Thomas
Wise Conductor

Born in the USA, Thomas Wise received his musical training at the Interlochen Arts Academy in his home state of Michigan, at the Juilliard School in New York, the Cologne Musikhochschule and in London. As a Fulbright Scholar, he studied modern music with Aloys Kontarsky. His core repertoire as a conductor includes rarities such as ‹Venus and Adonis› by John Blow, the ‹Trilogie› by Paul Hindemith and George Benjamin's ‹Written On Skin›. Stylistically, his spectrum ranges from Handel and Kurt Weill to contemporary music. The world premieres of Steffen Schleiermacher's ‹Kokain› and Jerrick Bischoff's ‹Andersens Erzählungen› took place under his baton. Thomas Wise has performed throughout Germany with the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn as well as at the Oslo Opera House ‹Rusalka› and at the festivals in Ludwigsburg and Montepulciano. As a pianist, his repertoire ranges from Scarlatti and Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas to world premieres by Dmitri Terzakis and Reto Stadelmann as well as first recordings by Charles Ives and Kurt Weill. Thomas Wise has released recordings on Arte Nova/BMG, Genuin, Capriccio and Hänssler Classic. After working at the Hamburg State Opera and Theater Bonn, Thomas Wise came to Basel in 2018 as Director of Studies and became Head of the Music Department in 2021. He has been musical director of the opera division since the 23/24 season.