Rory Macdonald stands out as one of the most engaging British conductors of his generation, leading stylish performances of a notably wide range of operatic and symphonic repertoire.

In great demand as operatic conductor, he has conducted new productions for the Royal Opera House, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera and Royal Danish Opera amongst others. Notable highlights have included Peter Grimes (Brisbane Festival), Albert Herring (Glyndebourne), The Turn of the Screw (Vienna Konzerthaus), The Rape of Lucretia (Houston Grand Opera), Carmen (Santa Fe Opera, Canadian Opera Company), Così fan tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro (Oper Frankfurt), Fra Diavolo (Opera di Roma), A Village Romeo and Juliet (Wexford Festival) and The Cunning Little Vixen (Bergen National Opera).

Engagements recently and in seasons beyond include returns to Oper Frankfurt for Le nozze di Figaro and to the Opera Theater of Saint Louis for The Magic Flute, as well as a performance with the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, debuts with the Philharmonia and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and a return to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

On the concert podium highlights include the première performances of works by notable composers including Sir James Macmillan, Carl Vine, Sally Beamish and Geoffrey Gordon, as well as guest engagements with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw, Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Hallé, BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony amongst many others.

Rory’s discography includes Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy with Nicola Benedetti (Decca), Eric Chisholm’s Piano Concertos with Danny Driver (Hyperion), The Beauty Stone by Arthur Sullivan (Chandos) and Thomas Wilson’s Third and Fourth Symphonies with the RSNO which was released in 2019 on Linn Records to critical acclaim, and similarly with symphonies No2 and 5 in 2020.