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Kevin John Edusei

Conductor
Principal Guest Conductor, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

  • 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.

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  • In the 2023/24 season Edusei makes his debut with the 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 returns to the Indianapolis Symphony for the opening concerts 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 DC in a programme which includes a world premiere by Adolphus Hailstork and John Adams’ Harmonielehre. In December 2023 Edusei replaced Sokhiev in two performances of Mahler Symphony No. 7 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.


    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.

    2023/24 season / 399 words. Not to be altered without permission.

    Please include links to his personal homepage: www.kevinjohnedusei.com, Twitter: @kevinjohnedusei and Facebook: facebook.com/kevinjohnedusei in all printed and digital use of biography.

Performances

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Livestreams & Broadcasts

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra | November 2023


Mahler Symphony No. 7


Click to watch on YLE


 


Detroit Symphony Orchestra | October 2023


Arlene Sierra Kiskadee
Korngold Violin Concerto (soloist: Clara-Jumi Kang)
Zemlinsky Die Seejungfrau


Click to watch on DSO Live


 


Baltimore Symphony Orchestra | June 2023


Kodály Variations on a Hungarian Folksong "The Peacock"
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3 in C major (soloist: Isata Kanneh-Mason)
Brahms Symphony No.4 in E minor


Click to watch on BSO OffStage


 


Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo | April 2023


Beethoven Violin Concerto (soloist: Ning Feng)
Ligeti Concerto românesc
Janáček Sinfonietta


Click to watch on YouTube


 


London Symphony Orchestra | October 2022


Samy Moussa Crimson
Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2 (soloist: Roman Simovic)
Stravinsky Petrushka (1947 version)


Click to watch on Marquee TV

Adams’s huge Technicolor vision [Harmonielehre] sounded completely convincing, and the conductor Kevin John Edusei dappled the sound like a master technician teasing out details in the grandeur.

The Times, 5 Stars, February 2022

"[In Zemlinksy's Die Seejungfrau] Edusei swept up the players in waves of sound, coloured by harp glissandos and glinting motives in the winds… The first movement was rich with atmosphere, and the conductor was careful to keep its opulent textures transparent. The peaks and swells of the storm scene […] were thrilling."

Cincinnati Business Courier, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, March 2023

"Edusei intelligently shaped the Shakespearean drama [of Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet]. The striding theme of 'Montagues and Capulets' went with swagger undergirded by stentorian brass, and the strings were tautly precise in the playful scampering of 'Juliet as a Young Girl.' 'Masks' had an apt feel of coquettish flirtation, and Edusei helped the Balcony Scene to unfold with a palpable sense of nocturnal ardor."

Chicago Classical Review, Grant Park Orchestra, July 2023

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Intermusica represents Kevin John Edusei worldwide

Leyla Güneş
Associate Director
+44 20 7608 9927
lgunes@intermusica.com






All artists

Chansonnier

HK Gruber

Counter-tenor

Tim Mead

Harpsichord

Richard Egarr

Piano accompanist

Roger Vignoles

Saxophone

Jess Gillam

Contralto

Avery Amereau