Schlaefli.
CIARAN MCAULEY
Ciarán McAuley is an Irish conductor who appears regularly with leading orchestras and opera companies, praised for his “superb conducting” (The Arts Review) and “remarkable clarity” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). In 2024, he made his debut at Wexford Festival Opera with Stanford’s The Critic, the opera’s first performance in over a century, broadcast live on RTÉ and described as “outstanding” by The Irish Times. A former Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, he has led Camerata Salzburg, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Houston Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Festival appearances include Salzburg, Tanglewood, and Wexford. McAuley is a prizewinner of the Deutsche Dirigentenpreis and Arturo Toscanini International Conducting Competition, and a finalist in the Nestlé & Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award. He has premiered works by Detlev Glanert and Marco Stroppa, and studied conducting at the RNCM and ZHdK with Clark Rundell and Johannes Schlaefli. He resides in Helsinki.
GEOFFREY LOFF
Geoffrey Loff is Assistant to the Music Director at the Komische Oper Berlin and a 2025 recipient of the Olga Forrai Foundation Career Conducting Grant. He previously served on the music staff of the Staatsoper Berlin and has worked alongside Sir Simon Rattle, Christian Thielemann, and Daniel Barenboim. This season, he makes his Komische Oper debut conducting the world premiere of Inconsistent Fantasy is Reality, appears at Vienna Staatsoper, and debuts with the Stara Zagora State Opera and the Pazardzhik Philharmonic. Upcoming engagements include performances at Komische Oper Berlin and Opera Orlando. Loff has served as assistant conductor at Houston Grand Opera, music director of HGOco, and guest cover conductor at San Francisco Opera. He is a prizewinner of the Blue Danube Opera Conducting Competition and a 2023 recipient of the Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. He is an alumnus of the Aspen Conducting Academy, Houston Grand Opera Studio, and Minnesota Opera resident artist program.
LUKE POEPPEL
Luke Poeppel is an American-German conductor and pianist based in New York City. He currently serves as David T. Beals III Assistant Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, where his 2024–25 season includes performances with Cody Fry, Project Trio, ‘Back to the 80s’ Pops, and KinderKonzerts with Bryan Busby. He was associate conductor for In A Grove at the 2025 Prototype Festival, conducting the full run to critical acclaim from The New York Times, Observer, and Financial Times.Upcoming projects include In A Grove with Opera Saratoga and assistant conductor roles for Tosca and Sunday in the Park with George at the Glimmerglass Festival. He appears this season as guest conductor with the Reno Chamber Orchestra and Washington Square Ensemble. Poeppel has covered the New York Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, and Tokyo Symphony, and has worked as a pianist with Contemporaneous, AOP, Mostly Modern Festival Opera, and Metropolis Ensemble. He holds a Master’s from Eastman.