Conductors concert season 2020/21

Jonathan Stockhammer

In just a few years, Jonathan Stockhammer has made a name for himself in the worlds of opera, symphonic repertoire, and contemporary music. As a superb communicator, he has a great talent not only for presenting concerts but also for working on an equal footing with a variety of performers – whether they are young musicians and rappers or stars such as Imogen Heap or the Pet Shop Boys.

Opera is central to his work. The operas he has conducted, including Die Dreigroschenoper, Zemlinsky‘s Eine florentinische Tragödie, Sciarrino‘s Luci mie traditrici and Monkey: Journey to the West by Damon Albarn, identify him as a conductor who welcomes and masters the difficulties presented by complex scores and special, interdisciplinary productions. He has been a regular guest at the Opéra de Lyon since first appearing there in 1998, where he has since conducted the successful French premiere of Dusapin’s Faustus, the Last Night and most recently, Ravel’s L’heure espagnole. In 2009, he premiered Wolfgang Rihm’s Proserpina with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and also conducted the orchestra in Rihm’s Deus Passus. In 2010, he conducted the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in a production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at the Théâtre du Châtelet Paris. In February 2013, he made his debut at the New York City Opera in Thomas Adès’ Powder Her Face. In the spring of 2016, he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in a new production of Peter Eötvös‘s Tri Sestri (Three Sisters) and will return in the spring of 2020. In 2019, he made his debut at the Zurich Opera with Pelzel’s Last Call. Following the new production of Philip Glass’ Satyagraha by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui at the Komische Oper Berlin and Theater Basel, he will open Basel’s season 2019/2020 with Luigi Nono’s Al gran sole carico d’amore.

Jonathan Stockhammer has worked with numerous renowned orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic, NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared at the Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Schwetzingen Festival, Donaueschingen Festival, Biennale Venice, the Wiener Festwochen and Wien Modern.

Aside from conducting classical and romantic masterpieces and contemporary classical works, he enjoys delving into music that blurs the boundaries between classical music, rock, pop, and hip-hop. His CD Greggery Peccary & OtherPersuasions with Ensemble Modern (RCA, 2003), featuring works by Frank Zappa, won an Echo Klassik Award. He also recorded a new soundtrack to Sergei Eisensteins’s 1925 film The Battleship Potemkin, composed and performed by the Pet Shop Boys. His live recording of The New Crystal Silence with Chick Corea, Gary Burton and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra won a Grammy in 2009. His collaboration with spoken word artist Saul Williams on Said the Shotgun to the Head, featuring music composed by Thomas Kessler, has also been particularly successful. To date, he has conducted the work with the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Oslo Philharmonic.

His debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be a special highlight of the 2019/20 season, during which he will also return to the SWR Symphonieorchester, the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ensemble Modern and the Collegium Novum Zurich.

Jonathan Stockhammer first studied Chinese and political science before moving on to studies in composition and conducting in his hometown of Los Angeles. During his studies, he filled in for a series of concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, after which he was asked to become chief conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen’s assistant. After completing his studies, he moved to Germany where he formed close relationships with well-known European ensembles such as Ensemble Modern, Collegium Novum Zürich and Ensemble Resonanz.

Source: https://en.karstenwitt.com/jonathan-stockhammer

Zsolt Nagy

Zsolt Nagy studied conducting with István Párkai at the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest. Further studies with Péter Eötvös led him to become Eötvös' assistant at the Institute for New Music of the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe and for numerous other projects including Guest Professor at the International Eötvös Institute. He has been active as an opera and concert conductor since 1987 and leader of various orchestra projects and masterclasses for conductors in European, North- and South-American, Asian conservatoires since 1992. In 1999 he was appointed Chief Conductor and Musical Advisor of the Israel Contemporary Players. From 2002 to 2014 he was Professor of Conducting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Dance in Paris (CNSMDP). Mr. Nagy appears regularly on stages of four continents, working with outstanding soloists, conducting leading orchestras, ensembles and choirs. He has premiered over 800 new compositions, has made a number of radio and CD recordings and has received among others a special award for excellence in performing new Israeli music.

www.zsoltnagy.de

Zsolt Nagy

Lars Mlekusch

Following his international career as a concert saxophonist, Swiss/Austrian musician Lars Mlekusch also appears as a conductor in venues including Musikverein Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus, Cité de la Musique Strasbourg, Het Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Casa da Música Porto, Teatro Nacional de Cuba, National Concert Hall Taipei and at festivals such as Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Festival Wien Modern, impuls festival Graz. He has conducted ensembles and orchestras such as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble PHACE Vienna, Georgisches Kammerorchester Ingolstadt, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Cuba, Ensemble Schallfeld Graz, Cantus Ensemble Zagreb and others.
Mr. Mlekusch regularly collaborates with composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Georges Aperghis, José María Sánchez-Verdú, Bernhard Lang, Jorge Sanchez-Chiong, Germán Toro-Pérez, Francesco Filidei, Sarah Nemtsov, Alberto Posadas, Germán Toro-Pérez, Agata Zubel, Simon Steen-Andersen, Klaus Lang, Wolfgang Mitterer, Xu Yi or Christian Utz and conducted many first performances.

As a saxophonist he has performed regularly with ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble PHACE and the SWR Orchestra. He has recorded for KAIROS, Edition Zeitklang, Label PHACE and many radio stations.

Since 2015 Lars Mlekusch is professor of saxophone, chamber music and contemporary music at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). From 2005-2017 he was professor of saxophone and chamber music at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität Wien (former Konservatorium Wien University). His students are winners of international competitions and hold professorships at music universities and are successful as performers.

He is regularly invited to teach masterclasses at renowned institutions including Conservatoire de Paris CNSMD, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Fryderyk Chopin University of Music Warsaw, Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi Milano, Royal College of Music London, Beijing Central Conservatory, Northwestern University Chicago, Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory and has also been on the faculties of the European Saxophone University Gap, impuls academy Graz and Arosa Music Academy.

He served as a jury member at the major international saxophone competitions and at the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition Michigan USA and the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb.

Lars Mlekusch studied saxophone in Basel (Marcus Weiss) and Chicago (Frederick L. Hemke) and conducting with Arturo Tamayo and Emilio Pomàrico. From the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna he holds a MAS in Art Management. He is a Selmer Paris and D’Addario artist.

(2020, please don’t modify without permission)

Source: https://larsmlekusch.com/about/

Markus Utz

Born 1972 in Kempten, Allgäu, Utz was choirmaster and organist for the Konstanz district and musical director of Unserer Lieben Frau cathedral in Konstanz, Bodensee from 2001 to 2008. In 2008 he was appointed professor for choral conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts where he leads a choral conducting class and is artistic director of the ensemble cantissimo. The professional vocal ensemble has performed in Israel and is regularly used as concert choir for the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich. Markus Utz studied church music, organ (under Professor Gerhard Weinberger) and conducting at the Academy of Music in Detmold. His characterizing influences and major artistic impulses, however, he received at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. With the aid of a DAAD scholarship, he studied conducting in Professor Anders Eby’s renowned diploma class. In addition to this, he had the opportunity to receive private lessons from the acclaimed Professor Eric Ericson. Following his time at the Royal College of Music, Prof. Utz taught choral conducting at Sweden’s Uppsala University. Apart from awards for his organ playing at various competitions, he received the scholarship of the Scandinavian Bach Academy (Sir Andrew Parrot) in 2000. In October 2003, he was the sole German contestant in the final round of the Eric Ericson international conducting competition in Stockholm. Being a specialist for choral conducting improvisation and a distinguished expert on Scandinavian choral music, Utz has received regular invitations to lecture at courses in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland for the last several years. Beginning in his younger years working with Heiligkreuzer Konzerte Kempten, he familiarized himself with a broad repertoire stretching from the music of the Renaissance to the most recent compositions of the 21st century. Markus Utz founded the ensemble cantissimo as a student and has made an excellent name for himself in and outside of Germany due to its unusual programmatic and sound conceptions of old and new a cappella music. In the wake of the ensemble’s success come frequent invitations to guest conduct, including choirs broadcasting in Stockholm and Berlin, as well as the European Youth Choir.

Markus Utz

Johannes Schlaefli

Johannes Schlaefli is currently of the symphony orchestra Collegium Musicum in Basel and Professor for Orchestral Conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts.

As one of the most highly sought after conducting teachers, Schlaefli is in demand throughout the world and collaborates with institutions including the Sibelius Academy Helinski, the Aspen Music Festival, USA, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and he also serves as “head of teaching” at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival Conducting Academy.  As a guest professor, he has taught throughout Europe at the Music Universities of Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg and Manchester. Furthermore, a regular co-operation as a lecturer and juror also links him to the prestigious “Dirigentenforum” of the German Music Council.

Johannes Schlaefli led the Basel Chamber Orchestra "Serenata" and the Bern Chamber Orchestra before leading the Kurpfälzische Kammerorchester in Mannheim as principal conductor from 2013-2019. Presently, he also leads the Alumni-Sinfonieorchester Zürich and the Academic Chamber Orchestra Zürich.  As a guest conductor, he has performed with and conducted orchestras including the Tonhalleorchester Zürich, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Zurich Chamber Orchestra,  Munich Radio Orchestra and Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana to name a few.