In Spring 2026 she debuted with the Orchestre de Paris and the London Symphony. She has also appeared with many other leading orchestras across the world, including London Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie, DSO Berlin, Vienna Symphony, Madrid National, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Swedish Radio, Finnish Radio, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, National Symphony Washington, Sydney and Melbourne symphonies – all of whom have reinvited.
In 2026/7 she returns to many of the above, touring Benelux with the London Philharmonic as well as appearing in their London season. She conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra and St Louis Symphony all for the first time, also the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony at Suntory Hall (her debut in Japan).
Bihlmaier has a wide-ranging repertoire that includes works by Joseph Haydn, Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Jean Sibelius, Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich, Claude Debussy, Grazyna Bacewicz and Olga Neuwirth.
In the past two seasons Bihlmaier conducted new productions at the Berlin State Opera (Bernard Foccroulle Cassandra), at Glyndebourne Festival (Bizet Carmen), and in Spring 2026 a revival at the Hamburg State Opera (Strauss Elektra), all of which led to immediate re-invitations. In her early career she held positions at the opera houses of Hanover, Chemnitz and Kassel, and went on to conduct at the Vienna Volksoper and across Scandinavia, notably in Malmo (Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Tampere (Wagner The Flying Dutchman) and Oslo (Verdi La traviata).
Bihlmaier was Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague 2021–25 and Principal Guest of the Lahti Sinfonia 2020–24. In the past year both orchestras have released CDs with her conducting – Ravel with the Residentie Orkest and Yeol Eum Son for Naïve, and Prokofiev with Lahti Symphony and Christian Poltera for BIS.
Bihlmaier studied at the Freiburg Hochschule für Musik with Scott Sandmeier, was subsequently awarded a scholarship at the Salzburg Mozarteum and then went on to study with Dennis Russell Davies and Jorge Rotter. She was accepted into the Deutsche Dirigentenforum and received a scholarship from the Brahmsgesellschaft Baden-Baden.
Not to be altered without the permission of Intermusica. 2026/27 season, 393 words.