Artist Biographies

Karen Kamensek, conductor

These performances mark Karen Kamensek’s first appearance with the Charlotte Symphony.

Karen Kamensek’s remarkable versatility and expansive artistry, coupled with her deep commitment to championing composers of the 20th and 21st century, is reflected in her work in both the opera house and on the concert stage. Recently, she made her long-awaited Metropolitan Opera debut with the Olivier award-winning Phelim McDermott production of Glass’ Akhnaten — her recording of this production recently won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording — as well as debuts with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra conducting works by Camille Pépin and Tōru Takemitsu, respectively.

Ms. Kamensek began her 21/22 season with a long-awaited conducting debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and closes the season with a return to the Metropolitan Opera for a revival of Glass’ Akhnaten. In February she led the orchestra of the Opéra National du Rhin in the world premiere of Glass’ ballet Alice choreographed by Amir Hosseinpour and Jonathan Lunn. In April she makes her debut with the Arizona Opera in a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Her orchestral conducting performances include a Mostly-Bernstein program with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and a debut with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in a program featuring Borisova-Ollas, Shostakovich, and Sibelius.

Frequently in demand as a guest conductor with many of today’s most prominent opera companies and orchestras, Ms. Kamensek’s recent opera highlights include her debut and return performances with the English National Opera in Glass’ Akhnaten and Satyagraha; her debut with the San Francisco Opera conducting a new production of Floyd’s Susannah; and the Royal Swedish Opera’s production of Victoria Borisova-Ollas’ Dracula. Recent orchestral highlights include a focus on living-composer Thea Musgrave with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic as part of their highlylauded Composer Festival; a live-to-film performance of Miloš Forman’s iconic Oscar-winning film Amadeus with the Oslo Philharmonic; and performances of Philip Glass’/Ravi Shankar’s collaboration “Passages” with master sitar player Anoushka Shankar leading the Britten Symphonia in the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.

For more information please visit karenkamensek.com

Calin Ovidiu Lupanu, violin

Concertmaster Calin Lupanu, the Catherine & Wilton Connor Chair, joined the Charlotte Symphony in 2003.

Born in Timisoara, Romania, violinist Calin Ovidiu Lupanu completed his undergraduate studies at the Music Academy in Bucharest, where he served as Concertmaster of the conservatory’s Chamber Orchestra. During his summers as a student, Mr. Lupanu performed in festival orchestras in Lanciano, Italy as Assistant Concertmaster and the Young Soloists Orchestra “Fiori Rari” in Lugano, Switzerland as Concertmaster. Upon graduation, he was appointed Violin Professor at the Music Academy.

While in Bucharest, Lupanu joined the Lipatti String Quartet as first violin, continuing in that capacity for 10 years. In 1995, they were named Quartet-inResidence at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where Lupanu earned a Performance Certificate in Chamber Music. While at UWM, the quartet was featured as Ensemble-in-Residence with the Pabst Theater.

Lupanu’s awards as a soloist include the First Prizes of the International Violin Competition in Stresa, Italy, and the National Violin Competition in Suceava, Romania. Prior to winning the national audition for the Charlotte Symphony, Lupanu served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Evansville Philharmonic, principal player in the Alabama Symphony, and Concertmaster of the West Virginia Symphony.

In addition to his season-long responsibilities in Charlotte, Lupanu maintains a busy summer schedule, participating in such festivals as Bach and Beyond, Aspen, Lower Saxony, Strings in the Mountains, and the Colorado Music Festival, the latter of which he has served as Concertmaster since 2004 and Chamber Music Coordinator since 2014.

A very active chamber musician, Lupanu has collaborated with the Fine Arts Quartet, Angela Cheng, Jon Nakamatsu, Christopher Taylor, Orion Weiss, Andres Cardenes, Lynn Harrell, Desmond Hoebig, Jose Feghali, Olga Kern, Joshua Roman, Phillip Bush, and was featured as a soloist with the Evansville Philharmonic, Alabama Symphony, Green Bay Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. A very dedicated teacher, Lupanu maintains an active teaching studio in Charlotte and served as Lecturer in Strings at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Since 2016, Calin Lupanu and his wife, Monica Boboc, have started the non-profit ensemble and series, Chamber Music for All, committed to providing high quality chamber music performances and educational projects, accessible to both younger audiences as well as experienced listeners.

Mr. Lupanu plays a violin made by Pierre Silvestre in Lyon, France in 1857.