German conductor Clemens Schuldt is acclaimed for his fresh, insightful interpretations, remarkable musical intelligence, and adventurous programming. Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, he brings equal passion to the great masterpieces of the Classical and Romantic repertoire and to lesser-known and contemporary works.
Schuldt’s career spans leading orchestras and opera houses across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. He has conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Weimar, Bamberg Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Netherlands Philharmonic, and Oregon Symphony, among many others, and has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Vilde Frang, Augustin Hadelich, Igor Levit, Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, Daniil Trifonov, and Alisa Weilerstein.
Opera is central to his musical life. His work has taken him to Garsington Opera, Opera North, Staatstheater Karlsruhe, and Staatstheater Mainz, where he led productions ranging from Mozart and Bellini to Gluck, Gounod, Verdi, and Wagner. In 2019, he made his acclaimed debut at the Venice Biennale conducting George Benjamin’s Written on Skin.
From 2016 to 2022, Schuldt was Chief Conductor of the Münchener Kammerorchester, where he developed a reputation for imaginative programming and dynamic performances. His projects have also crossed musical boundaries, including an extraordinary Beethoven collaboration with Jazzrausch Bigband.
A violinist by training, Schuldt began his musical studies in Bremen before pursuing conducting in Düsseldorf, Vienna, and Weimar. In 2010, he won the prestigious Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London and subsequently served as Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
