A dynamic presence in both the opera house and concert hall, Rory Macdonald leads orchestras of the highest level around the world in a notably wide repertoire.

 

He opened the 2025 Glyndebourne Festival with an acclaimed production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, following a production of La Bohème there in 2022. In recent seasons he has returned regularly to the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Oper Frankfurt and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. He has also made debuts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Tokyo Philharmonic and Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, as well as the Adelaide Festival (Romeo Castellucci’s staging of Mozart’s Requiem) and Brisbane Festival (Britten’s Peter Grimes). During the pandemic he was invited to conduct the Philharmonia, RSNO and RLPO in streamed broadcasts.

 

A passionate advocate for new music, Rory has conducted the premieres of works by composers including Sally Beamish, Sir James MacMillan, Geoffrey Gordon and Carl Vine. In addition to his performing work, Rory is dedicated to bringing music to people who might not ordinarily attend concerts. He has been involved with numerous musical outreach projects, including work with Young Carers, with prisoners, and with local and national youth orchestras. In addition, he served for several years as Music Director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra in Manchester. Rory’s discography includes Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy with Nicola Benedetti for Decca as well as highly acclaimed discs for Hyperion, Chandos and Linn Records.

 

Notable symphonic engagements include the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Bergen Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Bremen Philharmonic, Essen Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, Aurora Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Residentie Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic, Adelaide Symphony, Queensland Symphony, West Australian Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony and Auckland Philharmonia. He stepped in at very short notice for the late Mariss Jansons in 2013, conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House and at the NCPA in Beijing.

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In the opera house he has conducted productions for Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Royal Danish Opera, Opera Australia, Gothenburg Opera, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera, Teatro São Carlos, Bergen National Opera, Grange Park Opera and the Wexford Festival. 

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Born in Stirling, Rory studied music at Cambridge University. Whilst there he studied under David Zinman and Jorma Panula at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen. After graduating he was appointed assistant conductor to Iván Fischer at the Budapest Festival Orchestra (2001-2003), and to Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra (2006-2008). He was also a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House (2004-2006), where he worked closely with Sir Antonio Pappano on such major projects as the complete Ring cycle.