Kazem Abdullah works internationally, appearing with orchestras such as Atlanta Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Orquestra de São Paulo, New World Symphony, as well as guest conducting with The Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Théâtre du Châtelet de Paris. He was the music director for the symphony orchestra and opera house of Aachen, Germany from 2012-2017.
Abdullah excels at reaching newer and diverse audiences through innovative programming and riveting performances. In addition to exploring new venues to bring concerts to audiences, he has experimented with juxtapositions of styles in non-traditional concert formats. Abdullah is a formidable opera conductor with a repertoire of over 30 operas. He is recognized in the classical music industry for connecting with audiences through his well executed and inspiring concerts.
Read full bioLyric Opera of Chicago will present the second of two Chicago-set world premieres in its season: Proximity.
Sarasota Orchestra
More infoRESPIGHI Botticelli Triptych
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme
MOZART Symphony No. 41 in C Major ("Jupiter")
Brevard Sinfonia
More infoRavel's delightful Piano Concerto in G, filled with the sounds of American Jazz and Spanish Basque folk music, serves as the centerpiece of this multimedia concert exploring New World Encounters, and the influences of Jazz on three major European composers - Paul Hindemith, Igor Stravinsky, and Maurice Ravel. This scripted program also includes Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements, excerpts from Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis, and music from the famed Woody Herman band.
Lara Downes and Brevard Music Center Orchestra
More infoIconic American pianist Lara Downes joins Maestro Kazem Abdullah in a celebration of American music. Irving Fine’s energetic Toccata Concertante opens a program that includes a preview performance of a brand new concerto by the dean of American composers, Adolphus Hailstork. George Gershwin’s beloved An American in Paris brings the concert to a joyous conclusion.
The Metropolitan Opera
More infoAnthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.