Bournemouth symphony orchestra

"There is a virile verve to his physical gestures, but they are also finely focused and purposeful"

Geoffrey Norris The Telegraph

Kirill Karabits has been appointed the new Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He takes up the position fully in 2009 but will be appearing with the BSO in three varied concerts in the 2008/2009 season.

Kirill is rapidly establishing a reputation as a conductor of deep musicality. He recently ended two very successful years as Principal Guest Conductor of Strasbourg Philharmonic, appearing with them throughout the season both at home and on tour. From 2002-2005 Kirill was Associate Conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and prior to this, he served as Assistant Conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra working closely with Ivan Fischer between 1998 and 2000 and conducting a number of performances with the orchestra.

Future engagements include the opening of the "Summertime Festival"in Jurmala with Inessa Galante, Irina Dolzenko, Aleksandrs Antonenko and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra; classical programmes with MDR Leipzig and Musikkollegium Winterthur; and a Berlioz/Tchaikovsky concert in the Salle Pleyel with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. He will also visit the Bournemouth Symphony (with whom, following his sensational debut last season he is appearing both this season and next), SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden/Freiburg, Luzerner Sinfonie Orchester, Bordeaux, Lyon, Granada, Luxembourg and the Stavanger Symphony. Further afield, he will conduct Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia and Orquestra Sinfonia do Estado de Sao Paolo.

In addition to his orchestral engagements, Kirill is an established opera conductor. He will be conducting several performances of Tchiakovsky's Eugene Onegin at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in June 2008. In September 2005 he made his debut with Opera National du Rhin and was immediately invited to return to conduct Verdi's Ballo in Maschera in autumn 2008. He recently conducted a production of Zemlinsky's Eine Florentinische Tragoudie with Opera de Nancy et de Lorraine and will return there in 2009 for Idomeneo. This season sees his debut with Geneva Opera in Janacek's The Adventures of Mr Broucek (with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande). He is also scheduled to conduct a production of Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame in Brussels in January 2009 with Luxembourg Philharmonic. Kirill is Principal Guest Conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine, where recent seasons have included a new production of Onegin, as well as regular performances of Tosca and I Pagliacci.

As part of his ongoing Doctoral studies in Vienna Kirill  has done a considerable amount of research into hitherto unperformed or forgotten works that make up part of the recently rediscovered archive of Berliner Singakademie. This included his transcription, and popular premiere at Kiev last season, of C.P.E. Bach's Johannes Passion, written in Hamburg in 1784 and previously considered lost. His research has also led to the modern premiere of Telemann's completely unknown (and probably earliest existing opera) Pastorelle en Musique. Performed at the Gmunden Festival with the baroque ensemble Capella Leopoldina, a repeat performance was also given at the Musikverein in Vienna in May 2004.

Son of a noted Ukrainian composer, Kirill studied conducting and composition at the Lysenko Music School in Kiev before continuing his studies at the National Tchaikovsky Music Academy in Kiev, where he studied with Roman Kofman. In 1995 he decided to further his studies at the Wiener Musikhochschule (studying there for five years and gaining a diploma in orchestral conducting), and also briefly at the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart, studying under Helmut Rilling and Peter Gulke. He conducted the finals of the Maurice Andre trumpet competition with Ensemble Orchestral de Paris in November 2006 and will conduct Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney International Piano Competition in July 2008.