Conductor

Kenneth Montgomery

Biography

Belfast-born Kenneth Montgomery has been working with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century to great acclaim. He has toured with this orchestra in Europe and Asia, and has also conducted them in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and La clemenza di Tito, the latter voted Opera of the Year by readers of Place de L’Opera. Last October he conducted Die Zauberflöte & Die Schauspieldirektorin, ein Gelegenheitsstück in tempore Coronae around the Netherlands to rave reviews. He conducted a large number of performances for Dutch radio in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw during his years as principal conductor of the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra and Groot Omroepkoor (Netherlands Radio Choir). And he has conducted over a hundred operas from Cavalli to contemporary composers. After a period as principal guest conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, in 2007 he became the first Belfast native to hold the post of principal conductor. He has a long-standing relationship with Santa Fe Opera, having conducted 21 productions there since 1982, and he currently holds the post of conductor laureate. He was the first artistic director of the Dutch National Opera Academy, and he continues to give conducting masterclasses at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam for their combined National Master in Orchestral Conducting course. He was awarded an OBE for services to music in Northern Ireland and an Honorary DMus from Queen’s University, Belfast.

February 2022