Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, Giedrė Šlekytė began her musical education at the National M. K. Čiurlionis Art-School in Vilnius. She went on to study conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, the Academy of Music and Theatre in Leipzig and the Zurich University of Arts.
Internationally sought after as a guest conductor, Giedrė Šlekytė has already worked with the Staatskapelle Berlin, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, hr-sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Boulez-Ensemble Berlin, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, SWR Symphonieorchester, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra.
After her engagement as 1st Kapellmeister at Stadttheater Klagenfurt from 2016 to 2018, Giedrė Šlekytė conducted new opera productions at the Frankfurt Opera (Dialogues des Carmélites), Komische Oper Berlin (Káťa Kabanová), Royal Danish Opera (Ariadne auf Naxos), Bayerische Staatsoper (L'infedeltà delusa), MusikTheater an der Wien (The Cunning Little Vixen) and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (Rusalka, Werther) as well as revivals at the Berlin State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Zurich Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation, Frankfurt Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Lithuanian National Opera.
In 2024/25 she is making her debut at the Vienna State Opera (Bohème) and Royal Opera House (Hansel and Gretel) as well as coming back to Berlin State Opera (Les pêcheurs de perles, Sacre) and MusikTheater an der Wien (new production Das Paradies und die Peri).
Symphonic engagements this season will see her conduct the Munich Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra London, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, SWR Symphony Orchestra and Bruckner Orchestra Linz, where she is the principal guest conductor since 2021.
In autumn 2019, Deutsche Grammophon released the portrait-CD "Raminta Šerkšnytė", with Giedrė Šlekytė conducting the oratorio "Songs of Sunset and Dawn" with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra.
Giedrė Šlekytė is a prize-winner of the "International Malko Competition for Young Conductors" in Copenhagen. In 2015 she was nominated for the Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award and in 2018 as "Newcomer of the year" at the International Opera Awards.
