Lior Balachness, born in 2001, is an opera and orchestral conductor. He has assisted numerous conductors in operatic productions, including Maestro Yi-An Xu, Maestro Louis Lohraseb, Maestro Marzio Conti, Maestro Arthur Fagen, and Maestro Yoel Levi.
Throughout 2025, Lior will be a conducting fellow in the NZSO Conducting Fellowship Program.
2023-2024, Lior was an assistant conductor at the Cameri Theatre. In 2024, Lior was appointed associate conductor for the Haifa Symphony Orchestra’s opera production of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and as assistant to the musical director in Buchman-Mehta’s two productions of Gianni Schicchi and Dido & Aeneas.
Lior Has attended various masterclasses around Europe and has had the experience of playing as a member of the orchestra in some of them.
After initially studying percussion, he began studying piano and oboe alongside his conducting and composition teaching.
After gaining some experience as an assistant conductor in some amateur musical theatre productions across Europe, he began his academic studies under the guidance of Maestro Yi-An Xu, Maestro Yoav Talmi and Maestro Ronen Borshevsky.
Lior has a B.Mus in Orchestral Conducting from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music. During his academic years, Lior has received guidance from numerous famous conductors, including Maestro Lahav Shani, Maestro Zubin Mehta, Maestro Dan Ettinger, Maestra Susanna Mälkki, Maestro Ulrich Windfuhr, Maestro Toby Purser and Maestro Christian Ehwald.
He has also assisted in many of the school’s opera productions, such as Gianni Schicchi, Die Zauberflote, Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, Acis & Galatea, and more.
Lior's passion for vocal music has taken him to the opera realm, where he had the experience of coaching and conducting various operas of different genres.
Lior has conducted most of Israel's orchestras, including the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Buchmann-Mehta Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israeli Camerata Orchestra, Israel Flute Choir, Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble, and more.