Maestra Kim Diehnelt is compelled to create beauty through her work as an international conductor, accomplished composer and
artistic coach.
Trained in the United States and
Europe, Kim Diehnelt established her craft as conductor and composer in
both Finland and Switzerland, leading Baltic, Russian, and European ensembles.
In Helsinki, Kim founded the Helsinki Camerata, a group dedicated
to a chamber music approach to orchestral performance.
Kim Diehnelt has been composing works for solo instruments,
chamber, orchestral and choral ensembles since 2011. Her style is best
described as a “Nordic Palestrina” as her works possess a lyrical, vocal
quality with an attention to beauty and the sense of an unfolding story. She was
a semi-finalist for The American Prize in Composition in the Professional
Orchestra division in 2015 for her work
Montegar for viola and
strings.
Commissions and requests for Kim to create new music span a broad range of styles and ensembles; from symphonic to choral, mixed chamber ensemble and even handbell choir. Commissioned works include Striadica:
A Symphonic Passage (2017) for the Lake Forest Civic Orchestra, Mourret (2018) for Clarinet and String Trio, Wintram (2015) for solo cello, and Timeless Grace (2018) for 2-Octave Handbell Choir.
Reviews
of the premiere in May 2016 of Wintram for unaccompanied
cello, a piece commissioned to pair with the Bach cello suites, called the work
a “smashing success for cellist and composer alike.”
In
January 2015 the quartet version of Caprio saw performances in
Chicago (Metropolis Oboe Quartet) and in New York (Face the Music). Recent
performances of the full string-orchestra version include the Women’s Community
Orchestra in Oakland CA in 2016 and the Northwest Symphony Orchestra in
2017.
Kim was named the KISMET Foundation’s 2018
Artist-in-Residence and created the work Yarmouth
Time for Violin and Cello which captures the inspiration of
Maine's natural beauty, dynamic winter climate, and the spirit of the town of
Yarmouth, ME.
An active guest conductor in the United
States and abroad, she is acknowledged as an authority on the music of Edward
Elgar and regularly presents the orchestral works of Edward Elgar
through conducting performances and providing arrangements for chamber
ensembles. Guest conducting includes: Orquestra Sinfónica de Aguascalientes (Mexico), Lake Forest Civic Orchestra (IL), South Bohemian Chamber
Orchestra (Czech Republic), Seinäjoki Symphony Orchestra (Finland), Waukegan
Symphony Orchestra (IL), Rose City Chamber Orchestra (OR), Civic Orchestra
(Chicago, IL), VanderCook College of Music Orchestra (Chicago, IL) and Aspen
Music Festival.
Diehnelt’s conducting activities include Music Director positions
with the Helsinki Camerata, Helsinki
Community College Orchestra, Southwest Minnesota Orchestra, South Loop
Symphony, Chicago Reading Orchestra, and most recently with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra in the greater
Chicago area.
As an opera and
ballet conductor, Kim has led staged productions by Chicago Folks
Operetta, American Chamber Opera, Main Street Opera (IL), Ensemble
Warhol (Boston, MA), American Opera
Group, Opera Millennium (MN), and Ragamala
Music and Dance Theater (MN).
Other artistic activities
include: Artistic Director of the Sounds of the South Loop in Chicago, and Director
of Chamber Music at the Helsinki University.
Kim Diehnelt’s primary teachers have been Walter Hügler (Biel, Switzerland),
and Atso Almila (Helsinki, Finland). She also received training at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, Biel
Academy, Switzerland, and the Sibelius Academy and Helsinki Conservatory in
Finland.