Rory Macdonald (conductor)
Encyclopedia
Rory Macdonald is a Scottish
conductor
.
in Milngavie, Glasgow and went on to read Music at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He studied violin and piano, and began conducting aged 16. While at university he studied under David Zinman and Jorma Panula at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen.
Other recent guest conducting engagements have included debuts with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Lahti Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
and BBC National Orchestra of Wales
. In 2011/12, Macdonald makes debuts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
at London’s Barbican Hall and with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
. Future highlights also include his debuts with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra
and the Northern Sinfonia
, and returns to the Hallé
, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
and Lahti Symphony.
Macdonald has also built up an extensive operatic repertoire and is now in demand in some of the world’s leading opera houses. Following his North American debut, conducting Carmen
for Canadian Opera Company
in January 2010, he made his US debut that autumn at Lyric Opera of Chicago
conducting a new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
. 2012 debuts in the United States include new productions of The Rape of Lucretia at Houston Grand Opera
and Die Zauberflöte at San Francisco Opera
.
In the 2010-11 Season he conducted Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Hänsel und Gretel
at the Royal Opera House
in London. Other repertoire he has conducted at Covent Garden
includes Fidelio
, Das Rheingold
, Owen Wingrave
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
and Orphée
(Philip Glass).
Following productions of The Barber of Seville
and The Pearl Fishers for English National Opera
, he opens their 2011-12 Season with The Elixir of Love. Macdonald made his Glyndebourne debut at very short notice with Idomeneo
in November 2003. He has since returned to Glyndebourne, conducting Così fan tutte
and Albert Herring
for the autumn tour.
Other recent opera work has included L'elisir d'amore
(Welsh National Opera), The Abduction from the Seraglio (Opera North) La bohème
(Danish National Opera, RTE NSO), La fanciulla del West
(Grange Park Opera), and Don Giovanni
(Magdeburg Opera).
After leaving Cambridge in 2001, Macdonald spent 2 years working as Assistant Conductor to Ivan Fischer
and the Budapest Festival Orchestra
. He made his concert debut with the orchestra in 2002. During this time Macdonald also worked as an assistant conductor at the Opéra National de Lyon
and Opéra National de Paris, and studied opera coaching in Vienna.
In September 2004, Macdonald joined the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden, as a conductor. He worked on numerous productions during two seasons, notably assisting Antonio Pappano
on Wagner's Ring Cycle. He conducted a special extra performance of Das Rheingold
for students in October 2007.
He lives in London.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
Education
He attended Douglas AcademyDouglas Academy
Douglas Academy is a secondary school in Milngavie in the outskirts of Glasgow. In 2001, Douglas Academy was Scotland's top performing state school with 31% of students gaining five or more highers....
in Milngavie, Glasgow and went on to read Music at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He studied violin and piano, and began conducting aged 16. While at university he studied under David Zinman and Jorma Panula at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen.
Career
From January 2006 to August 2008, Macdonald held the position of Assistant Conductor with the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, and Music Director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra. He worked closely with the orchestra's Music Director, Sir Mark Elder, and has conducted the orchestra in over 50 concerts across the North West of England.Other recent guest conducting engagements have included debuts with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world's oldest orchestral institutions. It performs some 110 concerts a year, and is based at the 1,500-seat Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway.-History:...
, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Lahti Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is a broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow, Scotland. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation , it is the oldest full-time professional orchestra in Scotland...
and BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra.The BBC NOW has its...
. In 2011/12, Macdonald makes debuts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
at London’s Barbican Hall and with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....
. Future highlights also include his debuts with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra
Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra
The is a symphony orchestra based in Nagoya, Japan, founded in 1966. The orchestra gives concerts primarily at the Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater Concert Hall and the Chukyo University Center for Culture & Arts Aurora Hall.- History :...
and the Northern Sinfonia
Northern Sinfonia
The Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, and currently in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history, the orchestra gave the bulk of its concerts at the City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne. Since 2004, the orchestra has been resident at The...
, and returns to the Hallé
Halle
Halle is a noun that means hall in the German language. It may also refer to:-In Germany:* Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, official name Halle , also called Halle or Halle an der Saale...
, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world's oldest orchestral institutions. It performs some 110 concerts a year, and is based at the 1,500-seat Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway.-History:...
and Lahti Symphony.
Macdonald has also built up an extensive operatic repertoire and is now in demand in some of the world’s leading opera houses. Following his North American debut, conducting Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
for Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
in January 2010, he made his US debut that autumn at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
conducting a new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
. 2012 debuts in the United States include new productions of The Rape of Lucretia at Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
and Die Zauberflöte at San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
.
In the 2010-11 Season he conducted Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Hänsel und Gretel
Hänsel und Gretel
Hansel and Gretel is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a Märchenoper . The libretto was written by Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel"...
at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London. Other repertoire he has conducted at Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
includes Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
, Owen Wingrave
Owen Wingrave
Owen Wingrave is an opera for television in two acts with music by Benjamin Britten, his Opus 85, and a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after a short story by Henry James....
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
and Orphée
Orphée
Orpheus is a 1950 French film directed by Jean Cocteau and starring Jean Marais. This film is the central part of Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy, which consists of The Blood of a Poet , Orpheus and Testament of Orpheus...
(Philip Glass).
Following productions of The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
and The Pearl Fishers for English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
, he opens their 2011-12 Season with The Elixir of Love. Macdonald made his Glyndebourne debut at very short notice with Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
in November 2003. He has since returned to Glyndebourne, conducting Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
and Albert Herring
Albert Herring
Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...
for the autumn tour.
Other recent opera work has included L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
(Welsh National Opera), The Abduction from the Seraglio (Opera North) La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
(Danish National Opera, RTE NSO), La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910...
(Grange Park Opera), and Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(Magdeburg Opera).
After leaving Cambridge in 2001, Macdonald spent 2 years working as Assistant Conductor to Ivan Fischer
Iván Fischer
Iván Fischer is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a Jewish musical family, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest...
and the Budapest Festival Orchestra
Budapest Festival Orchestra
The Budapest Festival Orchestra was formed in 1983 by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis, with musicians "drawn from the cream of Hungary's younger players", as The Times put it...
. He made his concert debut with the orchestra in 2002. During this time Macdonald also worked as an assistant conductor at the Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon is an opera company in Lyon, France which performs in the Nouvel Opéra, a modernized version in 1993 of the original 1831 opera house.The inaugural performance of François-Adrien Boïeldieu's La Dame blanche was given on 1 July 1831...
and Opéra National de Paris, and studied opera coaching in Vienna.
In September 2004, Macdonald joined the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden, as a conductor. He worked on numerous productions during two seasons, notably assisting Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano is a British conductor and pianist of Italian parentage.Pappano's family relocated to England from Castelfranco in Miscano near Benevento, Italy in 1958 and at the time of his birth his parents worked in the restaurant business, but Pasquale Pappano, his father, was by vocation a...
on Wagner's Ring Cycle. He conducted a special extra performance of Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
for students in October 2007.
He lives in London.