Biography

Hailed for his exacting technique...
...and passionate conducting, charismatic Malaysian-born Harish Shankar enjoys a growing global presence on the podium. A prize winner at the 6th International Jorma Panula Conducting Competition, Harish is First Kapellmeister of the Staatstheater Meiningen.

Previously held positions include 1st Kapellmeister of the Theater and Philharmonisches Orchester Vorpommern and Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

This season will see Harish conduct Wagner's Tannhäuser at the Wartburg, Massenet’s Werther at Meininger Staatstheater, a repeat invitation to Philharmonisches Orchester Erfurt as well as the premier of his orchestration of Schumann's Dichterliebe and Frauenliebe und -leben.

The audience at the Landestheater celebrated guest conductor Harish Shankar with tempestuous applause and shouts of bravo.

Jochen Berger
Coburger Tageblatt

In the last seasons...

...Harish made his debuts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Opera North, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and Philharmonisches Orchester Erfurt. He also worked with Bridges Orchester Frankfurt, recording works by Iranian composer Pejman Jamilpanah. Operatic engagements include Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the Theater Aachen, Bizet’s Carmen at the Meininger Staatstheater and at the Landestheater Coburg, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutteat the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, as well as La Bohéme at the Stadttheater Bremerhaven.

Highlights of previous seasons include his debuts with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Hallé and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the UK, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège and a series of symphony concerts with the Philharmonisches Orchester Vorpommern in both Stralsund and Greifswald. Harish also conducted the closing concert of the 2017 Cantiere International Arts Festival in Montepulciano and performances in Kuala Lumpur with both the Malaysian Philharmonic and Malaysian Youth Philharmonic orchestras.

Further appearances include Manchester Camerata, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic, Jena Philharmonie, Staatsphilharmonie Braunschweig, Orquesta Sinfónica de Trujillo, Vaasa City Orchestra and Jyväskylä Sinfonia. As assistant conductor he has worked closely with a number of renowned conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Vasily Petrenko, Eckehard Stier and Juanjo Mena and collaborated with the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Auckland Philharmonia orchestras.

After graduating in conducting from the prestigious Weimar Conservatoire in Germany under the tutelage of Professor Gunter Kahlert, Harish Shankar also received mentorship from Sir Mark Elder, Clark Rundell and Mark Heron with masterclasses from Paavo Järvi, Nicolás Pasquet, Leonid Grin and Mark Stringer.

As a strong believer in music education, his early studies with Maestro Eiji Oue subsequently led to an invitation to lead the orchestra of the award-winning El Sistema project in Peru. During his tenure with El Sistema, he conducted a number of regular and cross-over projects with the aim to engage a growing classical music scene and to bring together children from all walks of life through music.

In his free time Harish Shankar serves as an emergency pedagogue with the Friends of Waldorf Education, using music to help children in areas of conflict cope with trauma.