Garry Walker (born 1974,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

) is a Scottish conductor.

Biography

Walker received his secondary school education at St Mary's Music School. His initial musical training was as a cellist, and he subsequently played cello in the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra. In 1995, Walker graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music and

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. In 1999, Walker won the

Leeds Conductors Competition The Leeds Conductors Competition, is a music competition for young British conductors in the city of Leeds. History The competition was founded by Michael Johnson of the Leeds City Council and David Lloyd-Jones, Founder Director of Opera North wi ...

. He subsequently became associate conductor of the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...

(RSNO). He subsequently served as principal guest conductor of the RSNO from 2003 to 2007. Walker has also served as conductor of the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra, principal conductor of the Paragon Ensemble, and was a regular guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has served on the faculty of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) as a visiting professor of conducting, and the RCS formally created the post of artistic director. In November 2015, the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie announced the appointment of Walker as its chief conductor, effective with the 2017–2018 season. In June 2019,

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

announced the appointment of Walker as its next music director, effective with the 2020–2021 season. In February 2020, the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie announced that Walker is to stand down as its chief conductor at the close of the 2021-2022 season. As one of his hobbies, Walker enjoys climbing mountains. He completed his goal to climb all 284

Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...

References

External links

Official website of Garry Walker

Maxine Robertson agency page on Garry Walker

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland faculty page on Garry Walker

Edinburgh Youth Orchestra alumni page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Garry Living people 1974 births Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Alumni of the University of Manchester Musicians from Edinburgh Prize-winners of the Leeds Conductors Competition Scottish conductors (music) British male conductors (music) People educated at St Mary's Music School 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians