Julian Perkins – conductor and keyboard player

Julian Perkins is a British conductor and keyboard player ( harpsichord,

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...

and

clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to compositi ...

). Shortlisted for the Gramophone Award in 2021, he is Artistic Director of the

Portland Baroque Orchestra Portland Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is an orchestra based in Portland, which is dedicated to historically informed performance of Baroque, Classical and early Romantic music on original instruments. It was founded in 1984 by harpsichordist, teacher, ...

in the USA. He lives in London, England and is also Founder Director of the early music ensemble Sounds Baroque and Artistic Director of Cambridge Handel Opera Company. As a conductor, Julian Perkins has been praised for his 'heartening dramatic energy' and 'dynamic direction', while his harpsichord playing has been described as 'superbly creative' and 'wonderfully adept and stylish'. He conducted the first professional recording of Eccles's ''Semele'' with the Academy of Ancient Music, and the world première recordings of

Daniel Purcell Daniel Purcell (c. 1664 – buried 26 November 1717) was an English Baroque composer, the younger brother or cousin of Henry Purcell. Biography Like Henry Purcell before him, Daniel Purcell joined the choir of the Chapel Royal at about the age ...

's opera-oratorio ''The Judgment of Paris'' and Stephen Dodgson's opera ''Margaret Catchpole''. His solo discography includes world premières of virtuosic harpsichord suites by James Nares, John Christopher Smith and John Worgan, clavichord works by Herbert Howells and Stephen Dodgson, and Johann Sebastian Bach's ''French Suites'' on clavichord. His numerous ensemble recordings include two discs of Italian cantatas, and one of songs by Henry Purcell featuring the soprano Anna Dennis with Sounds Baroque. Duo recordings comprise Franz Schubert's violin sonatas of 1816 with Peter Sheppard Skærved and, with Emma Abbate, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's complete sonatas for keyboard duet, Carl Maria von Weber's complete works for keyboard duet and a disc of twentieth-century pieces by English composers. Julian Perkins has directed groups ranging from the Academy of Ancient Music to the Orchestra of

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

, performed concertos with

Florilegium In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin ''flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering of ...

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and h ...

, Orchestra of

The Sixteen The Sixteen are a United Kingdom-based choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first billed concert in 1979. The group performs early Engl ...

and

Royal Northern Sinfonia Royal Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, founded in Newcastle upon Tyne and currently based in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history, the orchestra gave most of its concerts at the Newcastle City Hall. Since 2004, the ...

, given numerous chamber performances with ensembles including the

Bavarian State Orchestra The Bavarian State Orchestra (german: Bayerisches Staatsorchester, italic=no) is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany. It has given its own series of concerts, the , since 1811. Profile On 9 December 2011, this ensemble c ...

Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg is an Austrian orchestra, based in the town and state of Salzburg. The orchestra gives concerts in several Salzburg venues, including the '' Großes Festspielhaus'', the Great Hall of the Stiftung Mozarteum. ...

and Trevor Pinnock & Friends, and performed with various prizewinners in the

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition (known as Cardiff Singer of the World from 1983–2001 and BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff in 2003) is a competition for classical singers held every two years. The competition was started by BBC ...

. He works annually with the

Southbank Sinfonia Southbank Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra founded in 2002. Composed of young professionals from around the world, each year it brings together 33 graduate musicians for a programme of performance and professional development. The annual ...

, has conducted staged opera productions for organisations including Bampton Classical Opera, the Buxton Festival, Dutch National Opera Academy, Grimeborn Festival, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, New Chamber Opera and New Kent Opera, and devised an opera pasticcio about

Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

with librettist Stephen Pettitt that he directed for the ''Baroque Unwrapped'' series at London's Kings Place in May 2016. He often appears live on BBC Radio 3, has featured several times on ''The Early Music Show'' and contributed to the radio station's pioneering podcast about George Frideric Handel's ''Orlando'' with Welsh National Opera. Since 2014, Julian Perkins has been the Artistic Director of Coram's ''Handel Birthday Concert'', that raises money for vulnerable children. He has given solo recitals in international festivals at St Albans, Buxton, Canterbury, Deal, King's Lynn, Lammermuir, Northern Aldborough, Oundle, Petworth, Roman River, Ryedale, Swaledale, Two Moors and Tel Aviv. Active as a teacher, he is a harpsichord tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has also written articles for publications such as ''BBC Music Magazine'', ''Early Music'' and ''Early Music Today'', and contributed to ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Historical Performance in Music''.

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial YouTube channelOfficial website for Cambridge Handel Opera Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Julian Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British male conductors (music) English harpsichordists Fortepianists Clavichordists British performers of early music Bach musicians Fellows of the Royal College of Organists Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Schola Cantorum Basiliensis alumni 21st-century British conductors (music) Choral Scholars of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge