Spanish born conductor Julia Cruz has an enthusiastic, dynamic, and communicative personality that allows her to connect with orchestras and audiences. Her repertoire ranges from Haydn to contemporary music, with a special focus on Italian Opera. Since 2022, she is an Award Recipient of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship.

During the 23’ season, Julia serves as assistant conductor at Opera de Colombia for a new production of L’Elisir d’Amore, with Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá and is reinvited to National Orchestral Institute Festival.

During the 22' season, Julia makes two largely successful debuts: La Traviata with Kolozsvári Magyar Opera -being immediately reinvited for an upcoming season- and L'Elisir d'Amore at Stara Zagora State Opera. She has also served as Assistant/Cover Conductor at the National Orchestral Institute + Festival, working with Marin Alsop and Manuel López-Gómez among other conductors, and assisting JoAnn Falletta in a recording project for Naxos USA. Julia has also guest conducted Orquestra de Cambra de Mallorca.

In 2021, Julia was awarded with the Second Prize in the Blue Danube/Béla Bartók Opera Conducting Competition and invited as guest conductor in various European opera houses during the next seasons.

While still a student, Julia was selected as Assistant Conductor of Jove Orquestra de la Generalitat Valenciana (Spain), a position that she held for three seasons. With the orchestra, she worked in symphonic and ballet projects, as well as in premieres and recordings of the resident composer's new works. Since then, Julia has conducted various European orchestras in The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, and Spain, and has been the assistant and cover conductor in multiple opera productions.

Julia is deeply committed to the social aspect of music-making and believes in music as a tool that can transform our reality. With this mindset, she is also interested in developing musical projects that allow musicians and audiences to connect and support diversity and equality in music while sharing her musical aesthetic. She serves as guest speaker for diverse projects focused on engaging younger audiences and equality in classical music. In addition to that, she is one of the selection jury members for the 2022 Carles Santos Awards of Music in Valencia.

Julia was born in 1996. At age 6, she began playing trombone, however quickly discovered conducting. She studied at Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón with Borja Quintas and Miquel Rodrigo, where she graduated Cum Laude, and at Zuyd University of Applied Arts, where she received a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting, under Arjan Tien, and graduated with distinction. She has also studied with Federico Santi, whom she considers her mentor, and has attended masterclasses and workshops with Marin Alsop, Daniel Oren, Colin Metters, Vladimir Ponkin, and Bruno Aprea, among other international conductors.