Karen Kamensek (born January 2, 1970, in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
) is an American orchestral and opera conductor.
Biography
Kamensek's parents immigrated from
Kamnica pri Mariboru,
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, eventually settling in the
Louisville, Kentucky area. She is an alumnus of
New Albany High School.
Having undergone musical education from an early age, she won the
Louisville Orchestra Young Artists Competition, before attending
Indiana University for undergraduate and graduate studies. Kamensek received degrees in orchestral conducting and piano performance from Indiana University's
Jacobs School of Music.
Kamensek has served as the first of the
Volksoper Wien from 2000 to 2002. She was General Music Director (, abbreviated as GMD) of the
Theater Freiburg from 2003 to 2006, the first female conductor in Freiburg history. She has served as Interim Music Director at the
Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor from 2007 to 2008, and Associate Music Director at the
Staatsoper Hamburg
The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of ...
from 2008 to 2011. In 2011, she was named GMD and principal conductor of the
Staatsoper Hannover, the first female conductor to hold the Hannover posts. She relinquished the GMD title in 2015, and remained as principal conductor through 2016.
Kamensek made her
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...
(ENO) conducting debut in March 2016 with
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
's ''
Akhnaten''. Kamensek has frequently collaborated with Glass and conducted the 2005 Orange Mountain Music recording of the composer's ''
Les Enfants Terribles''.
[Løkkegaard, Anne Marie (13 February 2007)]
"En kvinde med taktstokken"
'' Berlingske''. Retrieved 16 December 2015. In 2017, Kamensek gave her debut concert at
The Proms, with
Britten Sinfonia, conducting the first full live performance of Philip Glass's and
Ravi Shankar's ''
Passages'', with Shankar's daughter
Anoushka Shankar as soloist. She returned to ENO for their 2018 revival of Glass' ''Satyagraha''.
In November 2019, Kamensek made her
Metropolitan Opera conducting debut with ''Akhnaten''.
On 23 November 2019, Kamensek conducted the
Metropolitan Opera Live in HD performance and cinema transmission of ''Akhnaten'',
the second female conductor ever to be featured in the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series. The recording of ''Akhnaten'' subsequently won a 2022
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for
Best Opera Recording.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamensek, Karen
1970 births
20th-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American women musicians
21st-century American conductors (music)
21st-century American women musicians
American contemporary classical music performers
American people of Slovenian descent
American women conductors (music)
Classical musicians from Illinois
Grammy Award winners
Jacobs School of Music alumni
Living people
Music directors (opera)
Musicians from Chicago