Grigor Palikarov (born in 1971 in Plovdiv) graduated from the Dobrin Petkov National School of Music and Dance Art in Plovdiv, majoring in piano, with highest honors and a gold badge in 1990. He then completed his studies at the National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” in Sofia, earning master’s degrees in four disciplines: opera and symphonic conducting with Acad. Prof. V. Kazandzhiev and Prof. Iv. Vulpe; composition with Prof. D. Tapkov; piano with Prof. Kr. Taskov; and choral conducting with Prof. St. Kralev.

He specialized in composition through two summer courses with Prof. Erich Urbanner at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Palikarov made his operatic debut while still a student, at the age of 22, conducting Rigoletto at the opera houses in Pleven and Stara Zagora.

From January 2000 to April 2019, he was a full-time conductor at the Sofia Opera and Ballet, where his repertoire grew to include more than 60 opera and ballet titles.

At present, Maestro Palikarov is Professor of Opera and Symphonic Conducting at the National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov”, where he previously earned a doctoral degree in music in 2017 and was appointed Associate Professor in April 2019. From the 2005/2006 season to the present, he has also served as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Maestro Georgi Atanasov Symphonic and Operetta Society in Pazardzhik. Since September 2024, he has been Chief Conductor of the Plovdiv State Opera.

Prof. Dr. Grigor Palikarov is a frequent guest conductor of many orchestras and opera houses in Bulgaria, including the Sofia Philharmonic, the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Classic FM Orchestra (Cantus Firmus Orchestra) in Sofia, where he has been a permanent conductor since the 2008/2009 season. He is also a regular guest conductor of the State Opera in Varna (since the 2021/2022 season), as well as the state operas in Burgas, Stara Zagora, and others. A special place in his conducting career is occupied by his numerous studio recordings with the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as his participation in prestigious national and international music festivals.

Grigor Palikarov regularly tours abroad, conducting renowned orchestras in countries such as Italy, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Spain, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Uruguay, China, Russia, the United States, Brazil, Slovenia, Greece, Ukraine, Taiwan, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, and others.

Alongside his conducting career, Grigor Palikarov is also active as a composer and concert pianist. His works have been performed at numerous festivals and recorded on multiple occasions. For his achievements as a composer and pianist, he has received many national and international awards, including prizes from the competitions Svetoslav Obretenov, Albert Roussel, Music and the Earth, and others. He is also the recipient of several prestigious honors, among them the Crystal Lyre, the Golden Feather (2009), the Emil Chakarov Award (2019), and the Golden Lyre of the Union of Bulgarian Music and Dance Artists for his outstanding contribution to Bulgarian musical art and on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in 2021.