Nodoka Okisawa appointed Chief Conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra

The City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra has appointed Nodoka Okisawa as its new Chief Conductor starting from March 2023. During her initial three-year term, she will lead the renowned Japanese orchestra in subscription, education and family concerts. 

Nodoka Okisawa is the winner of the prestigious Concours international de jeunes chefs d'orchestre de Besançon 2019, where she was awarded the Grand Prix, the Orchestra Prize and the Audience Prize. 

From 2020 to 2022 she was a scholarship holder of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic and assistant to Kirill Petrenko. 

Nodoka Okisawa regularly conducts all leading Japanese orchestras such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa.

At the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival 2022, the 30th anniversary edition of the festival, Nodoka Okisawa will debut with the Saito Kinen Orchestra conducting W.A. Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" in a production by Laurent Pelly.

She will also make her debuts in 2022 and 2023 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, MDR-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig and Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, among others.

Following her debut with the Munich Symphony Orchestra in November 2021, Nodoka Okisawa will return to the orchestra in the 2022/23 season as Artist in Residence and will perform in a variety of concert formats.

Nodoka Okisawa lives in Berlin.

The City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1956 under the direction of the Kyoto Municipal Government. Today, the CKSO gives about 100 concerts a year, including 11 subscription concerts, special concerts and student concerts.

For the official press release of the orchestra click here ->