Versatile and highly acclaimed conductor Yair Samet enjoys a widespread international career spanning three continents. He is consistently cited for his high level of artistry and exceptional knowledge of the repertoire.

Mr. Samet was appointed first associate conductor of the San Jose Symphony Orchestra in 1994. Additionally, he was nominated Music Director and Conductor of the San Jose Symphony Youth Orchestra, with whom he has toured Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Spain.

Mr. Samet has conducted the famed Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra on tour in Germany, the Saarländisches Staatsorchester in Saarbrücken, Germany, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in China, and the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra in Bosnia. In addition, he conducted the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and the St. Petersburg Glinka Capella at Finland’s Tampere International Music Festival. In Israel he conducted the Haifa Symphony, the Rishon Le-Zion Symphony Orchestra, and the Israeli Sinfonietta in Beer Sheva.

He has performed with renowned artists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Vadim Repin, David Shifrin, Han-Na Chang, Helène Grimaud, Lara St. John, Jon Nakamatsu, and Jon Kimura Parker.

In addition to his professional conducting accolades, Mr. Samet also serves on the Music Faculty of the University of California Santa Cruz, where he leads the UCSC Symphony Orchestra.

Born in Jerusalem, Yair Samet attended the Rubin Academy High School of Music and Arts where he studied piano and bassoon, and was consequently invited, as the youngest student ever in the history of the institution, to join the composition department of the Academy under the guidance of internationally renowned composer Mark Kopitman. During his high school years, Mr. Samet performed frequently as soloist and chamber musician throughout Israel and for Israeli National Television.

In 1986, he entered Tel Aviv University with a double major in orchestral conducting and musicology. During his undergraduate studies, Yair Samet was the recipient of three scholarships from the American Israel Cultural Foundation.

In 1988 Samet participated in the International Course for Conductors held in Israel under the direction of Maestro Noam Sheriff. As a finalist, he made his professional debut conducting the Rishon Le-Zion Symphony Orchestra.     

Having earned a national reputation as a gifted young conductor and musician, the Young Israel Philharmonic, a wing of the famed Israel Philharmonic, created the position of assistant conductor for him in 1989.

Mr. Samet completed his graduate studies in conducting and composition in the United States at Indiana University where he directed the Indiana University String Orchestra, and gave numerous concerts with each of the University’s five orchestras.