Born in São Paulo, Brasil, conductor, pianist, composer and arranger, Sergio Kuhlmann began studying piano at the age of five, tutored by his mother. He was awarded a scholarship to attend technical piano courses and attained the maximum grade under the guidance of Magdalena Tagliaferro, professor at the Paris Conservatory who was also a disciple of Alfred Cortot.
Kuhlmann went on to study composition with maestro Camargo Guarnieri and conducting with Mario Tavares, the director of Rio de Janeiro’s Teatro Municipal Symphony Orchestra.
He served for 12 years as opera maestro at both the Teatro Municipal of São Paulo’s and that of Rio de Janeiro, where he oversaw the production of more than 80 operas. In Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Theatre, Kuhlmann conducted the ballets Coppelia and Giselle.
In Rio de Janeiro, he conducted the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira and the Orquestra da Universidade Federal Fluminense.
He was named assistant to maestro Romano Gandolfi in the production of Turandot, the first opera to be produced in the Sambódromo of Rio de Janeiro.
Kuhlmann was also director of Brazil’s Orquestra Filarmônica de Goiás from 1994 until 1999 and took part in the creation in 2000 of the Symphony Orchestra of the Centro de Educação em Artes Basileu França, also acting as professor of orchestral conducting.
He toured 17 of Brazil’s 27 states with "Bibi in Concert”, a show starring the actress and singer Bibi Ferreira.
In São Paulo, Kuhlmann recorded the "Compasso para o Futuro" with orchestra and choir arrangements of his own, sponsored by the Grande Oriente do Brasil.
In 1998, the Government of Israel awarded him a certificate in recognition for his part in the organisation and production of a concert commemorating the 50 anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel.
In 2000, with the support of the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, Kuhlmann was the driving force behind the "Brasil Instrumental" project, a traveling ensemble of 9 musicians tasked with disseminating Brazilian instrumental music of popular, classical and folk genres. The presentation ceremony of the project was attended by the President of the Republic who awarded participants with the Medal for Cultural Achievement.
He created the "Grandes Orquestras” radio program for the Goiás-based Rádio Executiva station in Brazil and hosted it for seven years.
In 2003, he took part in the Música de Compostela composition course in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, organised by Antón García Abril and Maximino Zumalave for which he was awarded the top Andres Segovia prize in the composition category.
The same year he moved to Spain, performing in lyrical concerts and directing opera and zarzuela.
In 2013 Kuhlmann was granted Spanish nationality.
From 2004 to 2007, he became the director of Madrid’s Orfeón Filarmónico Choir which performed at the premieres of several contemporary works and in choral-symphonic concerts.
As an arranger, he produced orchestrations for Spanish National Radio’s Conciertazo program and wrote arrangements of Brazilian music principally for the Orquestra Sinfônica Jovem de Goiás’ tour of Spain, Germany, Venezuela and China.
He also wrote symphonic arrangements for the shows of several top-billed artists, including Marcelo Barra, Tony Garrido and Bibi Ferreira.
For cinema, Kuhlmann composed the soundtracks for the short "Recuerdos del Jardín" and the documentary "Lágrimas de África”.
He has also directed operas, zarzuelas operettas and concerts in Brasil, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, United Kingdom, EEUU, Japan, Morocco, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Chile.
At the Teatro de Madrid he was acclaimed for his direction of the theatre’s lyrical seasons of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
In the Euskalduna Palace, Bilbao, he directed the ballet Karmen TV, with the Modern Kiev Ballet.
Also in Madrid, he directed the opera Aida in the Templo de Debod open air theatre, for an audience of over 5,000 people.
At the invitation of Italy’s "Ministero dell'Istruzione" and the "Comitato Italiano di Musica", he taught Spanish and South American music courses in Sassari and Bologna.
He was musical director of the "Una noche de cine en la ópera”, a concert sponsored by Telefónica de España, which showed throughout 2012 and 2013 in Madrid’s Teatro Real, Barcelona’s Gran Theater del Liceu and at the Palau des Arts in Valencia.
In Brazil he conducted concerts with the Orquesta Sinfônica Jovem do Estado de Goiás and with the Orquesta Sinfônica de Goiânia.
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In 2018 he participated, with great success, at the Casals Festival, Puerto Rico, USA.
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In November, the Association of Professionals of Spanish Radio and Television has awarded the prize to the Culture "Antena de Oro", received with the artists for opera, copla and zarzuela concerts.
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Since October he is the musical director of "Vlad", a musical composed by Plácido Domingo Jr.
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