Kevin John Edusei

Conductor Kevin John Edusei is notable for his African background and has performed with Britain's ethnic <a href="spotify:artist:7FKUsKktgY7Zf8iAL6wOls">Chineke! Orchestra</a>. Yet his rapidly growing career has developed largely without a connection to Africa and African music. Since a stint as conductor of the <a href="spotify:artist:5jSyEHI4tPkBgp84luyqpO">Munich Philharmonic</a>, he has made increasingly prominent guest appearances. In 2024, he appeared on the live <a href="spotify:artist:5yxyJsFanEAuwSM5kOuZKc">London Symphony Orchestra</a> recording Rósza, Bartók: Violin Concertos.

Edusei was born on August 5, 1976, in Bielefeld, in West Germany's heavily industrialized North Rhine-Westphalia region. His father was a doctor from Ghana, his mother a German pastor and historian, and among his maternal ancestors was opera singer Antonie Wingels. Edusei studied piano and percussion in his youth and then added sound engineering to the mix at the Berlin University of the Arts, switching to conducting while he was there. He moved on for further studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, The Netherlands, working with <a href="spotify:artist:7ImcWoa8cYZQQ9puwdU2Sn">Ed Spanjaard</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0Cq6rd7z1NtE6cDAh9DeYN">Jac van Steen</a>, and then held a scholarship to study with <a href="spotify:artist:2J7jiJ5cdLieortTaN6yMT">David Zinman</a> at the Aspen Music Festival. His other short-term teachers have included <a href="spotify:artist:37Lr1lIJy824MQIENRUnZn">Kurt Masur</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2prZJWfQMnIgwUKxKcBxH7">Pierre Boulez</a> (for whom he conducted <a href="spotify:artist:5PkKmEWhfJ9jHVHXbZl0Ks">Stockhausen</a>'s difficult Gruppen at the Lucerne Festival), and <a href="spotify:artist:3pYJ8R30XjH8PutGI42wtL">Péter Eötvös</a>. Edusei worked as a conductor primarily in German theater, at Theater Bielefeld, Theater Augsburg, and the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar for several years. A first prize at the Dmitri Mitropoulos Competition in Athens attracted bookings with major orchestras, including the <a href="spotify:artist:49TgMBH68KIFiOmLMoUOWY">Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:3Vfvyx6OouTxYU3emXonW7">Staatskapelle Dresden</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:09KZU0NsS7jRa5p0SflmGY">Philharmonia Orchestra</a> in London, the <a href="spotify:artist:7m5yQHpGKbm9YHcUdrZElN">Mozarteum Orchestra</a> of Salzburg, and, in 2017, the <a href="spotify:artist:2OWBfxGoj5GhipuZ1cKnmB">Colorado Symphony</a> in the U.S.

Edusei led the <a href="spotify:artist:7FKUsKktgY7Zf8iAL6wOls">Chineke! Orchestra</a> at the BBC Proms that year as well, and with that group he recorded the Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ("From the New World"), and Sibelius' Finlandia, Op. 26. Edusei was named chief conductor of the <a href="spotify:artist:5jSyEHI4tPkBgp84luyqpO">Munich Philharmonic</a> in 2013, and in 2016, his contract was extended through 2022. He made his recording debut with that group with a pair of Schubert symphonies on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Solo+Musica%22">Solo Musica</a> label; the album was released in 2018. Since the conclusion of his contract in Munich, Edusei has maintained a schedule of high-profile guest appearances. He served as principal guest conductor of the <a href="spotify:artist:25iprcvBsfduvCePYhpsLX">Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra</a> for three years in the early 2020s, and his 2024-2025 season included debuts with the <a href="spotify:artist:3gacryguGmpmCvgPGt2CBI">New York Philharmonic</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:5HxMHFsUWX0VqOlmsoGrTj">Konzerthausorchester Berlin</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:2nJZffRcm3WDa74FSkYYOb">ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra</a> (at the Musikverein in Vienna), and the Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra, among other top groups. Edusei's growing recording catalog includes the 2024 album Rósza, Bartók: Violin Concertos, recorded live with the <a href="spotify:artist:5yxyJsFanEAuwSM5kOuZKc">London Symphony Orchestra</a>. ~ James Manheim, Rovi