Katharina Dickopf is chief conductor of the Sorbian National Ensemble since the 2024/25 season. She has conducted renowned orchestras such as Sinfonietta Dresden, the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg, and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. Engagements and assistantships have taken her to institutions including the Mecklenburg State Theatre Schwerin, the Theater and Orchestra Heidelberg, the Dresden State Operetta, and the Landesbühnen Sachsen. She has also appeared at international festivals like the Pablo Casals Festival and the Heidelberger Frühling.

Katharina studied conducting at the music universities in Mannheim and Dresden, under professors including Ekkehard Klemm, Valtteri Rauhalammi, Klaus Arp, and Hans-Christoph Rademann. During her studies, she conducted ensembles such as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, and the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Chemnitz. She further honed her skills at the Järvi Academy—working with Neeme, Paavo, and Kristjan Järvi—and participated in masterclasses with Christian Thielemann, Jorma Panula, Nicolás Pasquet, Collin Metters, Omer Meir Wellber, and Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

In 2019, Katharina founded the Acantun Collective togehter with four composers who develop and  produce new concert formats in close collaboration with ensembles like Sinfonietta Dresden and El Perro Andaluz.

Alongside her conducting career, she is active as a director, visual artist, and concept-driven project developer. Her productions include Kurt Schwaen’s chamber opera Leonce and Lena and a multimedia concert project for Fausto Romitelli’s Professor Bad Trip, for which she also designed the visual concept. Her paintings and photographs have been exhibited at venues such as STUWERTINUM Dresden and in smaller exhibitions. In 2024, she created numerous performative miniatures in collaboration with artists from various disciplines.

Katharina Dickopf has received several scholarships, including the Deutschlandstipendium “Ernst von Schuch” scholarship. Since 2024, she has been a scholarship recipient at the Akademie Musiktheater heute.