„A true magician on the baton“, „with momentum, elegance and luxuriously colourful“, „it should always sound like that“ – Gerrit Priessnitz receives praise for his interpretations of contemporary music as well as for the classical-romantic repertoire. Originating from Bonn, he conducted three premieres at the Volksoper Vienna in 2022 and is a much sought-after guest at the helm of numerous international orchestras and opera houses. Upcoming debuts include the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Filharmonie Brno and Göttingen Symphony Orchestra.

After completing his studies with distinction at the University “Mozarteum” in Salzburg, he was first engaged at the Theater Erfurt. As of 2006 Gerrit Priessnitz is associated with the Volksoper Vienna, where he has conducted an enormously diverse range of repertoire from Mozart to Berlioz, Strauss, Trojahn and Glanert. In 2018/19 he served as „Principal Guest Conductor“ at the Theatre Chemnitz. Hector Berlioz’ “Roméo et Juliette” under his direction received the Austrian Music Theatre Award 2019 as “Best Ballet production”.

​Further guest appearances have taken him to the Vienna State Opera, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Hilversum, Hamburg State Opera, Opera Cologne, Bruckner Orchestra, Landestheater Linz and Moerbisch Lake Operetta Festival, among others.

Performances in Graz, Maribor, Augsburg, Lucerne, Bologna, Bari, Córdoba, Sofia, Tokyo, Nagoya, South Korea and a mixture of German orchestras and opera houses complement his dynamic career, specifically Bamberger Symphoniker, MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, Beethoven Festival Bonn, Aalto Musiktheater Essen, Muenchner Rundfunkorchester, Staatskapelle Halle, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie Chemnitz, Wuerttembergische Philharmonie, Norddeutsche Philharmonie, Volkstheater Rostock, Nuernberger Symphoniker and many more.

Gerrit Priessnitz has worked with some of the leading singers of our time, such as Piotr Beczala, Linda Watson, Vesselina Kasarova, Jennifer Larmore and Klaus Florian Vogt. CD and DVD recordings of these performances and collaborations are available at SONY Classical and Unitel.
​2017 Gerrit Priessnitz joined the Opera and Conducting faculty of the Music and Arts University MUK of the city of Vienna. In 2023 he will become University Professor for Music Drama Education (opera interpretation).