Karen Kamensek (NAHS ‘87)
Conducting orchestras and operas with masterful care
Even on video, Phillip Glass’s opera “Akhnaten” stuns. In this particular 2019 Metropolitan Opera recording of “Hymn to the Sun”, the God-King slowly, methodically climbs a set of stairs, his translucent robe flowing, and takes his place in the center of a bright orange orb. A chorus of voices at the bottom worships him with song.
And hidden away from the audience’s view, leading the orchestra below and the actors above, Karen Kamensek conducts. Like a god of yore, the 1987 New Albany High School grad shapes the music with the stroke of her baton as onlookers marvel.
“A conductor is an amalgam of many skill sets,” said Karen. “Besides the obvious musical skills, such as knowing how to play various instruments, language skills, aural and technical skills, one must feel comfortable with being a leader, and be extremely passionate not only about the music itself but about working together with the wonderful musicians who bring it to life.”
In 2022, Karen and the cast of “Akhnaten” won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
But her journey to the golden gramophone began right here in Southern Indiana.
Music education began early for the artist. She started piano lessons at 4, violin instruction at 8. It was during the latter in an elementary school orchestra class that renowned teacher Rubin Sher offered the precocious youngster a drumstick to beat time after she corrected a classmate. Karen picked it up so quickly that the maestro pronounced she was going to be a conductor. At 11, Mr. Sher allowed her to direct.
“Rubin immediately saw my potential and guided me in that direction,” Karen said. “His comment that I had the temperament and talent to be a conductor felt like the right assessment, and felt natural to me, like a calling, and passion.”
Her immersion in the arts continued throughout high school. Here, she accompanied the choir on the piano and played violin for the orchestra. She then went to Indiana University Bloomington’s Jacobs School of Music and earned degrees in piano performance and orchestral conducting.
“All the seeds of my musical career were planted and sown in the NAFC school system from grades 1- 12,” she said. “The teachers were inspirational and supportive, and without these musical and artistic fundaments, which I was so fortunate to receive from the beginning, I’m sure I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
And then came New York and the legendary Simone Young.
While working on her craft in the Big Apple, Karen waited for Young outside a stage door and told her she needed an assistant.
Appreciating Karen’s “chutzpah”, the famed conductor hired the Hoosier and helped her launch her international career.
And, my, oh, my, has she gone global.
In addition to her position as Music Director of Hanover State Opera in Hanover, Germany, from 2011 to 2016, Karen has guest-conducted numerous operas and orchestras in cities across the globe.
London. Milan. Sydney. Los Angeles. Brussels.
And, of course, the Met, where she debuted in 2019.
The next stop in her busy schedule? In October, she’ll conduct “Akhnaten” at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain. And at the beginning of next year, Karen travels to the Royal Swedish Opera to lead “Figaro Gets a Divorce”.
“In the course of a career, one is shaped by every single piece of music and art that one encounters,” she said. “As a mature artist, I’m still discovering new works and re-visiting old favorites, and I feel my creative juices flow and my mind and soul stretch constantly. So, it’s more of a work in progress with myself. Sometimes I can be brought to my knees by one single measure of Mozart. That’s the power of music and art.”
Read the entire September 2025 Legacy Ledger (Issue 61).