Musicians You Should Know: Karen Kamensek


Basic Facts

Born: January 2, 1970, Chicago, Illinois
Type of Performer: Conductor
Genre: Classical, opera

About Karen Kamensek

Karen Kamensek was born in 1970 in Chicago. Her mother, a Slovenian immigrant, was a flutist and conductor who had her own children's choir. Kamensek started piano at age four and violin at age eight, but she wanted to be a conductor.  She earned her degrees in Orchestral Conducting and Piano Performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. After graduation, she moved to New York City, where she got a job at the Met and worked with the New York City Opera when they toured La Bohème, but struggled to find her footing as a professional musician. She moved to Europe in 2000, where she was able to launch her career when she was appointed 1st Kapellmiester of the Volksoper Wien. 

Kamensek has specialized in operas, with over fifty in her repertoire. Her posts have included Music Director of the Theater Freiburg from 2003-2006, Interim Music Director at the Slovenian National Theater in Maribor from 2007-2008, and Associate Music Director at the Staatsopera Hamburg from 2008-2011. In 2011, she was named Music Director and Principal Conductor at the Staatsoper Hamburg, a post she held until 2016. She has frequently collaborated with composer Philip Glass, dating back to her time in New York after college. In March of 2016, she conducted his opera Akhnaten at the English National Opera. The production won the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production. She also conducted Glass's recording of Les Enfants Terribles, released in 2005.

Listen

In an interview before her performances at the Bordeaux Auditorium

 
Conducting Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto


Further Reading

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