Karen Kamensek
Biography
Grammy Award-winning conductor Karen Kamensek’s expansive artistry and deep commitment to championing composers of the 20th and 21st centuries continue to define her work in both the opera house and on the concert stage. The 2026/27 season underscores her remarkable versatility as she leads a diverse array of productions and concerts across the globe.
Ms. Kamensek’s opera engagements this season include two important debuts: at the Finnish National Opera, conducting Poul Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and at the Opéra National du Rhin in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. She also makes her debut conducting the finals of the 59th International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch with the South Netherlands Philharmonic.
On the concert stage, Ms. Kamensek makes debuts with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and returns to her alma mater, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where she conducts the school’s Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time since her studies there.
In her second season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic, Ms. Kamensek leads the Canadian premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s Concerto for Orchestra, a co-commission with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, along with collaborations with the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus and bagpipe player Kevin Ponte. Other welcome returns this season include the Orchestra National de Mulhouse and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, where she conducts a program culminating in Glass’s Symphony No. 1 (Low). She also returns to the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin for Ultraschall Berlin: Festival for New Music.
Ms. Kamensek’s recent operatic highlights reflect a broad and eclectic repertoire. An interpreter of Philip Glass, she has led Akhnaten at the Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Satyagraha at the English National Opera; and the world premiere of his ballet Alice at the Opéra National du Rhin. Other recent highlights include Puccini’s Tosca at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden; Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera; Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and Bernstein’s Candide at the Welsh National Opera; and Bernstein’s Wonderful Town with the Norwegian Opera & Ballet. She has also conducted the world premiere of Benoît Mernier’s Bartleby paired with Poulenc’s La Voix humaine at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, as well as the Swedish premiere of Elena Langer’s Figaro Gets a Divorce at the Royal Swedish Opera.
Ms. Kamensek’s recent work on the concert stage has brought her to many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfónica di Milano, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta Sinfónica RTVE in Madrid, as well as an appearance at the Lincoln Center Festival.
Ms. Kamensek served as the Music Director of the Staatsoper Hannover from 2011 to 2016. She has also held positions as the First Kapellmeister at the Volksoper Wien (2000–2002), Music Director of the Theater Freiburg (2003–2006), Interim Music Director at the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor (2007–2008), and Associate Music Director at the Staatsoper Hamburg (2008–2011).
**Karen Kamensek’s bio for the 2026/27 season must be used in its entirety unless granted permission by the artist to do otherwise. **