Croatian conductor Andrej Vesel has been Permanent Conductor of the Oradea State Philharmonic in Romania since January 2024, following his successful debut with the orchestra in autumn 2023. He is also a Guest Conductor of the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic and a recurring conductor of the Vienna Mozart Orchestra.

Recent engagements have included debuts with the Tonkünstler Orchestra at the Musikverein Vienna, the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Boys’ Choir Alumni at MuTh Vienna, the Székelyföldi Philharmonic, and the Croatian National Theatre in Osijek, as well as appearances at the International Festival of Contemporary Music in Poznań and the International Concert Days at Stift Zwettl with Collegium Viennense.

Opera and ballet form an increasingly important part of Vesel’s artistic work. He made his debut at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb conducting Dvořák’s Rusalka and subsequently returned for its revival. In 2026, he conducted the premiere of Adam’s Giselle at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. In the 2026/27 season, he returns to Zagreb to conduct Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.

As a guest conductor, Vesel has also worked with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brașov State Philharmonic, Sibiu State Philharmonic, Dinu Lipatti Satu Mare State Philharmonic, and the Filasteen Young Musicians Orchestra of the Barenboim-Said for Music Foundation.

Vesel began his musical education as a pianist, studying with Vladimir Krpan at the Music Academy in Zagreb, where he graduated in 2015. He subsequently studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, completing degrees in Orchestral Conducting with Johannes Wildner in 2022, Choral Conducting with Alois Glaßner in 2023, and Opera Accompaniment with Andreas Henning in 2024, graduating with distinction. In 2022, he conducted the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein as part of his conducting studies.

During the 2019/20 academic year, Vesel studied at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan with Vittorio Parisi. From 2022 to 2024, he was a scholar of the Hans Swarowsky Akademie, a postgraduate programme under the guidance of Manfred Huss. His further artistic development included masterclasses with conductors such as Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Riccardo Chailly, Marin Alsop, Peter Eötvös, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Alexander Vedernikov, Uroš Lajovic, and Daniel Oren.

Vesel has received support from the Ernst von Siemens Private Foundation, Czibulka Foundation, and Lovro von Matačić Foundation, as well as a Richard Wagner Scholarship to attend the Bayreuth Festival. In 2023, he received the Croatian Večernjakova domovnica in the music category for his contribution to representing Croatian music abroad.