Hailed by the Washington Post as a “true star” of the podium, conductor, cellist
and author Kenneth Woods has worked with many orchestras of international
distinction including the National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony,
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Northern Sinfonia, and the State of Mexico
Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared on the stages of some of the world’
s leading music festivals, including Aspen, Lucerne, Round Top and Scotia His
work on the concert platform and in the recording studio has led to numerous
broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, National Public Radio, and the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation.
In 2010, Kenneth Woods was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of Orchestra
of the Swan, with whom he made his debut in the final concert of their Spring
Sounds Festival. In December 2010, Kenneth recorded the first disc in a series
pairing the complete symphonies of Robert Schumann and Austrian émigré
composer Hans Gál. This world-premiere recording of the Gál Third Symphony
coincided with its first performance in over 55 years. The Gal/Schuman project
follows on from the success of his commercial recording debut as a conductor in
sessions for Avie Records with the Northern Sinfonia in 2009. That disc of world-
premiere recordings of music by Hans Gál has been hailed by The Strad,
Classical Music, Classical CD Reviews and Musical Pointers for its “committed
performances”, “first class” and “quick witted” playing, whilst Gramophone
underlined Woods’ “highly polished account, with orchestral playing throughout
most assured.” In June, Somm Records releases Woods’ first recording of the
music of Gustav Mahler (Schoenberg’s chamber ensemble versions of Das Lied
von der Erde and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen), a composer with whom
Woods is closely associated. This spring, Woods also conducts world-premiere
recordings of James Schlefer’s Concerto for Shakuhachi and “Haru no Umi” by
Michiyo Miyagi for Parma Recordings.
As music director of the Oregon East Symphony from 2000-9, he transformed a
tiny orchestra in a remote, rural area into possibly the most talked-about
orchestra in the Pacific Northwest, winning universal praise for their nationally
celebrated “Redneck Mahler” cycle, progressive programming and innovative
youth programs. Other permanent affiliations include the Contemporary Music
Ensemble of Wales (with whom he is often heard on BBC Radio 3), and the
Rose City Chamber Orchestra of Portland, Oregon. In June 2010, he was invited
by the Stradivari Trust to conduct their 25th anniversary concert, featuring a
string orchestra made up of many of the world’s leading soloists and chamber
musicians including Natalie Clein, Lawrence Power, Guy Johnston, Matthew
Trussler and the Endellion and Fitzwilliam String Quartets. Kenneth’s blog, A
View from the Podium , is one of the 25 most popular classical music blogs in
the world.
Woods’ unique gifts were widely acknowledged early on by some of today’s
leading conductors. In the spring of 2001, Kenneth Woods was selected by
Leonard Slatkin as one of four participants in the National Conducting Institute
at the Kennedy Center. At the completion of the Institute, he led the National
Symphony Orchestra in a debut concert, drawing great critical acclaim. In the
spring of 2000, David Zinman selected Kenneth Woods from a pool of over 200
applicants to be a fellow in the inaugural class of the American Academy of
Conducting at Aspen. Toronto Symphony Music Director Peter Oundjian has
praised Woods as “a conductor with true vision and purpose. He has a most fluid
and clear style and an excellent command on the podium… a most complete
musician.”
Kenneth Woods has conducted critically praised productions of operas from
Britten to Puccini, and ballet scores as diverse as Giselle, the Nutcracker and
Firebird. Woods’ work as an active proponent of contemporary music includes
collaborations with composers including John Corigliano, Krystopf Penderecki,
Peter Lieberson and Oliver Knussen.
In 2005, he was asked by the musicians of the Rose City Chamber Orchestra to
found a new professional training institute for young conductors. In just four years
under his leadership, the Rose City International Conductor’s Workshop has
become widely recognized as one of the leading training centers in the world for
young conductors, drawing students from the world’s leading conservatories and
nations as diverse as Argentina, Japan, Korea, Germany, Spain, Israel, Mexico,
Brazil, Russia and Canada. In 2009, the RCICW was the subject of a
documentary on American public television.
As a cellist he has been recipient of the Aspen Fellowship (Mr. Woods has
received the Aspen Fellowship as both a cellist and conductor), the Dale Gilbert
Award (the only musician to win this award in consecutive years), the Strelow
Quartet Fellowship, the National Endowment for the Arts Rural Residency
Grant and has recorded and toured extensively as soloist and chamber
musician. He has played chamber music with members of the Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Cincinnati,
Chicago and Toronto symphonies, and the Minnesota, Gewandhaus and
Concertgebow orchestras. He was founding cellist of the National Endowment
for the Arts recognized Taliesin Trio, and of the Masala Quartet, who have
recorded for Vienna Modern Masters and appeared at festivals and concert
series’ in the US and Europe. He is currently cellist of the string trio Ensemble
Epomeo, with whom he performs regularly in the UK, Europe and the USA.
Mr. Woods pursued his advanced conducting studies as a fellowship student at
the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and also studied at
leading summer institutes and workshops around the world. He has studied
conducting with Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, Jorma Panula, and Gerhard
Samuel. In this capacity as an assistant, he collaborated with James Conlon,
Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Paavo Jarvi, Richard Hickox, Robert Spano, Tadaaki Otaka,
Jiri Belohlavek and Peter Oundjian.