Kazem Abdullah was growing up in the Midwest when he chose not one,
but two instruments, piano and clarinet. He studied at the Cincinnati
Conservatory of Music, and eventually landed a fellowship with Michael
Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony in Miami. That's when Michael
Tilson Thomas challenged him, encouraging him to put down his clarinet
and pick up the baton.
"When I was playing in the orchestra, and I had done a
few small projects with some of my colleagues, and I recorded them and
showed them to him, and he viewed the video. And, we had a very short
conversation, I think I was 22 or 23 at the time, and he said, 'Well,
Kazem, it's clear that you can do this, so why aren't you doing it?'"
From there Kazem Abdullah went on to study at the Los
Angeles Opera, Tanglewood, and the Metropolitan Opera. Where he really
got to spread his wings conducting both opera and symphonic music was in
Germany where he spent five years leading the Sinfonieorchester Aachen.
Before completing his tenure with that ensemble, they released a new
recording of Maurice Ravel's complete ballet, Daphnis and Chloe.
So why did you want to record this ballet, Daphnis and Chloe, by Ravel?
"The recording is actually made from two live
concerts. Every other year there's a Chorbiennale in Aachen. They invite
choruses from all over the world to take part in this Chorbiennale. And
that year we had a guest choir from the Ukraine and then a guest choir
from Utah. And so they complemented the choirs from Aachen and we did
this piece Daphnis and Chloe. The way they ended up coming together and
blending, I thought it was very impressive."
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