“Tasteful restraint and explosive energy.”
German conductor Kevin John Edusei is sought-after the world over. He is praised repeatedly for the drama and tension that he brings to his music-making, for his attention to detail, sense of architecture, and the fluidity, warmth and insight that he brings to his performances. He is deeply committed to the creative elements of performance, presenting classical music in new formats, cultivating audiences, introducing music by under-represented composers and conducting an eclectic range of repertoire.
In the 2023/24 season Edusei makes his debut with the Los Angeles Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony and Antwerp Symphony orchestras conducting a range of repertoire including Beethoven, Widmann, Strauss, Mazzoli, Zemlinsky, Moussa, Ravel and a world premiere by Arlene Sierra. He will also return to the Indianapolis Symphony for the opening concert of the season, Cincinnati Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony where he holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor, City of Birmingham Symphony and to the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C. in a programme which includes a world premiere by Adolphus Hailstork and John Adams’ Harmonielehre.
In recent seasons Edusei has conducted many of the major orchestras across Europe and the United States including the Munich Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, BBC Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and Minnesota orchestras amongst others. He has a long-standing relationship with the Chineke! Orchestra with whom he has appeared several times at London’s Royal Festival Hall, and in 2022 he conducted them on a major European Summer festivals tour which included the closing concert of the Lucerne Festival, performances at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Snape Maltings, Helsinki Festival, and a return to the BBC Proms for a televised performance of Beethoven IX. Edusei is the former Chief Conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra and the Bern Opera House.
In Autumn 2022, Edusei made his debut with the Royal Opera House conducting La bohème, which was streamed across cinemas world-wide, and he will return in 2023/24 for a production of Madama Butterfly. Previously he has conducted at the Semperoper Dresden, English National Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Volksoper Wien and Komische Oper Berlin. During his time as Chief Conductor of Bern Opera House, he led many highly acclaimed new productions including Peter Grimes, Ariadne auf Naxos, Salome, Bluebeard’s Castle, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Kátya Kábanová and a cycle of the Mozart Da-Ponte operas.