The Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) Artistic Director Search Committee is pleased to announce Kazem Abdullah as the newest candidate for the OBF artistic director position.
Abdullah will conduct Bach’s Mass in B Minor on June 21 and present a modern chamber orchestra concert on June 18, which includes Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery’s commentary on The Star-Spangled Banner, and Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony. Tickets to both concerts are available now for Friends of the Festival and go on sale to the public on May 11.
An American conductor currently living in Nürnberg, Germany, Abdullah was Music and Artistic Director of the City of Aachen, Germany from 2012 to 2017. During his tenure, he reached new and diverse audiences through innovative programming and performing in atypical venues. A passionate advocate of new music as well as established repertoire, Abdullah continues to develop relationships with national and international orchestras and opera houses. Credits include the symphony orchestras of Oregon, Indianapolis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati, as well as recent turns with New World Symphony, Omaha, and Baton Rouge.
In the opera arena, he recently conducted a gala for the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the American premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s opera Brokeback Mountain with the New York City Opera, and Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda for Cape Town Opera. Other recent engagements include the Metropolitan Opera (Fire Shut up in my Bones), Portland Opera (Central Park Five), Detroit Opera (The Life and Times of Malcom X), and the world premiere of Castor and Patience with Cincinnati Opera.
A dedicated educator, Abdullah has worked with student bands and orchestras in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Interlochen, Oklahoma Arts Institute, Tanglewood, and at universities in Cologne, Aachen, and Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Born in Indiana, Abdullah began his music studies at the age of 10. Trained as a clarinetist, he studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and the University of Southern California before performing extensively as an orchestral musician, chamber musician, and soloist. In 2012, Abdullah participated in the OBF conducting masterclass with Helmuth Rilling. He spent two seasons as a member of the New World Symphony and has performed with many orchestras including the Cincinnati and National Symphony Orchestras. He has also performed with prominent chamber ensembles such as the Paris based Trio Wanderer and the Auryn Quartet.
Abudullah joins the previously announced Eric Jacobsen and Miguel Harth-Bedoya as finalists for the OBF artistic director position.