Marcus Küchle

Marcus Küchle is both a pianist and arts manager with extensive experience in the US and Europe. In addition to his work for Catacoustic Consort he is also Managing Director & Deputy Intendant of the Münchner Symphoniker and European Program Manager for the Cleveland Orchestra.

After studying piano at the conservatory and at the university in his hometown of Munich and after working for many years at the Bavarian State Opera, he continued his studies at the renowned Indiana University School of Music. After completing the Masters in Piano Performance and Arts Administration, positions at the San Francisco Opera and Cincinnati Opera followed. In San Francisco, Küchle was involved in major gifts fundraising. He then worked in Cincinnati as Director of Artistic Operations and New Work Development. In this role, which included contract law, union negotiations, and the artistic budget, he was instrumental in Cincinnati's growth as a major center for the development of new operas. The joint venture founded by Küchle "Opera Fusion: New Works" led to collaborations with the leading opera houses of North America (e.g. Toronto, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Minnesota, St. Louis and twice with the Metropolitan Opera in New York) and an artistically very diverse field of composers (e.g. Matthew Aucoin, Terence Blanchard, Daniel Catan, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, Greg Spears, Rufus Wainwright) and librettists (e.g. Mark Campbell, Rajiv Joseph, Terrence McNally, Toni Morrison, Lynn Nottage, Greg Pearce, Sarah Ruhl). In addition, Küchle worked on the development of new music theater with the aim of effectively presenting current topics of societal consequence in interdisciplinary cooperations with rather atypical partner institutions. These include the Ohio Innocence Project, amateur choirs, and youth groups.

In December 2018 Marcus Küchle moved back to Europe. Initially as deputy intendant of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl (TFE), he oversaw all departments, processes and projects that comprise the company’s artistic output, managing 75% of the total annual company budget. After two major theater renovations (Cincinnati Memorial Hall and Music Hall), Küchle was also able to bring his theater construction and renovation experience to bear in the Tiroler Festspielhaus. He arranged for the new construction of a multi-use small concert hall (120 people) and guided the construction of the new theater production workshops and offices, which made it possible to implement the rapidly growing artistic ambitions. Particular highlights of the TFE period were the partnerships with the University Mozarteum and Camerata Salzburg, a series of co-productions with the Oper Frankfurt, and a new Wagner Ring cycle with Brigitte Fassbaender and Kaspar Glarner.

Since March 2022 Marcus Küchle is the new CEO of Catacoustic Consort and is responsible for establishing this renowned early music ensemble in Europe. Concurrently he is also Managing Director & Deputy Intendant of the Münchner Symphoniker and European Program Manager for the Cleveland Orchestra.

Küchle maintained close contact with the late maestro Erich Kunzel, who repeatedly engaged him as a concerto soloist. He has gained extensive experience as a chamber music partner with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and as a soloist with the Kentucky Symphony and the Cincinnati Ballet. Vocal accompaniment has always played an important role in his creative work, with many CD and radio recordings and performances e.g. in Montreal, New York and Wigmore Hall. Marcus Küchle has often been a juror in various singing competitions (including Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions) and invited as a guest lecturer at various universities, including Indiana University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Kentucky.