Gábor Káli

Born in Budapest, Gábor Káli began playing the piano and the violin at an early age before graduating as a solo pianist from the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest in 2001. He then began studying conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. In 2004 he became an Erasmus conducting student at the University of the Arts in Berlin, where he finished his studies with a diploma in 2008. He was chosen as a member of the Conducting Forum of the German Music Council, which made it possible for him to participate in conducting courses led by Kurt Masur, Peter Eötvös, Bernard Haitink, Colin Matters, Sian Edwards and Zoltán Peskó. 

After finishing his studies, Gábor Káli worked for two years as a répétiteur and conductor at the City Opera in Aachen. As head conductor of the Aachen Youth Orchestra, he conducted the premiere of Henze’s Pollicino in a production featuring 200 children from various schools. As assistant to Marcus Bosch, he also prepared several other opera productions. Since 2011 he has been second conductor and assistant to the musical director at the Nuremberg State Theatre, where he has conducted a number of opera, operetta, musical, ballet and concert performances with the Nuremberg State Philharmonic. During the 2015/16 season he continued his work in Nuremberg as assistant musical director and principal conductor. During the 2018/19 season he will be assistant to Iván Fischer, both with the Konzerthaus Orchestra in Berlin and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. 

In January 2018 he won the First Hong Kong International Conducting Competition. 

Current as of July 2018