European and US Formation

Trained in the United States and Europe, Maestra Diehnelt established her craft as conductor and composer in both Finland and Switzerland, leading Baltic, Russian, and European ensembles. In Helsinki, Maestra Diehnelt founded the Helsinki Camerata, a group dedicated to a chamber music approach to orchestral performance.

World Class Composer

Maestra 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 (IL); 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). 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.  

Maestra Diehnelt 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.

Guest Conductor

Maestra Diehnelt is an active guest conductor in the United States and abroad. She received strong praise for her interpretation of the music of Sibelius as Guest Conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica de Aguascalientes (Mexico). Further guest conducting includes:

South Bohemian Chamber Orchestra (Czech Republic)

Lake Forest Civic Orchestra (IL)

Seinäjoki Symphony Orchestra (Finland)

Waukegan Symphony Orchestra (IL)

Rose City Chamber Orchestra (OR)

Civic Orchestra (Chicago, IL)

Marshall Area Youth Orchestra (MN)

Suburban Youth Symphony Orchestra (IL)

VanderCook College of Music Orchestra (Chicago, IL)

Aspen Music Festival

Maestra Diehnelt’s pacing and style reflect an inherent understanding of rhetoric and dramatic flow. She has been praised for her “unusual talent to communicate through the orchestra to her audience.”

“Playing Mahler's 5th Symphony under Kim Diehnelt was one of the most profound musical experiences of my life. The focus, intensity, the passion - she pulled stuff out of us that I had  never heard before. One of those experiences that you never forget.”

Michael Goode, Founder and Principal Trumpet

CHICAGO READING ORCHESTRA