Anja Bihlmaier (born 11 October 1978,
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district a ...
) is a German conductor.
Biography
Bihlmaier's parents sang in a church choir, and she learned the recorder as a youth.
She later studied piano and violin. Her teachers included Roland Baldini, Johannes Pfitzer and Volker Stenzl. She continued piano studies with Elza Kolodin at the ''Staatliche
Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...
'', from which she graduated in 2003.
Bihlmaier studied conducting with Scott Sandmeier at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, and earned a conducting diploma in 2006. From 2004 to 2005, she held a conducting scholarship at the Mozarteum Salzburg, where she was a pupil of Dennis Russell Davies and Jorge Rotter. From 2005 to 2008, she was part of the Conductors' Forum of the German Music Council, and participated in conducting masterclasses with
Sian Edwards
Sian Edwards (born 27 August 1959) is an English conductor, best known as music director of English National Opera in the 1990s.
Early life
Sian Edwards was born in West Chiltington, West Sussex. She studied at the Royal Northern College of Mus ...
, Peter Gülke,
Günther Herbig
Günther Herbig (born 30 November 1931) is a German conductor.
Born in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, Herbig studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar in 1951 (then in East Germany) with Hermann Abendroth. He later was a student ...
, Gunter Kahlert,
Kenneth Kiesler
Kenneth Kiesler (born August 18, 1953) is an American symphony orchestra and opera conductor and mentor to conductors. Kiesler is conductor laureate of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra where he was music director from 1980 to 2000 and founder and ...
, Klauspeter Seibel and
Jac van Steen
Jac van Steen (born 1956 in Eindhoven) is a Dutch conductor. He studied music theory, as well as orchestral and choral conducting, at the .
In the Netherlands, van Steen was conductor and music director of the Nijmegen Bach Choir from 1986 to 1 ...
. Other conducting mentors have included Kirk Trevor, Tsung Yeh, Giordano Bellincampi, Karen Kamensek and Antony Hermus.
From 2006 to 2010, Bihlmaier worked as a repetiteur at the Theater Coburg, at the Theater Görlitz, and at the Theater für Niedersachsen Hildesheim. From 2010 to 2013, Bihlmaier worked at the Theater Chemnitz as ''Zweite Kapellmeisterin'' (Second Kapellmeister) and assistant to the GMD (''Generalmusikdirektor''). From 2013 to 2015, she was ''Zweite Kapellmeisterin'' of the Staatsoper Hannover. From 2015 to 2018, Bihlmaier served as ''Erste Kapellmeisterin'' (First Kapellmeister) and deputy GMD of the Staatstheater Kassel. She was the second titled female conductor in the history of the Staatstheater Kassel.
In July 2017, Bihlmaier conducted the St Margarethen Opera Festival production of ''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...
'', the first female conductor in the festival's history.
In November 2018, Bihlmaier first-guest conducted the
Residentie Orchestra Het Residentie Orkest (literal translation, ''The Residence Orchestra''; known also in English as ''Residentie Orkest The Hague'') is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. The orchestra is currently resident at the Amare performing arts centre in T ...
(''Residentie Orkest''). She first guest-conducted the
Lahti Symphony Orchestra The Lahti Symphony Orchestra (''Sinfonia Lahti'') is a Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. The orchestra is resident at the Sibelius Hall. The orchestra was founded in 1910, and placed under the control of the Lahti municipality in 1949 ...
in December 2018. In May 2019, the Residentie Orkest announced the appointment of Bihlmaier as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021-2022 season. This appointment marks her first chief conductorship. Bihlmaier is the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest, and the second female conductor to be named chief conductor of any Dutch orchestra. In September 2019, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Bihlmaier as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2020-2021 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons. She is the first female conductor named to the Lahti post. In December 2023, the Residentie Orchestra announced that Bihlmaier is to stand down as its chief conductor at the close of the 2024-2025 season.
References
External links
Official homepage of Anja BihlmaierSulivan Sweetland agency page on Anja Bihlmaier'Ik wil zoveel meer zijn dan dirigent alleen', Residentie Orkest Dutch-language interview with Anja Bihlmaier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bihlmaier, Anja
1978 births
Living people
German women conductors (music)
People from Schwäbisch Gmünd
21st-century women musicians
21st-century German conductors (music)