Nabil Shehata

Nabil Shehata (born 1980) is a German-Egyptian conductor and double bass soloist.

In 2004, he was appointed principal double bassist of the Berlin Philharmonic, a position he left in 2008 to pursue his conducting career.

Nabil Shehata began his career as a conductor in 2006, and has enjoyed the benefit of support and mentorship of Daniel Barenboim, Rolf Reuter, Lawrence Foster und Christian Thielemann.

Shehata made his conducting debut in Cottbus in 2007.

That same year Shehata made his first international appearance conducting the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in Venezuela followed by a broadening conducting career, including guest engagements with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Kioi Sinfonietta, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Dresdner Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Münchner Rundfunkorchester and the Philharmonisches Orchester Luxemburg.

During his tenure as chief conductor at the Kammeroper München (2011 - 2019) he led several new opera productions and conducted concerts with singers like Waltraud Meier, Okka von der Damerau, and Robert Gambill.

In 2019 he became conductor and artistic director of the Philharmonie Südwestfalen.

In 2019, Shehata was appointed to the current position as chief conductor of the Philharmonie Südwestfalen

At the age of six, Nabil Shehata began studying the piano under the guidance of his mother.

By the age of nine he started double bass lessons with Thomas Zscherpe.

He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg with Michinori Bunya and subsequently under Esko Laine at the Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ in Berlin.

While still a student, Shehata won an audition for the principal double bass position at the Staatskapelle Berlin.