Philharmonia Orchestra
Led by its Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Philharmonia has a pioneering approach to the role of the modern-day symphony orchestra, reaching new audiences and participants through audience development, digital technology and learning and participation programmes. Based in London, but with residencies in cities throughout England and a thriving international touring programme and global digital reach, the Philharmonia engages with a world-wide audience.

Geoffrey Paterson
studied at Cambridge University and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama: he took composition lessons with Alexander Goehr, participated in conducting masterclasses with Pierre Boulez and trained as a repetiteur at the National Opera Studio. He won First Prize at the 2009 Leeds Conductors Competition, also winning the audience prize.

He made his debut at Opera North conducting La bohème, and works regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where he was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, assisting conductors including Antonio Pappano, Mark Elder, Andris Nelsons and Daniele Gatti. Operas conducted for the ROH include Massenet’s Le Portrait de Manon, Julian Grant’s Hot House, Julian Philips’ How the Whale Became and scenes from Britten’s Death in Venice. Other recent operatic work includes George Benjamin’s Into the Little Hill (Hamburg Symphony Orchestra), Julian Philips’ Followers (Glyndebourne) and David Bruce’s The Firework-Maker’s Daughter (The Opera Group). He was invited to join the music staff of the 2013 Bayreuth Festival for Der Ring des Nibelungen and return in 2014.

His recent concert work includes the Manchester Camerata’s New Year’s Gala, several concerts with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and Stockhausen’s Gruppen with the London Sinfonietta.