James Salomon Kahane (born 28 July 1995 in Paris) is a French-German conductor. Known professionally as James S. Kahane or James Kahane, he is currently principal conductor of the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, co-principal conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de la Drôme, and music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Biography and career Education As a youth, Kahane studied the piano. At age 14, Kahane entered the Conservatoire à rayonnement communal du 13e arrondissement de Paris. He developed an interest in conducting at age 17, and subsequently enrolled at the Sibelius Academy, where he studied from 2015 to 2021 and his conducting teachers included Atso Almila and Sakari Oramo, as well as Hannu Lintu. He has participated in conducting masterclasses at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, the Lucerne Festival and the Tanglewood Festival, with such conductors as Paavo Järvi, Bernard Haitink, Susanna Mälkki, Matthias Pintscher, David Zinman, Roger Norrington, Mikko Franck, Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula, Johannes Schlaefli and Nicolás Pasquet.
Conducting Career
Since 2016, Kahane has been affiliated with the Far(away) Ensemble. In 2017 and 2018, Kahane was assistant conductor to Susanna Mälkki at the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2018, he was appointed conductor of the Polytech Orchestra (Espoo, Finland). In 2019, he became principal conductor of the re-founded Helsinki Chamber Orchestra. In 2023, he became co-principal conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de la Drôme.
Early in his international career, critics highlighted his refinement, "his commanding gestures when necessary but also his great sensitivity in connecting musical phrases and musicians," as well as his ability to "push the orchestra to the extremes". In 2022, he made his first recording as a conductor for Resonus Classics, praised as a “colossal album that will inspire for generations to come” by The Flute View magazine.
In June and July 2024, he served as assistant conductor to Hannu Lintu at the Bayerische Staatsoper for their production of Pelléas et Mélisande. In a rare gesture towards an assistant conductor, Hannu Lintu publicly credited him. In the summer of 2025, Kahane assisted him again at the Bregenzer Festpiele on a production of George Enescu's Œdipe.
In October 2023, Kahane first guest-conducted the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO). In May 2024, the HPO announced the appointment of Kahane as its next music director, effective with the 2024–2025 season.
Cinema Kahane was one of the three protagonists of the documentary movie Orkesterin Edessä (Conductivity), released in 2020, which followed him as a young conducting student at the Sibelius Academy.
Discography Rodrigo, Ibert, Jolivet: Flute Concertos, with Sami Junnonen and the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra (2024, Resonus Classics)
References
External links Official website of James S. Kahane RSBA agency page on James S. Kahane