Kalle Kuusava

Winner of the European Conductors Competition in Oslo in 2013 and laureate of Evgeny Svetlanov Competition in Paris in 2014, Kalle Kuusava is on demand as operatic and symphonic conductor.

His recent appearances include debut in the main stage of acclaimed Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in July 2015, conducting ”Maid of Pskov” by Rimsky-Korsakov as well as concerts with Orchestre d´Auvergne and Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra.

His future engagements include conducting ”La Traviata” in Theater an der Wien, ”Carmen” in the Norwegian Opera, and concerts with Quebec Symphony Orchestra, ”La Folle Journée” festival in Nantes and Ural Philharmonic.

Kuusava has built a vast operatic repertoire, having worked in the Norwegian National Opera since 2008 and season 2007/08 in the Zurich Opera. Since 2011 he has also worked annually in the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland.

Kuusava has assisted acclaimed Finnish conductors such as Jukka-Pekka Saraste (Nordea Jean Sibelius Orchestra), Mikko Franck (Wiener Symphoniker, Choregies d´Orange) and Hannu Lintu (Tampere Philharmonic).

Kalle Kuusava studied piano and chamber music at the Sibelius-Academy with Ilmo Ranta, and participated in conducting masterclasses with Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Jorma Panula, Stefan Solyom and Ilan Volkov. He completed his masters degree in orchestral conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.