Katharina Dickopf is a young and versatile artist, known for her talents in music, art, and direction. As a conductor, she has led some of the most prestigious orchestras in the world, including the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, Staatskapelle Dresden, Mecklenburgische Staatskapelle Schwerin, and Cairo Symphony Orchestra. In the current season, she is conducting ‚Der geteilte Himmel‘ (Musical) at Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin and working as an assistant to GMD Mark Rohde.

Born in Berlin in 1997, Katharina showed a natural inclination for music from a young age and began taking piano lessons at seven. Her passion for conducting emerged early, and by 2013, she had already conducted the festival’s youth group at the international music festival ‚Heidelberger Frühling‘. She received a piano scholarship at the Heidelberg Music and Singing School in the following year, where she further honed her skills in directing amateur orchestras and working with choirs.

Katharina Dickopf’s dedication to her craft is evident in her extensive studies in orchestral conducting. She studied orchestral conducting at the Music Academy for Music and Performing Arts Mannheim in 2015/16 under the guidance of Prof. Klaus Arp, Prof. Cosima Osthoff, and Joongbae Jee. Since 2016, she has been studying orchestral conducting with Prof. Ekkehard Klemm and Prof. Georg-Christoph Sandmann at the Dresden University of Music, and also received choral conducting lessons from Prof. Hans-Christoph Rademann. During her studies, she conducted various orchestras, including the Staatskapelle Dresden, the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, and the Robert Schumann Philharmonie Chemnitz. Additionally, she participated in the Järvi Academy and received advice from Leonid Grin, Neeme, Kristjan, and Paavo Järvi. She also received further inspiration from Christian Thielemann, Jorma Panula, and Omer Meier Wellber in masterclasses and at the Aurora Stockholm Masterclasses with Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Johannes Gustavsson.

Katharina Dickopf has also worked as a musical assistant for several productions, including L. Janacek’s “Katja Kabanowa” at the Landesbühnen Sachsen, C.Gounod’s “Faust” at the Heidelberg Theater, and at the Dresden State Operetta and the Dresden University Choir. She has also worked as an assistant at the Dresden State Operetta and the Dresden University Choir. In Schwerin, she worked as a répétiteur for R. Wagner’s „Tannhäuser“ and assisted in productions like „The Cunning Little Vixen“ by L. Janacek. She has also participated in several international music festivals, such as the Pablo Casals Festival and the Aurora Music Festival.

In 2019, Katharina Dickopf founded the “Acantun Kollektiv” with six composers to develop concert programs with new compositions and perform them with various ensembles. She has worked with renowned contemporary music ensembles, such as Sinfonietta Dresden and El Perro Andaluz.

Katharina Dickopf’s creative vision extends beyond the baton, as she is also a gifted visual artist and director. She designed a visual concept for a concert of Romitelli’s „Professor Bad Trip“ and directed the chamber opera „Leonce und Lena“ in 2018. Some of her photographs and paintings were also on view in the STUWERTINUM Dresden in the spring of that same year.

In 2020, she led the chamber opera production „Hänsel und Gretel“ as a conductor at the Landesbühnen Sachsen and in 2022, Katharina received the scholarship „Deutschland Stipendium Ernst von Schuch“.