Kai Rapsch was born in 1978 in Berlin, Germany and dedicated himself to a musical career at a very young age. He attended the renowned Musikgymnasium (High School) Carl-Phillipp-Emanuel Bach in Berlin and was already accepted at the age of 15 to the acclaimed Julius Stern Institute at the University of Arts in Berlin (UdK Berlin). In 1997, he began his regular progamme of study at the UdK Berlin in the Oboe class of Professor Burkhard Glaetzner. He transferred to the University for Music and Theatre in Munich in 2000 where he studied under Professor Günther Passin, and graduated in 2004 with honors.
Kai Rapsch was the recipient of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation Scholarship from 1994-1996 and has since received numerous awards, prizes and commendations both nationally and internationally. The German national competition “Jugend musiziert”, the international competition of the Munich Konzertgesellschaft, as well as the international Händel competition in Halle are just a few of the competitions he has participated in and received prizes in.
During his studies Kai Rapsch was selected as a member of the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg. In 2004, he was hired as Soloist for the English Horn and Oboe by the renowned Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Kai also lectured for the Orchestra Academy of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and was active in the promotion of the professional musical talents. Kai was directly responsible for the launching of several careers with renowned orchestras such as the Komische Oper Berlin, the Regensburg Theatre as well as the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.
In addition to giving regular recitals and leading master classes, Kai Rapsch performs not only at the famous music festivals in Dresden, Salzburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, but also internationally in Japan, South Korea.
As Oboe and English Horn soloist Kai Rapsch is frequently invited as a guest performer with such acclaimed orchestras as the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Kammerensemble Salzburg Orchestra Soloists, the Bach Collegium in Munich as well as the New Bach Collegium Musicum in Leipzig.
The company “Reeds for Oboes” was founded by Kai Rapsch in 2012. His handmade reeds for oboes and for English horns are sold and distributed throughout the world.