Biography
Michael Koehler – Biography
Dr. Michael Koehler is a German orchestral conductor, artistic director and professor of orchestral conducting, working regularly across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Dresden, Berlin, Munich and Paris
Maestro Michael Koehler was born in the musical city of Dresden, Germany. After spending his early years in Dresden as a solo pianist, he studied sound engineering and orchestral conducting in Berlin. Following his graduation from the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin (class of GMD Prof. Rolf Reuter, Berlin State Opera), he continued his studies with Maestro Sergiu Celibidache in Munich and at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. He took part in masterclasses with Kurt Masur, Gerd Albrecht, Rolf Reuter and at the Yehudi Menuhin Academy in Gstaad, among others.
He wrote his thesis in musicology at the Humboldt University of Berlin and was conferred the title of Doctor Philosophiae in 2000.
Orchestras and appointments
Michael Koehler has presented concerts as Artistic and Music Director of the Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra since 2000. In 2008 he was chosen as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra and appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Festival Internazionale della Cultura in Bergamo, Italy. In 2010 he was appointed conductor and professor at SMU University in Seoul, Korea. In 2019 he was appointed General Music Director of the Shanxi Symphony Orchestra in Taiyuan, China. In 2022 he appeared at the National Music Festival of the USA conducting Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10.
He has conducted orchestras across Europe, Asia and the Americas — in Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Russia, China, South Korea, India, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Radio and television broadcasters including ARD, ZDF, RTL, RAI, Russian TV 1, CCTV and Indian National TV have covered his work.
He regularly accompanies renowned soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin Staatskapelle and Leipzig Gewandhaus, among them Guy Braunstein, Lothar Strauß, Christian Funke and Michael Barenboim.
Teaching and academic work
Since 1998 Dr. Koehler has worked at the University of Music and Drama "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig as Head of the Orchestra, orchestral conductor and teacher, with more than 28 years of experience in the training of conductors. In 2017 he was appointed professor at Shanxi University in Taiyuan, China.
His activities have been supported by grants from the German Federal President, the Federal Government Minister for Culture and the Media, the German Music Council, the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Cultural Foundation of Saxony, the City of Leipzig and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
Continue exploring
- Career & Achievements
Milestones from the Berlin Philharmonie debut in 1994 to the OPUS KLASSIK nominations.
- Repertoire
Symphonic, choral and operatic works conducted by Michael Koehler.
- Recordings
Releases on Sony Music, Naxos, Kuke and Sommo.
- Philharmonie Leipzig
The orchestra he founded and has led as Artistic Director since 2000.