Garrett Keast has received worldwide attention for his ability to create galvanizing and soul-stirring experiences in concert halls and opera houses. Praised for “leaving audiences hungry for more” (Basler Zeitung), the Berlin-based conductor is recognized for his broad repertoire experience and for his American focus with his Berlin Academy of American Music, a professional chamber orchestra founded during the pandemic, which is focused on the American repertoire. He is consistently admired for the enthusiasm and synergy he builds with musicians and audiences.

Keast began his career in New York as Associate Conductor of the New York City Opera before launching his career in Europe with engagements at the Paris Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Bonn, and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Today, he regularly appears at venues including Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Brussels’ BOZAR, the Staatsoper Hamburg, Aspen Music Festival, Theater an der Wien, and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Described as drawing out “refined and concentrated playing” with “assured sensitivity” (Financial Times), Keast has conducted performances with orchestras such as the Tonkünstler Orchester, Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Atlanta Symphony, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Recent recording projects have included Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin and the debut album of the Berlin Academy of American Music, Transatlantic, which features the Greek flutist Stathis Karapanos and Israeli soprano Chen Reiss.