Aline Sam-Giao appointed General Manager of the OPRL from 1 September 2023.
The board of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège decided, on Thursday 4 May 2023, to appoint Aline Sam-Giao as General Manager of the OPRL; she will take over from Daniel Weissmann, who has occupied the post since 2015.
At the end of a four-month process and following interviews with four candidates by a gender-balanced jury approved by the Ministry of Culture of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, the board of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège chaired by Jean Pierre Hupkens, has appointed Aline Sam-Giao as General Manager of the OPRL with effect from 1 September 2023. The Frenchwoman, who is currently the Executive Director of the AO (Auditorium-Orchestre National de Lyon), impressed the jury with her experience and her understanding of the mission and the identity of the OPRL.
Aline Sam-Giao succeeds Daniel Weissmann, who is retiring. She has signed an indefinite contract, and intends to move to Liège and to fully integrate into life in the city and in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. “The OPRL plays a leading role in Belgium and its location in the heart of Europe is a major asset as it faces the future. I was captivated by the quality of the orchestra and the fact that it has its own concert hall, which facilitates a closer relationship with the public and encourages innovation to respond to the requirements of both the public and the musicians. I cannot wait to become better acquainted with the musicians, the teams, the partners, and audiences in Liège and around Belgium. I will devote myself to continuing the excellent work carried out by Daniel Weissmann in recent years and to contribute my experience, energy, and commitment in the service of music and of the orchestra alongside the Music Director, Gergely Madaras.”
Gergely Madaras, who served on the jury, is “immensely excited about the next chapter of leadership in OPRL’s history, after concluding a fruitful, significant and successful 4 years of collaboration with Daniel Weissmann. I have known and admired Aline Sam-Giao and her expertise in orchestra management for some years already, and could not have been more thrilled when she applied for the top position of our organization. Both her openness about who we are and her vision about who we can become in the future ensured me that she and our orchestra will be a perfect match. Welcome, Aline to our musical family!”
Daniel Weissmann : “I am pleased to announce that Aline Sam-Giao has been appointed as my successor as General Manager of the OPRL; we are proud to have attracted such an experienced woman, whose talent is well known, to manage our orchestra. I feel confident about the future and I am certain that Aline will be able to take full advantage of the wonderful opportunities that the OPRL offers within the European musical landscape. I welcome her warmly and I will hand over the reigns to her joyfully and enthusiastically come September.”
Aline Sam-Giao
Aline Sam-Giao chose to focus on the world of music after studying at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris and at the University of Sussex in the UK, inspired by her time in an amateur orchestra.
Her career took her to the Fondation Royaumont (a cultural centre that focuses on music, dance, and poetry) and to the baroque ensemble Le Poème Harmonique in the Île-de-France region, then to the Berlioz Festival in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, where she was managing director for eight years. In 2017, she became the Executive Director of the AO (Auditorium-Orchestre national de Lyon), whose concert hall seats 2100 and is home to an orchestra of 104 musicians.
She has always been interested in issues of cultural policy and has been actively involved in professional networks, a context in which she currently holds the position of President of Les Forces Musicales (the French national employers’ association for operas and orchestras). She also serves on the boards of the CNSMDL (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon) and of GRAME (Centre National de Création Musicale de Lyon). Since 2020, she has been a member of the Professional Council of the Centre National de la Musique. Passionate about issues regarding equality between women and men, she was a member in 2021 of the preselection jury of the La Maestra international competition for women conductors. She was named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2015.