Alexander Walker (born 1973) is a British conductor.

Biography

Education

Walker studied at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

, the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

, London and at St Petersburg Conservatoire with Ilya Musin.

Career

In 2000/01 Walker conducted the

English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by A ...

's production of the Magic Flute, and on 27 November 2004 the Chelsea Opera Group (UK) in Glinka's A Life for the Tsar at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

. In November 2005 he conducted the

Prague Philharmonia Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, and in the winter season 2005/6 Walker conducted three performances of The Nutcracker for the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, Covent Garden, and Swan Lake in 2009 for the

Finnish National Ballet Finnish National Ballet (Suomen Kansallisbaletti) is a professional ballet company at the Finnish National Opera, in Helsinki, Finland. The company was founded in 1922 and it currently employs 73 dancers. It is the only Finnish company that regular ...

. On 4 July 2010 he conducted the

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Media ...

, and in 2011 a concert with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

. He appeared at the Oundle International Festival in 2011 where he conducted the premiere of ''Prophet and Loss'' by

Julian Grant Julian Grant (born 3 October 1960) is an English-born classical composer best known for a series of operas. He is also known for chamber music works and his challenging children's music. He is active as composer, journalist, broadcaster and mus ...

. In October 2011 he conducted a Gershwin Gala with the Russian Philharmonic. In 2012 Walker conducted the English Chamber Orchestra. and a production of

the Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

at the

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet () is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway and the only such professional organisation in the country, it is currently resi ...

. On 19 April 2015 he conducted the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra. In 2017 he was awarded the Elgar Medal by the

Elgar Society The Elgar Society was founded in 1951 to promote performance of the music of British composer Edward Elgar, especially the more rarely performed items. Registered as a charity on 22 January 1988, It is particularly concerned with introducing the co ...

for championing the composer's music internationally in countries including Belarus, Russia, Poland, Turkey and Romania. Walker has been Music Director of the Berkshire Youth Orchestra, The Purcell School Symphony Orchestra, The Norfolk Symphony Orchestra, the Northampton Symphony Orchestra, and is conductor for Musica Viva in Moscow. He is Music Director of the Abingdon and District Musical Society. Walker teaches conducting at

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

and conducts the Sinfonia and Symphony Orchestra at the Junior Academy of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, as well as teaching conducting at the Royal Academy of Music. He conducts the Surrey County Youth Orchestra.

Discography

* ''

Ignatz Waghalter Ignatz Waghalter (15 March 1881 – 7 April 1949) was a Poland, Polish-Germany, German composer and conducting, conductor. Early life Waghalter was born into a poor but musically accomplished Jewish family in Warsaw. His eldest brother, Henryk W ...

.: Violin Concerto / Rhapsody / Violin Sonata (RPO, Trynkos, Latsabidze, A. Walker)'' Naxos 2012 * ''

Havergal Brian William Havergal Brian (29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer, librettist, and church organist. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies—an unusually high number amongst his contemporaries—25 of them ...

: Symphonies Nos. 22, 23, 24 / English Suite No. 1 (New Russia State Symphony, A. Walker)'' Naxos 2013 * ''

: Symphonies Nos. 6, 28, 29 and 31 (New Russia State Symphony, A. Walker)'' Naxos 2015 * ''

: New World Suite / Mandragola: Overture and Intermezzo / Masaryk's Peace March (New Russia State Symphony, A. Walker)'' Naxos 2015 * '' Robin Walker: Great Rock is Dead / Odysseus on Ogygia: Prelude / The Stone King / The Stone Maker (Novaya Rossiya Symphony Orchestra, A. Walker)'' Toccata Classics 2016 * '' Arnold Griller: Ensemble Seventeen / Distant Villages / Concerto for Clarinet and Strings, Vol. 1 (Musica Viva, A. Walker)'' Toccata Classics 2017 * ''

: Symphonies Nos. 8, 21, 26, (New Russia State Symphony, A. Walker)'' Naxos 2017 * '' Arnold Griller: Scherzoid / Symphony / Introduction, Cakewalk and Allegro for piano and orchestra / Rhapsody Concertante, Vol. 2 (Musica Viva, Martirosian, A. Walker)'' Toccata Classics 2018 * ''

: The Tinker's Wedding: Overture / Symphonies Nos. 7, 16, (New Russia State Symphony, A. Walker)'' Naxos 2019

Biography

Education

Career

Discography

References

Further reading