Edward Gardner - Conductor
Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic since October 2015, Edward Gardner has led the orchestra on multiple international tours, including performances in Berlin, Munich and Amsterdam, and at the BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival.
In demand as a guest-conductor, the 2017-18 season saw Edward debut with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony and Netherlands Philharmonic orchestras; and return to the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Danish National Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra.
Highlights of the 2018-19 season include re-invitations to conduct the Chicago Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano and the London Philharmonic Orchestra – the latter for concerts in London and New York. Debuts include dates with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Wiener Symphoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Orchestre Nazionale Sinfonica della RAI, and a new production of Káťa Kabanová at the Royal Opera House.
He also continues his longstanding collaborations with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he was Principal Guest Conductor from 2010-16, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, whom he has conducted at both the First and Last Night of the BBC Proms.
Music Director of English National Opera for ten years (2006-15), Edward has an ongoing relationship with New York’s Metropolitan Opera where he has conducted productions of Carmen, Don Giovanni, Der Rosenkavalier and Werther. Elsewhere, he has conducted at La Scala, Chicago Lyric Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Opéra National de Paris; while opera-in-concert continues to be a part of his work with the Bergen Philharmonic, including an acclaimed Peter Grimes at the Bergen and Edinburgh International Festivals.
A passionate supporter of young talent, Edward founded the Hallé Youth Orchestra in 2002 and regularly conducts the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He has a close relationship with the Juilliard School of Music, and with the Royal Academy of Music who appointed him their inaugural Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Chair in 2014.
An exclusive Chandos recording artist, Edward’s award-winning discography includes music by Grieg, Bartok, Sibelius, Janáček, Elgar, Mendelssohn, Walton, Lutosławski, Britten, Berio and Schoenberg.
Born in Gloucester in 1974, Edward was educated at Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music. He went on to become Assistant Conductor of The Hallé and Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera. His many accolades include being named Royal Philharmonic Society Award Conductor of the Year (2008), an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera (2009) and receiving an OBE for Services to Music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours (2012).