Nabil Shehata is a German-Egyptian conductor and double bassist, born in Kuwait in 1980 and raised in Germany. He won both the first prize and the audience award at the ARD competition in Munich as a double bassist, then served as principal bassist of the Berlin Philharmonic from 2004 to 2008 before turning to conducting full-time. He was chief conductor of the Philharmonie Südwestfalen from 2019 to 2024, and since January 2025 has led the Barenboim-Said Akademie Orchestra in Berlin, where he also teaches double bass.
Daniel Barenboim handed over the leadership of Barenboim-Said Akademie Orchestra to Nabil Shehata in January 2025.
Shehata released the album JALOUSIE with Philharmonie Südwestfalen in 2025, as well as the singles 'Natasha (Valse Russe)' and 'Jacob Gade - Canzonetta for Violin and Orchestra'.
Shehata concluded his tenure as chief conductor of Philharmonie Südwestfalen in 2024, which he had led since 2019.
The album 'Dvořák: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 9, Der Wassermann & Die Mittagshexe' with Philharmonie Südwestfalen was released in 2024.
BBC Music Magazine named Shehata's Saint-Saëns recording with Philharmonie Südwestfalen the best orchestral recording of the year in December 2021.
