Berlin-based American conductor Garrett Keast"s career was launched in 2012 with performances of Faust at the Opéra National de Paris, Bluthaus by Georg Friedrich Haas at Oper Bonn, and Die Zauberflöte at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Concert debuts followed with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, the Belgian National Orchestra among others, and today Garrett Keast enjoys a highly successful conducting career throughout Europe. He was born in Houston, Texas and was mentored by Christoph Eschenbach at the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
A talented leader, Garrett Keast is invited to the most prestigious orchestras. Engagements have included, among others, the Tonkünstler Orchester Vienna, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, SWR Symphonie Orchester Stuttgart, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Bamberger Symphoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Atlanta Symphony, Royal Danish Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra (Carl Nielsen Violin Competition), Prague Philharmonia, and the Istanbul State Symphony.
Garrett Keast has conducted opera and ballet productions with the Opéra National de Paris (Faust and Swan Lake), Deutsche Oper Berlin (Die Zauberflöte), Operá National de Lorraine à Nancy, Finnish National Opera (Sylvia), Aspen Music Festival (La Bohème), Theater Erfurt (Der Fliegender Holländer), Theater Bremen (Rigoletto), Oper Bonn (Bluthaus), Hamburg Ballet (Bernstein Dances, Mahler"s 10th Symphony, Midsummernight"s Dream, Don Quixote, Nutcracker, Othello, Shakespeare Dances & Tatjana), Royal Danish Ballet (Giselle, Ballet de Luxe, Ballet Festival Gala), Staatsoper Hannover, Opera San Antonio (Carmen), Fort Worth Opera Festival (Così fan tutte), New Orleans Opera (Don Giovanni), and the Virginia Opera (Ariadne auf Naxos).
The young conductor studied conducting at the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals and was awarded the Bruno Walter Career Development Grant during his tenure as Associate Conductor of the New York City Opera. Garrett Keast has held positions as assistant conductor at the Opéra National de Paris, the Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and has often served as Christoph Eschenbach"s musical assistant for orchestra tours and opera productions.