Martyn Charles Brabbins (born 13 August 1959) is a British

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Biography

The fourth of five children in his family, he learned to play the

euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

, and then the

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

during his youth at Towcester Studio Brass Band. He later studied composition at

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...

. He subsequently studied conducting with Ilya Musin at the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory () (formerly known as the Petrograd Conservatory and Leningrad Conservatory) is a school of music in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members ...

. Brabbins first came to international attention when he was awarded first prize at the Leeds Conductors Competition in 1988. Between 1994 and 2005, Brabbins was Associate Principal Conductor of the

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional rad ...

. He became principal conductor of Sinfonia 21 in 1994. He was

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the

Cheltenham Music Festival The Cheltenham Music Festival is a British music festival, held annually in Cheltenham in the summer months (June, July) since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 2004. ...

from 2005 to 2007. During his Cheltenham tenure, he established a new ensemble, the Festival Players. In

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, he created a new chamber music series called "Music in Transition". On 17 July 2011, Brabbins conducted the 6th live performance of

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 ...

's Symphony No. 1 "The Gothic", at

The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

, which was later released on a Hyperion commercial recording. Brabbins was subsequently named president of the Havergal Brian Society. Brabbins is also conductor laureate of the Huddersfield Choral Society. In 2002, Brabbins founded a training course for aspiring conductors at the St Magnus International Festival in

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

, which he continues to co-direct. Outside of the UK, Brabbins became principal guest conductor of

deFilharmonie The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is a Belgian symphony orchestra based in Antwerp, with the Queen Elisabeth Hall as its principal concert venue. The orchestra performs in a number of venues in various cities in Belgium: * Antwerp: Queen Elisabe ...

(Royal Flemish Philharmonic) in 2009. He held the position of chief conductor of the

Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra The is a symphony orchestra based in Nagoya, Japan, founded in 1966. The orchestra gives concerts primarily at the Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater Concert Hall and the Chukyo University Center for Culture & Arts Aurora Hall. The orchestra gave ...

from 2012 to 2016. Brabbins first guest-conducted at

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

(ENO) in 2001, in a production of David Sawer's ''

From Morning to Midnight ''Von morgens bis mitternachts'' is an expressionist play written by the German dramatist Georg Kaiser in 1912. The play was banned by German censors for unclear reasons; contemporary accounts stated that the play was neither immoral nor anarchis ...

''. On 21 October 2016, ENO named Brabbins its next music director, with immediate effect. On 15 October 2023, Brabbins resigned from ENO, with immediate effect, in protest at proposed music personnel reductions to the company's music staff. In June 2024, the

Malmö Symphony Orchestra The Malmö Symphony Orchestra () is a Swedish orchestra, based in Malmö. Since 2015, it has been resident at the Malmö Live Concert Hall. The orchestra has a complement of 94 musicians. History The orchestra was founded in 1925 with Walther ...

announced the appointment of Brabbins as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2025-2026 season, with an initial contract of three seasons.

Recordings

Brabbins has conducted commercial recordings of music for such labels as Warner, Chandos, Hyperion, NMC, Nimbus, and Deutsche Grammophon. His commercial recordings include the official first recording of

Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as o ...

's opera ''New Year''.

Personal life

Brabbins and his wife Karen (née Evans) met at Goldsmiths. The couple married in 1985, and have three children. In January 2013, the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, 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, Br ...

awarded Brabbins an honorary degree, of Doctor of Music ''honoris causa''.

References

External links

Intermusica agency biography of Martyn Brabbins

Answers.com page on Martyn Brabbins

Dutch-language page of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic on Martyn Brabbins

"Martyn Brabbins moves to NPO". International Arts Manager, 15 December 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brabbins, Martyn 1959 births Living people English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Artistic directors (music) Prize-winners of the Leeds Conductors Competition Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male musicians