Kens Lui takes up as principal conductor at Chemnitz Theatre
Eisler graduate Kens Lui is to become the new principal conductor at the Chemnitz Municipal Theatres. He will take up his post in February 2026. Prior to this, he held the same position at the Meiningen State Theatre since 2024.
Born in Hong Kong, he completed his master's degree in orchestral conducting at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin under Prof. Christian Ehwald, Prof. Hans-Dieter Baum and Prof. Alexander Vitlin. During his studies, he conducted renowned orchestras such as the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Ensemble Reflektor and the Kammerakademie Potsdam.
He began his opera career in 2022 as a répétiteur at the Heidelberg Theatre and Orchestra. In the following season, he became second conductor in Heidelberg. There, he conducted performances of ‘Carmen’ as part of the Schlossfestspiele in the summer of 2025.
From 2022 to 2024, Kens Lui was a scholarship holder of the German Music Council in the Conducting Forum and assisted Marie Jacquot with the WDR Symphony Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. He gained further formative experience as a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival 2022 with Robert Spano, Alan Gilbert and Mark Stringer, as assistant conductor with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra in Japan, and in masterclasses with Elias Grandy and the German National Youth Orchestra.
His passion for contemporary music also led him to projects with Cristian Măcelaru at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and invitations from the Peter Eötvös Foundation, where he worked with ensembles in Annecy and Budapest.
Since the 2024/2025 season, Kens Lui has been principal conductor at the Meiningen State Theatre, where he will conduct new productions such as Der Freischütz and Die Csárdásfürstin, as well as performances of La Bohème and Don Giovanni in the coming season.