Live Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto Thu 29 – Sat 31 May

Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård is the Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, following six seasons as Principal Guest Conductor. The 2023:24 season also sees Thomas start his tenure as Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra. Between 2012 and 2018, he served as Principal Conductor of BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW), after stepping down as Principal Conductor and Musical Advisor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.

He has appeared with many notable orchestras in leading European centres, such as Berlin (including Berliner Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin), Munich (Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk), Leipzig (Gewandhausorchester), Paris (Orchestre National de France), London (London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, London Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra), Amsterdam and Rotterdam (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic) and is a familiar figure in Scandinavia, with such orchestras as Oslo Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony, Danish National Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony and Helsinki Philharmonic. North American appearances to date have included the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, St Louis, Toronto, Atlanta, Montreal, Vancouver, Houston and Seattle. He has made highly successful tours to China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The 2023:24 season marks the beginning of Thomas’ tenure as Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra. With the RSNO this season, in addition to their subscription series, Thomas will lead the orchestra’s residency at the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg, joined by Lise de la Salle, as well as an extensive European tour with Ray Chen. This season sees Thomas make his return to the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as his debut with the New York Philharmonic, where he will perform the US premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Keyframes for a Hippogriff. Thomas also makes regular guest appearances throughout Scandinavia this season, debuting with Iceland Symphony and the Bergen International Festival, where he leads a full staging of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt to Grieg’s complete incidental music. Return visits include Bergen Philharmonic, a joint collaboration with Aalborg and Aarhus Symfoniorkesters, and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, celebrating his receipt of the Carl Nielsen and Anne-Marie Carl Nielsen’s Foundation award for his outstanding contribution to Danish musical life.

As part of the 2015 anniversary celebrations of both Sibelius and Nielsen, he conducted a wide variety of their works with many leading orchestras. A passionate supporter of the music of Carl Nielsen, his performances with the Swedish Radio Symphony of his Symphony No. 5 was praised as “equal of the great pioneers of Nielsen interpretation… It’s hard to imagine a finer performance of this remarkable symphony.” (Dagens Nyheter); and in 2019 participated in a special concert to celebrate Nielsen’s works with the Royal Danish Academy of Music Copenhagen.

Following his acclaimed debut for Royal Danish Opera (Kafka’s Trial), he has since returned regularly to conduct a broad repertoire, including Die Walküre, which won the 2022 Reumert Award for Best Opera Production, Elektra, Le nozze di Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La bohème, Cunning Little Vixen, Il viaggio a Reims; and has also made short concert tours with the Royal Danish Orchestra. He has also enjoyed successful collaborations with Norwegian Opera and Royal Swedish Opera. His Stockholm productions of Tosca and Turandot (both with Nina Stemme) led to his Bayerische Staatsoper debut, conducting main season and Opera Festival performances of Turandot with her and he most recently returned to for the Opera’s Akademiekonzert series. He made his Deutsche Oper Berlin debut with the World premiere of Scartazzini’s Edward II and has since returned for Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet.

His discography covers a broad range of contemporary and mainstream repertoire, including Poul Ruders (Arhus Symphony, Norwegian Radio, Royal Danish Opera (Kafka’s Trial) for Da Capo and Bridge Records); Sibelius symphonies and tone poems with BBC NOW and Prokofiev and Richard Strauss with RSNO for Linn Records; Lutoslawski and Dutilleux concertos with ‘cellist Johannes Moser and Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Pentatone); and Vilde Frang’s celebrated debut recording (WDR Koln for EMI).

In January 2022, Thomas was decorated with a prestigious Royal Order of Chivalry – the Order of Dannebrog (Ridder af Dannebrogordenen) by Her Majesty Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark.

American conductor Kellen Gray is Associate Artist of the RSNO, following his two-year tenure as Assistant Conductor (2021-2023), a post that was supported by the Solti Foundation.

Kellen has earned a reputation as a versatile and imaginative artist through his diverse array of traditional and experimental programming, thrilling performances, and provocative multimedia concert experience curation.

Alongside his role as RSNO Associate Artist, Kellen is an Assistant Conductor of the English National Opera, and Associate Conductor of the Charleston Symphony (USA). His earlier appointments included respective tenures as Assistant Conductor of Chicago Sinfonietta and the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra. 

The Scotsman gave Kellen’s Royal Scottish National Orchestra season debut 4-stars. Of the same performance, Vox Carnyx: Scotland’s Voice for Classical Music and Opera reported “he unfolded the smooth, mellifluous contours with patience and understanding.” Kellen’s 2022 debut album, African-American Voices with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Linn Records received 5-stars from Pizzicato; “Kellen pays attention to the minute details of Still’s warm score, while he revels in the romantic outbursts and continual changes of pace that shake up Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony,” stated Musikzen.

Kellen is a native of South Carolina and credits the many folk music styles of the southeastern United States as his earliest and most impactful musical influences. Though most known for his mastery of the works that feature American folk idioms, his thrilling performances of other folk based composers such as Bartok, Dvorak, Copland, or Vaughan Williams roots from the same passionate pursuit of authenticity.  

As a champion for African-diasporic composers, Kellen is the founder and curator of the Charleston Symphony’s Project Aurora, a programming and performance initiative aiming to illustrate the richness of African-American arts and culture as equally important to its European equivalent.  His performances of William Dawson, William Grant Still, Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and George Walker have received critical acclaim. “Under Gray’s sure-footed direction, the RSNO (particularly the brass and the all-important woodwind) bring out all the bluesy flavour of this essentially neo-Romantic music. The infectious third movement, with its clear anticipation of Gershwin’s ‘I Got Rhythm’ (the two composers were close colleagues), has long been a popular concert favourite on its own. Here, it’s the depth of feeling and tone that Gray and his musicians uncover in the other three movements (not least the noble-toned finale) that makes this performance a winner,” writes Europadisk.

His recent and coming conducting endeavors include: the Philharmonia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra(USA), English National Opera, Chineke! Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Mozart Players, Spoleto Festival USA, Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Philharmonic, Northwest Florida Symphony, Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, and Savannah Philharmonic.

“For me, personally, music has been a way to inspire others” – Randall Goosby’s own words sum up perfectly his commitment to being an artist who makes a difference. Signed exclusively to Decca Classics in 2020 at the age of 24, American violinist Randall Goosby is acclaimed for the sensitivity and intensity of his musicianship alongside his determination to make music more inclusive and accessible, as well as bringing the music of under-represented composers to light.

Highlights of Randall Goosby’s 2023/24 season include debut performances with Boston Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons, Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Wilkins, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and St Louis Symphony Orchestra both under Christian Reif, with European debuts including a European tour with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Danish National Radio Symphony/Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Ryan Bancroft and Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Dalia Stasevska.

During 2023/24 Goosby will be Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank Centre which will include a return to London Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.3 under the direction of Gemma New and feature both recital and chamber concerts. Other upcoming recital appearances include Chamber Music Cincinnati, Emory University in Georgia, Elbphilharmonie Recital Hall in Hamburg, Perth Concert Hall in Scotland and La Società dei Concerti in Milan.

Summer 2023 includes Goosby’s debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival under Louis Langrée performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto as well as at Marlboro Music. Previous engagements have included The Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nezet-Seguin, San Francisco Symphony/Esa-Pekka Salonen, returns to Philharmonia Orchestra/Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Los Angeles Philharmonic/Dalia Stasevska, Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Tabita Berglund, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Karina Canellakis. Goosby made his debuts in South Korea in recital and in Japan with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa/Kahchun Wong performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G minor. In summer 2022, he returned to the Hollywood Bowl with his mentor, Itzhak Perlman and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In spring 2023, Goosby’s debut concerto album was released for Decca Classics together with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra performing the violin concertos by Max Bruch and Florence Price. Gramophone Magazine observed, “There’s an honesty and modesty…This playing isn’t dressed to impress but to express.”

Goosby’s first album for Decca, entitled Roots, is a celebration of African-American music which explores its evolution from the spiritual through to present-day compositions. Collaborating with pianist Zhu Wang, Goosby curated an album paying homage to the pioneering artists that paved the way for him and other artists of colour. It features three world-premiere recordings of music written by African-American composer Florence Price, and includes works by composers William Grant Still and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson plus a newly commissioned piece by acclaimed double bassist Xavier Foley, a fellow Sphinx and Young Concert Artists alumnus.

Goosby is deeply passionate about inspiring and serving others through education, social engagement and outreach activities. He has enjoyed working with non-profit organisations such as the Opportunity Music Project and Concerts in Motion in New York City, as well as participating in community engagement programmes for schools, hospitals and assisted living facilities across the United States. In 2022/23 Goosby hosted a residency with the Iris Collective in Memphis with pianist, Zhu Wang. Together they explore how the students family history can relate to music and building community collaboration through narrative and performances.

Randall Goosby was first prize winner in the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. In 2019, he was named the inaugural Robey Artist by Young Classical Artists Trust in partnership with Music Masters in London; and in 2020 he became an Ambassador for Music Masters, a role that sees him mentoring and inspiring students in schools around the United Kingdom. In 2010 he won first prize of the Sphinx Concerto Competition, he is a recipient of Sphinx’s Isaac Stern Award and of a career advancement grant from the Bagby Foundation and of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant. An active chamber musician, he has spent his summers studying at the Perlman Music Program, Verbier Festival Academy and Mozarteum Summer Academy among others.

Goosby made his debut with Jacksonville Symphony at age nine and with New York Philharmonic on a Young People’s Concert at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall at age 13. A former student of Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho, he received his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Artist Diploma degrees from the Juilliard School. He is an alumni of the Perlman Music Program and studied previously with Philippe Quint. He plays the Antonio Stradivarius, Cremona, “ex-Strauss,” 1708 on generous loan from Samsung Foundation of Culture.