Brad Cohen is the Tumu Whakarae, General Director of New Zealand Opera, a role he has held since 2023. Brad is an experienced musician and music technologist, and has worked internationally as a conductor of opera and orchestral performances. His first engagement with New Zealand Opera was as conductor for the company’s 1998 season of Macbeth, and prior to his appointment also served as Artistic Director of West Australian Opera from 2015 to 2018. Brad grew up in Sydney before studying at Oxford University, the Royal College of Music, and the Royal Northern College of Music. He first came to public attention when, a year after winning the 1994 Leeds Conductor’s Competition, he conducted the world premiere of Thomas Adès’ Powder her Face.
Over the succeeding decades he has led orchestras including the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Het Gelders Orkest, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Brad has conducted a wide-ranging repertoire at opera companies including English National Opera, New York City Opera, and Opera Australia. His numerous recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Chandos and Naxos encompass both French and Italian operas.