Biography

Kevin Rhodes

Conductor

American conductor Kevin Rhodes has had an exceptionally varied career spanning concerts, opera and ballet across the globe, having conducted in 15 different countries with nearly 50 different orchestras.  His work extends from the major opera houses of Europe to the concert stages of the U.S. He has collaborated with artists as diverse as Andre Watts, Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg, Peter Serkin, Glenn Dicterow and Lorin Hollander in the classical arena while working with pops favorites such as Art Garfunkel and the Kingston Trio. One of the most highly sought after conductors by Europe’s major ballet companies, Rhodes has made an international name for himself conducting for the Paris Opera Ballet, the Vienna State Opera Ballet, the Ballet of la Scala, the Berlin State Opera Ballet, The Dutch National Ballet, The Stuttgart Ballet, The Basel Ballet, The Verona Ballet and The Ballet of Teatro San Carlo. Many of Maestro Rhodes’ performances with the Paris, Vienna, Milan and Dutch companies have been filmed and broadcast throughout Europe on television and in cinemas, and distributed worldwide.

This season marks his fourteenth as Music Director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts and the Traverse Symphony Orchestra in Michigan. He assumed these posts in 2001 after working exclusively for 10 years in Europe where he led orchestras at the top opera houses in repertoire ranging from the operas of Richard Strauss, Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Mozart, Smetana and many others to the major ballets of Prokofiev, Bartok and Tchaikovsky.  With the 2010-2011 season he was appointed to the additional post of Principal Conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston.

While now based in the US Rhodes has also maintained an active guest conducting schedule abroad. Last summer he led the Tokyo Philharmonic in a premiere of piano concerto by jazz legend Bob James at the Tokyo Jazz Festival. He has returned on many occasions to the Paris Opera for multiple productions there, one of which was followed by a tour with the company to Japan. Here in the US Mr. Rhodes has guest conducted the Houston, Hartford, Jacksonville, Delaware, Tacoma and Queens Symphonies. He made his North American ballet debut with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, and in 2014 guest conducted the Santa Fe Symphony and returned to the Vienna State Opera Ballet. This season he debuted with the Stamford Symphony, and returns to lead a premier with the Stuttgart Ballet. Earlier this season Kevin Rhodes led the Springfield Symphony at Gillette Stadium when the Patriots opened the NFL season; their performance was seen by 75,000 spectators and broadcast by NBC for a television audience of 35 million. In 2016 he returns to lead ballet performances in Paris and Vienna.

Rhodes began his professional conducting career at the age of 16 in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana. He received his B.M. in Piano Performance from Michigan State University where he studied conducting with Maestro Leon Gregorian, and earned his M.M. in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Illinois under the tutelage of Paul Vermel. 

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Kevin Rhodes

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