In both operatic and orchestral repertoires he is rated as one of the most outstanding conductors of our time. On the other hand, the native Californian has followed an unorthodox path: although music had been an important part of his life since childhood, Nagano never intended to make music his career from the outset. His early musical education is primarily due to the fact that the small community of Morrow Bay, with barely 2000 inhabitants, happened to have a conservatoire which he was able to attend. Originally aiming to become a law graduate, Nagano first studied sociology and music in Santa Cruz. It was only when he started studying composition in San Francisco that he seriously began to consider a career as a conductor. That was in 1974.

Today, 30 years after this decision, Nagano can look back on an unusual career, during which he has worked with the best orchestras in the world. In 1989, for example, he was appointed Music Director of the Opéra de Lyon, in 1990 he became Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Since 2000 Nagano has been the Principal conductor and artistic director of the German Symphony Orchestra in Berlin. Nagano is in just as much as demand as a guest conductor and regularly takes up invitations. Among those he has accepted are offers from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and La Scala in Milan. In addition to this, he has held the position of Musical Director for the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra since 1978. From 2006 Nagano will be in charge of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In the same year he will also be taking up the post of Musical Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.

Kent Nagano has won numerous awards. Among them are the "Record of the Year Award" (1990) and 2000 the Grammy in the "Best Opera" category.