Susanne Blumenthal

Susanne Blumenthal is one of the most versatile conductors of her generation. Following multiple engagements with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, SWR Vokalensemble, Ensemble Modern, PHACE, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Talea Ensemble, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Schauspiel Frankfurt, the Munich Biennale, and others, she makes her debut later this year with the SWR Symphony Orchestra at the opening concert of the Donaueschingen Music Festival, as well as with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra at Wien Modern.

Widely sought after for her interpretations of contemporary music, Susanne Blumenthal has worked with composers such as Isabel Mundry, Manos Tsangaris, Rebecca Saunders, Helmut Lachenmann, Hans Zender, Nicolaus A. Huber, Friedrich Cerha, Johannes Kalitzke, Mark Andre, Simon Steen-Andersen, Beat Furrer, Oxana Omelchuk, Gordon Kampe, Ying Wang and Vito Žuraj.
With her own new music ensemble MAM.manufaktur, she also performs at numerous festivals, such as Ultraschall Berlin, the Donaueschingen Music Days, Eight Bridges, ECLAT, the Darmstadt Summer Courses as well as at the Festival Mixtur in Barcelona, Festival de Música Contemporánea in Oviedo or at the Contemporary Music Society in Seoul.

As Founder and Artistic Director of the EOS Chamber Orchestra in Cologne, she explores the boundaries between new and improvised music/jazz, appearing at many festivals, including the Moers Festival, the Bonn Jazz Festival and the Monheim Triennale.

Susanne Blumenthal was a lecturer in orchestral conducting at the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre for seven years before being appointed Professor of New Music at the Cologne University of Music and Dance in 2021. She is a member of both the Forum Conducting Advisory Board and the Podium Present Advisory Board of the German Music Council and a board member of ON – Neue Musik Köln e. V.