ABOUT KRISTO KONDAKÇi
Conductor Kristo Kondakçi builds orchestral projects that place major symphonic works at the center of contemporary public life. His performances and civic initiatives have been featured by PBS, NPR, and The Boston Globe.
Born in Tirana, Albania, Kondakçi’s artistic mission is shaped by his family’s escape from Enver Hoxha’s Communist regime and their resettlement in the United States as political refugees. His grandfather, Beqir Omari, was imprisoned for performing Western music, and his great-uncle, a virtuoso musician and physician, was executed. This legacy informs his belief that music can inspire resilience, unite communities, and speak across cultures.
Kondakçi serves as the David and Janet McCue Music Director of the Kendall Square Orchestra (K²O), an ensemble of musicians drawn from more than 70 of Greater Boston’s leading science and technology institutions. Under his leadership, K²O has become known for ambitious programming that pairs core repertoire with urgent human themes while advancing philanthropic initiatives connected to healthcare, homelessness, and education. At Boston’s Symphony Hall, the orchestra’s Symphony for Science concerts have raised significant support for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. In partnership with Pfizer and Next Step, he directed the global release of Come and Walk a Mile, an anthem for rare disease awareness that reached audiences worldwide.
Recent seasons with K²O reflect Kondakçi’s distinctive curatorial voice, presenting programs that link masterworks to contemporary questions of perseverance, renewal, and collective responsibility. These projects aim to create concert experiences that are artistically rigorous while also socially resonant, inviting audiences to encounter familiar repertoire with renewed urgency and depth.
Beyond his work in Boston, Kondakçi has collaborated with orchestras across the United States and Europe, including the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and Albanian National Orchestra, where his 2014 debut led to recognition as a cultural representative of the Albanian diaspora. He also serves as cover conductor for the Portland Symphony Orchestra, supporting the ensemble in performances throughout the season.
In 2017, he co-founded the Eureka Ensemble with cellist Alan Toda-Ambaras, a professional chamber orchestra dedicated to engaging marginalized communities through music. Its initiatives have served immigrant and refugee youth, individuals experiencing homelessness, and women in poverty. In 2018, he co-founded the Women’s Chorus at the Women’s Lunch Place in Boston with mentor David McCue. Now in its seventh year, the chorus has provided more than 200 women, ages 17 to 82, with a safe and affirming space for musical expression, and has become an international model for music’s role in restoring dignity and community.
During the COVID-19 crisis, Kondakçi co-launched Boston Hope Music in partnership with New England Conservatory and Massachusetts General Hospital, delivering therapeutic performances for patients and healthcare workers.
A frequent speaker, he has presented at TEDxBoston and the League of American Orchestras, exploring how orchestral collaboration can inform leadership, communication, and collective decision-making across sectors. Through The Leading Tone, his leadership program with K²O, he works with executives from business, technology, and public policy to apply principles of ensemble performance to complex organizational challenges.
Kondakçi holds degrees in conducting and composition from the New England Conservatory, where he serves on the President’s Council. He is also an Assistant Professor at the Berklee College of Music. He lives in Boston with his wife, Chloe.
LAST UPDATED AUGUST 2025. PLEASE DESTROY ALL PREVIOUSLY DATED MATERIALS. EDITS MUST BE APPROVED BEFORE USE.
