Christopher Gayford (born 1963) is an English

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

Biography

Born in Wilmslow, Gayford studied at the Royal College of Music and the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

. His international career started after winning the second place of the

Cadaqués Orchestra International Conducting Competition The Cadaqués Orchestra International Conducting Competition, is a music competition for young conducting, conductors organized by the Cadaqués Orchestra in Catalonia, Spain. History The competition takes place every two years and is organized b ...

and sharing a first prize at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. These competitions led to conducting engagements in Spain, Austria, Germany, Poland, Italy Australia and France. He served as assistant conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and has been invited to conduct the

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) 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. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra,

Britten Sinfonia Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in the ...

, and Opera North among others. He currently conducts the City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra. He has been a research fellow at the

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

, collaborating with psychologists in the research of “''expressivity in performance and the processes through which music triggers emotion''”.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayford, Christopher 1963 births Living people English conductors (music) English male conductors (music) Alumni of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Prize-winners of the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors People from Wilmslow 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century English male musicians