Douglas Boyd (born 1959,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland) is a British

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

and conductor.

Biography

Boyd studied oboe at 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 ...

, London, as a pupil of Janet Craxton. He later was a student with

Maurice Bourgue Maurice Bourgue () (6 November 1939 – 6 October 2023) was a French oboist, composer, conductor, and academic teacher who made an international career. He was principal oboist with the Orchestre de Paris from its foundation in 1967 until 1979. ...

in Paris. In 1984 he won the

Young Concert Artists International Auditions Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based artist management company dedicated to discovering and advancing the careers of talented young classical musicians from around the world. The organization, founded in 1961, invites artists to auditio ...

, which led to his New York City recital debut at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Boyd was one of the founding members of the

Chamber Orchestra of Europe The Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE), established in 1981, is an orchestra based in London. The orchestra comprises about 60 members from across Europe. The players pursue parallel careers as international soloists, members of chamber groups and ...

(COE), and served as its principal oboist from 1981 to 2002. During his time with the COE, he developed an interest in conducting, and counted as his first conducting mentors

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

and

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical ...

. He also had guidance from

Paavo Berglund Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund (14 April 192925 January 2012) was a Finnish Conducting, conductor and violinist. Career Born in Helsinki, Berglund studied the violin as a child, and played an instrument made by his grandfather. By age 15, he ha ...

and Sir

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom ...

. In 2006, Boyd ceased performing on the oboe to focus full-time on his conducting career. In 2001, Boyd became music director of the

Manchester Camerata The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances. The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridg ...

, his first major conducting post. He conducted several recordings with the Manchester Camerata for the Avie label, including music of Beethoven, Mozart and Mahler. Boyd concluded his Manchester tenure after the 2010–2011 season. Boyd has also served as principal guest conductor of the

City of London Sinfonia City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS is orchestra-in-residence at Opera Holland Park since 2004 and holds a residency at St Paul's Cathedral. CLS also performs regularly across the city of London i ...

. In November 2012, Boyd was named artistic director of

Garsington Opera Garsington Opera is an annual summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. The Philharmonia Orchestra and The English Concert are its two resident orchestras. For 21 years it was held in the gardens of Ingrams's home at Garsingto ...

, with immediate effect. Outside of the UK, in April 2008, the

Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur The Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur is a Swiss symphony orchestra based in Winterthur, Switzerland at its namesake venue, the Musikkollegium Winterthur. The orchestra performs around 60 concerts a year, and in addition to orchestra concerts, ...

announced the appointment of Boyd as its principal conductor, as of the 2009–2010 season. Boyd has since extended his Winterthur contract through the 2015–2016 season, and concluded his Winterthur tenure after the 2015–2016 season. Boyd has conducted the Winterthur orchestra in commercial recordings of music of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

and

Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was an organist and composer from Liechtenstein, residing in Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria for most of his life. As court conductor in Munich, he was responsible for the music in the ...

. On 1 July 2015, Boyd became the new music director of the

Orchestre de chambre de Paris The Orchestre de chambre de Paris (OCP) is a French chamber orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs throughout Paris with concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris, where it is a resident ensemble, and also at such venues as the Théâtre des ...

. He held the post through the 2019-2020 season. In the US, Boyd's first conducting appearance was with the Gardner Chamber Orchestra in 2000. In 2002, Boyd became co-artistic director of the orchestra, along with

Paula Robison Paula Robison (born June 8, 1941) is a flute soloist and teacher. Early life and education Paula Robison was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of David V. and Naomi Robison, an actor. David Robison was a playwright and writer for film a ...

. In 2004, he became one of the first Artistic Partners with the

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Its principal concert venue is the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In collaboration with five artistic partners, the orchestra's musi ...

. In 2006, he extended his contract with the SPCO into the 2009–2010 season. He concluded his SPCO Artistic Partnership in September 2009. He first conducted the

Colorado Symphony Orchestra The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Perfor ...

in December 2006, and was named their principal guest conductor in January 2008, for a contract of 3 years with 2 weeks of guest appearances per season. Boyd and his wife Sally Pendlebury, a cellist, have three children, Iona, Sebastian and Sam. The family reside in London.

References

External links

Official website of Douglas Boyd

Maxine Robertson Management agency page on Douglas Boyd

MKI Artists agency page on Douglas Boyd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Douglas 1959 births Living people British classical oboists British male oboists British male conductors (music) Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians