Anja Bihlmaier’s musical intuition, charisma, and passion allied with precision make her one of the leading conductors of her generation. She has been Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest since August 2021 and was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic starting September 2024.

In 24/25 she conducts the Munich Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, Bergen Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony, Seattle and Toronto symphonies. She returns to the National Symphony in Dublin for Mahler 9 and takes the Residentie Orkest to Bonn for the start of her three-year residency at the Beethovenfest. In June 2025 she will conduct at the Berlin State Opera (new production).

Following her BBC Proms debut in 2023 she returns in 2024, again with the BBC Philharmonic but also bringing Glyndebourne’s production of Carmen after performances at the main festival throughout August. Notable debuts in the past season have included: London Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Mahler Chamber, Sydney and Melbourne Symphony orchestras and at the Salzburg Mozartwoche.

Bihlmaier has a wide-ranging repertoire that includes Haydn, Mahler, Strauss, B. A. Zimmermann to Sibelius, Bartók, Dvořák, Shostakovich, Debussy, Britten, Galina Ustvolskaya and Unsuk Chin.

Bihlmaier gained many years of experience through positions at theatres in Hanover, Chemnitz and Kassel, also guest conducting at the Vienna Volksoper and across Scandinavia.

After studying at the Freiburg Hochschule für Musik with Scott Sandmeier, Bihlmaier was awarded a scholarship at the Salzburg Mozarteum and went on to study with Dennis Russell Davies and Jorge Rotter. She was accepted into the Deutsche Dirigentenforum and received a scholarship from the Brahmsgesellschaft Baden-Baden.