Ko Kaiden

Ko Kaiden, a native of Kamakura, Japan, the grandson of a Zen high priest, majored in psychology, but his love of music guided him on to a full-time orchestra position in Japan as principal oboist. A desire to know more of the world led him to principal oboe chairs in Korea, Mexico, and finally the U.S. His extreme skill became evident as he widened his horizons, becoming a woodwind doubler for Broadway with, among others, "Annie Get Your Gun", "The Producers", "Gypsy", “Radio City Christmas Spectacular”, and doing the European Tour of "A Chorus Line", playing five different instruments for that show.

Inspired early on by Spanish music, he ventured into vocal music, and soon became much sought-after on the New York vocal scene. With his openhearted curiosity, virtuosity and unusual linguistic skills, he joined an opera troupe in New York devoted to rediscovering the music of the Polish composer, Moniuszko. He performed the role of “Marszalek” in Moniuszko’s opera “Halka” in Polish at the Royal Theatre of Warsaw (1999), at the Kaye Playhouse [NYC] (American Premiere, 2000), and at the Kennedy Center (2001). He returned to the Royal Theatre of Warsaw with the role of “Pan Marcin” in Moniuszko’s opera “Verbum Nobile” in 2003.

His early love of Hispanic Music found its full-flowering in 2003, when he was asked to do a recital of Spanish Music in Spain itself. Most recently, in addition to his opera and oratorio performances, Mr. Kaiden has expanded his Spanish repertoire to include Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzolla’s tangos, both singing and playing the Oboe, English Horn, and Soprano Sax at his recitals.