Tugan Sokhiev, still only 29, has established a strong presence as a guest conductor and took up the position as Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse at the beginning of the 2005/6 season. A former student of Musin and later Temirkanov, he graduated from the St Petersburg Conservatoire in 2001.

He made his Welsh National Opera debut in 2001 conducting 'La bohème', followed by a number of further productions, including a notable Eugene Onegin in Spring 2004. He now conducts many titles for the Mariinsky Theatre, including regular new productions, and appeared in Aix-en-Provence, Madrid and Luxembourg ('Love of Three Oranges') and Houston ('Boris Godounov'). During the past few seasons he has had great success with many orchestras, including Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Munich Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Orchestra of Bayerische Staatsoper, Austrian Radio, DSO Berlin and Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and has developed a particularly close relationship with the Philharmonia, to which he returns each season.

During his first two seasons with the Orchestre National du Capitole, he conducted critically acclaimed concerts in Toulouse, Vienna, Ljubljana, Zagreb, San Sebastian and Paris, where he was awarded the 'Révélation musicale de l'année' by the French Critics' Union for his concert with Magdalena Kozena at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

He made his first recording with the orchestra in Summer 2006 (Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony and Mussorgsky 'Pictures') and will release his second recording in late 2007. In 2007/8 he makes his debuts with Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, Orquesta Nacional de España, La Scala, Euskadi Orchestra and RAI Turin.

He also returns to Finnish Radio, DSO Berlin, Bournemouth Symphony, Orchestre National de France and the Philharmonia, as well as his regular commitments with the Mariinsky Theatre and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.