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Kevin John Edusei

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Kevin John Edusei
Edusei in 2012
Born1976 (age 47–48)
Bielefeld, Germany
Alma materRoyal Conservatory of The Hague
OccupationConductor
Organizations
Websitekevinjohnedusei.com

Kevin John Edusei (born 1976) is a German conductor.[1] He previously held positions as Chief Conductor at Munich Symphony Orchestra and Konzert Theater Bern.[2]

Biography

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Born in Bielefeld, Edusei studied orchestral conducting, classical percussion and sound engineering ("Tonmeister") at the Berlin University of the Arts and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where his teachers included Jac van Steen and Ed Spanjaard.[3]

Edusei held a conducting scholarship at the 2004 Aspen Music Festival, where he was mentored by David Zinman.[4] His other mentors included Kurt Masur, Péter Eötvös, Marc Albrecht, Peter Gülke and Sylvain Cambreling. In 2004, he became assistant conductor of the Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt,[5] and served on the conducting staff of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar for two seasons.[6]

From the 2004-2005 season, Edusei served as First Kapellmeister and Deputy Generalmusikdirektor at the Theater Bielefeld. From 2007 to 2011, he worked in the same position at the Staatstheater Augsburg.[7]

He was a prize-winner at the 2007 Lucerne Festival Academy conducting masterclass, under the guidance of Pierre Boulez and Péter Eötvös[8] and in 2008 he was the first-prize recipient in the Dimitris Mitropoulos Conducting Competition in Athens.[9] Edusei is an alumnus of the Deutsche Bank Stiftung Akademie Musiktheater heute[10] and the Dirigentenforum of the German Music Council.[11]

Titled Positions

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In 2013, Edusei was named Chief Conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra.[5] He continued in this post until the 2021/2022 season.[12]

From 2015-2019, Edusei was Chief Conductor of the Konzert Theater Bern,[13] having been named Principal Guest Conductor in the year 2014.[14] During his tenure, he led new productions of among others Peter Grimes, Salome, Ariadne auf Naxos, Bluebeard's Castle, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Káťa Kabanová and a cycle of the Mozart-Da-Ponte-operas.

Edusei was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for three seasons from 2022/23 after he made his debut with them in September 2021.[2]

Guest Conducting

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Major guest conducting appearances have included Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

In January 2025, Edusei will make his debut conducting the New York Philharmonic.[15]

Edusei made his debut at the BBC Proms in August 2017[16] with the Chineke! Orchestra, with whom he has enjoyed a longstanding artistic relationship, conducting them many times since in major venues and festivals across Europe. In 2022, he returned to the Royal Albert Hall for a televised concert of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.[17]

Music Theatre

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In Autumn 2022, Edusei made his debut with the Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden, conducting Puccini’s La bohème with a cast that included Ailyn Pérez and Juan Diego Flórez that was streamed to cinemas worldwide. He returned in 2023/2024 for a production of Madama Butterfly with Asmik Grigorian singing the title role. Alongside productions at the Semperoper Dresden, Volksoper Wien and Komische Oper Berlin, Edusei's notable opera conducting appearances include; Calixto Bieito’s production of Verdi's Requiem at Hamburg State Opera in 2018,[18] Tosca directed by Vassily Barkhatov at Staatsoper Hannover in 2019,[19] and The Marriage of Figaro directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins with English National Opera in 2020.[20]

Awards

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  • 2008 1st prize Dimitris Mitropoulos Conducting Competition[21]
  • 2007 Prize winner Lucerne Festival Academy[8]

Musical style

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Edusei has stated that he is committed to introducing audiences to music by under-represented composers and conducting an eclectic range of repertoire. A strong advocate of contemporary music, his programming style has leaned towards the creative elements of performance, presenting classical music in new formats for the purpose of cultivating new audiences.[22]

Edusei has been praised for the drama and tension in his music-making and the sense of architecture, warmth and insight that he brings to his performances. Opera Today's Colin Clark praised his performances of Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House: “Edusei lets the music breathe, yet never dawdles, and with the players in his thrall, the results were magical”,[23] with The Times saying "...Kevin John Edusei kept the orchestra on its toes, from fortissimo lunges to the most delicate instrumental whispers".[24]

Recordings

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Orchestra Album Soloist (if any) Label Release year
London Symphony Orchestra Rózsa: Violin Concerto – Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2 Roman Simovic LSO Live 2024
The Royal Opera Puccini: Madama Butterfly Asmik Grigorian (Cio-Cio San), Joshua Guerrero (Pinkerton), Lauri Vasar (Sharpless), Hongni Wu (Suzuki), Ya-Chung Huang (Goro), Jeremy White (The Bonze) Opus Arte 2024
Munich Symphony Orchestra Schubert Symphonies Nos 3 & 7 Solo Musica 2020
Bern Symphony Orchestra Shostakovich, Weinberg & Kobekin Anastasia Kobekina, cello Claves Records 2019
Munich Symphony Orchestra 1939 Fabiola Kim, violin Solo Musica 2019
Munich Symphony Orchestra Schubert Symphonies Nos 5 & 6 Solo Musica 2018
Bern Symphony Orchestra Korngold & Mozart: Violin Concertos Claves Records 2018
Munich Symphony Orchestra Schubert: Symphonies Nos 4 & 7 Solo Musica 2017
Chineke! Orchestra Dvořák & Sibelius Signum Records 2017
Tonkünstler Orchestra Enjott Schneider: Bach, Dracula, Vivaldi & Co. Csaba Kelemen, trumpet, Stefan Langbein, trombone WERGO 2016
Tonkünstler Orchestra Enjott Schneider: Shadows in the Dark WERGO 2016
Munich Symphony Orchestra Tchaikovsky: Extracts from the Nutcracker Solo Musica 2016
Munich Symphony Orchestra Einschoch6: Die Stadt springt Einschoch6 Solo Musica 2015

References

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  1. ^ Toby Deller (4 September 2017). "Meet the Maestro: Kevin John Edusei". Classical Music Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Fort Worth Symphony names Kevin John Edusei its principal guest conductor". Dallas News. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Royal Conservatoire The Hague". Royal Conservatoire The Hague. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  4. ^ Redaktion (19 October 2016). "Porträt Kevin John Edusei - Ein Obama für München". concerti.de (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Master's Degree / International Ensemble Modern Academy". www.internationale-em-akademie.de. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  6. ^ Westfälische, Neue. "Karrieresprung für Bielefelder Dirigent". Neue Westfälische (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Die Atmosphäre ist beflügelnd". Die Augsburger Zeitung (in German). 8 July 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  8. ^ a b www.mir.de, MIR MEDIA-Digital Agency-. "Kevin John Edusei". www.lucernefestival.ch. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  9. ^ CHANNEL, THE VIOLIN (27 July 2021). "Conductor Kevin John Edusei to Step Down from Munich Symphony Post". World's Leading Classical Music Platform. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Alumni". Akademie Musiktheater heute (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Alumni Orchesterdirigieren". www.forum-dirigieren.de (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  12. ^ Rundfunk, Bayerischer (7 July 2017). "Münchner Symphoniker: Chefdirigent Kevin John Edusei verlängert bis 2021/22 | BR-Klassik". www.br-klassik.de (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Kevin John Edusei (conductor) on Hyperion Records". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Prunkvoller Einstand des Chefdirigenten". Berner Zeitung (in German). 20 October 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Also sprach Zarathustra - Jan 2–7 - NY Phil". www.nyphil.org. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  16. ^ Kettle, Martin (31 August 2017). "RSPO/Oramo/Chineke!/Edusei review – rounded, exquisite, played to perfection". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  17. ^ Jeal, Erica (4 September 2022). "Prom 61: Chineke!/Edusei review – the choral symphony gleams and teems with detail". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  18. ^ operatraveller (18 March 2018). "The Great Hereafter: A Staged Verdi Requiem at the Hamburgische Staatsoper". operatraveller.com. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  19. ^ Zeitung, Hannoversche Allgemeine (6 November 2024). "Umstrittene Premiere: Es geht um Sex: Tosca an der Staatsoper Hannover". www.haz.de (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  20. ^ "The London Coliseum hosts new production of Mozart's comedy opera The Marriage of Figaro". English National Opera. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  21. ^ "Kevin John Edusei siegt in Athen - Lokales (Augsburg) - Augsburger Allgemeine". web.archive.org. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  22. ^ "MusicalAmerica - Subscriber Login". www.musicalamerica.com. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  23. ^ Clarke, Colin (25 March 2024). "What a difference a conductor makes: Puccini's less-wounded Butterfly". Opera Today. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  24. ^ Brown, Geoff (17 October 2022). "La bohème review — Danielle Urbas's revival sounds better than it looks". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
[edit]
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Georg Schmöhe
 Chief Conductor, Munich Symphony Orchestra
2014-present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
Srboljub Dinić
 Chief Conductor, Konzert Theater Bern
2015-2019 		Succeeded by
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