Bassem Akiki is a Lebanese–Polish conductor and composer who has appeared at theatres, festivals and orchestras around the world. Recent collaborators include Dutch National Opera, La Monnaie, Brussels, Finnish National Opera, Aix-en-Provence, Polish National Opera and Opéra national du Rhin. Informed by his own work as a composer, Akiki is a specialist in contemporary repertoire and has conducted the world premieres of many new works. Recent engagements include Philip Venables’ We Are The Lucky Ones and Alexander Raskatov’s Animal Farm at Dutch National Opera, which won the OPER! Award for world premiere of the year in 2023. He frequently works at La Monnaie/De Munt, where he has conducted the premieres of Björk’s Medúlla, Orfeo and Majnun, Mark Grey’s Frankenstein, and most recently Philippe Boesman’s final opera, On purge bébé. Aside from conducting, Akiki is a scholar in the music of East and West and their mutual influence, giving lectures on the subject, and his interest in astronomy and prime numbers has influenced his recent compositions.