CONDUCTOR
At 22, Duncan Ward has recently been appointed as the Sir Charles Mackerras Junior Conducting Fellow for Trinity Laban. First mounting the podium aged thirteen for a school production of his own musical, in the last year he has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra under the instruction of Valery Gergiev, the Staatskapelle Berlin with Daniel Barenboim, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich with David Zinman, and the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra with Pierre Boulez. He was additionally the youngest of ten conductors selected to audition for a two-year apprenticeship with Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
2011 sees him working with the International Contemporary Ensemble in New York, LSO strings for a concert in their UBS Soundscapes Eclectica Series, the Barbican Young Orchestra, Liverpool Mozart Orchestra, Tallis Chamber Orchestra, Kaleidoscope Orchestra, Salford Choral Society and the Orchestra of the North. He also works with Jimi Goodwin (The Doves) and the Bird Effect Ensemble for a performance live on BBC Radio 6 for the charity 'Ghosts of Gone Birds' , and with young string players from London boroughs in LSO's Take a Bow project. Recent acclaimed performances have included Elgar The Music Makers, Haydn Symphony No. 43, Janacek Sinfonietta and Macmillan The Confession of Isobel Gowdie.
As a member of the National Youth Orchestra, he has performed with such conductors as Sir Mark Elder, Gianandrea Noseda and Sir Colin Davis and studied conducting with Peter Stark and Andrew Morley. Whilst at university, studying with Mark Heron, he regularly conducted the University of Manchester Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, including their 2009 Bulgarian tour. He also directed Vaganza, the University’s New Music Ensemble, and conducted the NYO Brass Ensemble in a concert of his own works at the Royal Opera House.
Assistant Conductor for a Naxos recording of Victorian Opera's production of George Macfarren's Robin Hood (1860) in 2010, he again assisted Richard Bonynge for their recent recording of 19th century opera overtures by British and Irish composers to be released in 2012. Benefiting highly from invitation to observe rehearsals at Glyndebourne, the Staatsoper Berlin, and English National Opera, he is additionally grateful for the generous support of the Musicians Benelovent Fund.
2011 sees him working with the International Contemporary Ensemble in New York, LSO strings for a concert in their UBS Soundscapes Eclectica Series, the Barbican Young Orchestra, Liverpool Mozart Orchestra, Tallis Chamber Orchestra, Kaleidoscope Orchestra, Salford Choral Society and the Orchestra of the North. He also works with Jimi Goodwin (The Doves) and the Bird Effect Ensemble for a performance live on BBC Radio 6 for the charity 'Ghosts of Gone Birds' , and with young string players from London boroughs in LSO's Take a Bow project. Recent acclaimed performances have included Elgar The Music Makers, Haydn Symphony No. 43, Janacek Sinfonietta and Macmillan The Confession of Isobel Gowdie.
As a member of the National Youth Orchestra, he has performed with such conductors as Sir Mark Elder, Gianandrea Noseda and Sir Colin Davis and studied conducting with Peter Stark and Andrew Morley. Whilst at university, studying with Mark Heron, he regularly conducted the University of Manchester Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, including their 2009 Bulgarian tour. He also directed Vaganza, the University’s New Music Ensemble, and conducted the NYO Brass Ensemble in a concert of his own works at the Royal Opera House.
Assistant Conductor for a Naxos recording of Victorian Opera's production of George Macfarren's Robin Hood (1860) in 2010, he again assisted Richard Bonynge for their recent recording of 19th century opera overtures by British and Irish composers to be released in 2012. Benefiting highly from invitation to observe rehearsals at Glyndebourne, the Staatsoper Berlin, and English National Opera, he is additionally grateful for the generous support of the Musicians Benelovent Fund.
'Duncan is hugely talented, enterprising and intelligent,
and what's more he has natural warmth and sensitivity'
Marion Friend
'I found Duncan to be immensely talented with a special gift of God! I foresee a great future for him as a performer, conductor & composer.'
Ravi Shankar