Ryan Bancroft (born 1989) is an American

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

Biography

Bancroft grew up in

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, a ...

, from a working-class background, where his father was a housepainter and his mother worked at a grocery. He attended the

California Institute for the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bot ...

(CalArts), where his academic studies focused on trumpet and his mentors included Edward Carroll. Bancroft also developed particular interests in drumming and Ghanaian dance. He earned a BFA degree from CalArts in 2011 and an MFA degree from CalArts in 2013. One of Bancroft's earliest experiences in conducting was the direction of an ad hoc ensemble in the ''

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'' of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in a memorial concert for his father in 2010. He continued conducting studies at the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

(RCS). During his studies at the RCS, he played trumpet with 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 ra ...

(BBC SSO), and conducted the BBC SSO, Red Note, and 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 Or ...

. Bancroft graduated from the RCS in 2015. In The Netherlands, he participated in the ''Nationale Master Orkestdirectie'' via the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. His conducting mentors have included

Kenneth Montgomery Kenneth Montgomery OBE (born 1943, in Belfast) is a British conductor. The only child of Lily and Tom Montgomery, his upbringing was in Wandsworth Parade and he attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. His musical studies were at the ...

Ed Spanjaard Eduard Philip Spanjaard (born 22 December 1948), known professionally as Ed Spanjaard, is a Dutch conductor and pianist. Early life Spanjaard was born in 1948 in Haarlem. His father was a psychiatrist and amateur pianist, and his mother a fla ...

, and

Jac van Steen Jac van Steen (born 1956 in Eindhoven) is a Dutch conductor. He studied music theory, as well as orchestral and choral conducting, at the . In the Netherlands, van Steen was conductor and music director of the Nijmegen Bach Choir from 1986 to 199 ...

. In April 2018, Bancroft was the winner of both the First Prize and the Audience Prize of the Malko Competition for Young Conductors. During the competition, he conducted the ''de facto'' world premiere of the competition test composition ''Sarabande Blues'', composed by

Poul Ruders Poul Ruders (born 27 March 1949) is a Danish composer. Life Born in Ringsted, Ruders trained as an organist, and studied orchestration with Karl Aage Rasmussen. Ruders's first compositions date from the mid-1960s. Ruders regards his own compos ...

, as the first contestant to conduct the complete work without interruption. In November 2018, Bancroft first guest-conducted the

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation ...

(BBC NOW), as an emergency substitute for Xian Zhang. He returned as guest conductor to the BBC NOW in May 2019. In September 2019, the BBC NOW announced the appointment of Bancroft as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2020–2021 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. This appointment marks his first orchestral post, which he formally assumed in September 2020. Bancroft is the first American conductor to be named principal conductor of the BBC NOW. In 2019, Bancroft first guest-conducted the

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( sv, Kungliga Filharmonikerna or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. H ...

. In December 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Bancroft as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2023-2024 season.

References

External links

Intermusica agency page on Ryan Bancroft

Malko Competition for Young Conductors, blog, "2018 Articles"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Ryan American male conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 1989 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland People from Los Angeles