Conductor/Pianist Oliver Hagen was born in New York City in 1986. In 2010 Hagen was named Assistant Conductor of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris. During his time in Paris, Hagen assisted music director, Susanna Mälkki, and he worked with conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Peter Eötvös, Matthias Pintscher, and Ludovic Morlot. Hagen débuted with the Ensemble Intercontemporain at IRCAM in November of 2011, and he appeared a second time with the Ensemble at Cité de la Musique in March of 2012. In April and May of 2012, Hagen served as Assistant Conductor at the Paris Opéra Comique, conducting staging rehearsals for a world premiere opera by Marco Stroppa, Re Orso. In February of 2013, Hagen made his début with the Orchestre National de Lyon in a chamber music program, conducting Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with former Bayreuth soprano, Anja Silja. In June of 2013, Hagen made his début with the American Composers’ Orchestra at Miller Theatre in NYC, leading reading sessions of pieces by composers from the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute.
 
Hagen has appeared with American and French ensembles and orchestras such as the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Orchestre National de Lyon, American Composers’ Orchestra, East Coast Contemporary Ensemble, Firebird Ensemble, Ensemble Linea, Ensemble soundinitiative, and the Orchestra of the League of Composers–the last of whom he conducted in June of 2012 at Symphony Space in NYC, for the 75th Anniversary Celebration concert of the American Composers’ Alliance. In the summers of 2010 and 2011, Hagen was Assistant Conductor to Pierre Boulez, David Robertson, and Peter Eötvös at the Lucerne Festival Academy; Hagen conducted the Lucerne Festival Academy Ensemble in concert in 2011, performing Stockhausen’s Kontra-punkte and Kreuzspiel. As part of his duties as Assistant Conductor of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Hagen served as Assistant Conductor for the Paris Conservatory Orchestra on several concerts. Hagen has worked as Assistant Conductor of Face the Music Ensemble, a contemporary music ensemble for high school students, at the Kaufman Center in NYC.
 
As a pianist, Hagen has a strong association with the Lucerne Festival Academy, which he attended between 2005 and 2009. In September of 2009, Hagen appeared as one of the solo pianists in Pierre Boulez’s Répons, under the direction of the composer at the KKL in Lucerne. The 2007-08 Season brought an international tour, also under the direction of Pierre Boulez, in which Hagen performed Boulez’s sur Incises, which was heard at venues including the Philharmonie in Essen, Germany and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. The touring ensemble also performed sur Incises in Japan at the Art Tower Mito under the direction of Jean Deroyer.
 
As a pianist of the New York City based new music ensemble Signal, which performs under the direction of Brad Lubman, Hagen has appeared at venues ranging from the Ojai Music Festival, Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, the June in Buffalo Festival, and the Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood to the Bang on a Can Marathon and Le Poisson Rouge in NYC. As a member of Signal, Hagen has worked closely with composers such as Steve Reich, Helmut Lachenmann, Charles Wuorinen, and Oliver Knussen. Hagen can be heard on two Signal releases: a CD/surround-sound DVD of music by Lachenmann, with the composer as soloist in “…Zwei Gefühle…” (Mode); Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe’s Shelter (Canteloupe). Recently, Hagen performed John Zorn’s “…do what thou wilt…” for solo piano at the Stone in NYC, and Boulez’s Douze Notations and Carter’s 90+ at Miller Theatre–both part of Signal Ensemble’s 2013-2014 season.
 
Hagen holds a bachelor of music degree in clarinet and composition, and a master of music degree in conducting—both from the Eastman School of Music.