Described as “a conductor of great intensity without distancing, maneuvering without indifference” (Neue muzikzeitung), Zimbabwean-born conductor, Vimbayi Kaziboni (b. 1988), has led many critically lauded performances with orchestras across the globe, in Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland the United Kingdom, the United States and Uzbekistan, performing at some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall, Lincoln Center, South Bank Centre, Philharmonie de Paris, Elbphilharmonie, Deutschlandfunk, Hessischer Rundfunk, Oper Frankfurt, Sala Sao Paulo, among others. In the upcoming season, Mr. Kaziboni makes debuts at the Berlin Philharmonie, Kölner Philharmonie, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Wiener Konzerthaus and the Royal Concertgebouw. In the summer of 2020, Mr. Kaziboni will serve as assistant conductor to Sir. Simon Rattle at the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall.
Hailed among the foremost interpreters of modern and contemporary music of his generation, Mr. Kaziboni has worked directly with many of the leading composers of the day that include Helmut Lachenmann, Steve Reich, George Benjamin, Heiner Goebbels, Augusta Read Thomas, John Adams, George Lewis, Liza Lim, Morten Lauridsen, Dai Fujikura, Rebecca Saunders, Matthias Pintscher, Olga Neuwirth, Bruno Mantovani, Nicolaus A. Huber, and Jacob TV among many others. He has led premieres of new works at festivals across the globe that include Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Utrecht), Mostly Mozart Festival (New York), Maerzmusik (Berlin), SoundState (London), Cresc…Biennale (Frankfurt), Festival Manifeste (Paris), Klangspuren Festival (Schwaz), Peak Performances (Montclair), Young Euro Classic (Berlin), VIVO Music Festival (Columbus), Freispiel (Frankfurt), Los Angeles Composers Project (Los Angeles), Turbulences Numériques (Paris), Forum für Neue Musik (Cologne), Taschenopernfestival (Salzburg), Happy New Ears (Frankfurt), the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerb (Berlin), Acht Brücken (Cologne), Ruhrtrienalle (Essen), Musik-Festival Quantensprünge (Karlsruhe), Voix Nouvelles (Royamont), and Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordão (Sao Paulo), among many others.
Mr. Kaziboni has had a long association with leading contemporary music ensembles, Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt) and Ensemble InterContemporain (Paris), ensembles he served as assistant conductor at the beginning of his career and now frequently collaborates with as guest conductor. Mr. Kaziboni has also been Artistic Director of The What's Next? Ensemble (Los Angeles), Artistic Director of The New Philharmonic Omaha (Omaha, NE), and Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at Gettysburg College (Gettysburg, PA), and conductor of the International Ensemble Modern Academy (Frankfurt). In addition, recent collaborators have included the Junge Deutche Philharmonie, Ensemble Contrechamps (Geneva), International Contemporary Ensemble (New York), the Omaha Symphony, Hamburg Camerata and the Omnibus Ensemble (Tashkent) and the Martha Graham Dance Company (New York).
A former Fulbright Fellow (2013-14), Mr. Kaziboni holds degrees from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles and the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK) in Germany. He now serves as Assistant Professor of Orchestral Studies and Contemporary Music at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.