Harry Bicket is artistic director designate of The English Concert, a post he will assume in the 2007-08 season. His expertise with Baroque and Classical repertoire, particularly with the works of Handel, has taken him around the globe, leading to appearances with the world’s most esteemed orchestras and opera companies. Bicket’s programs often showcase his gift for choral repertoire, from the great passions, masses and oratorios of the Baroque and Classical eras to the works of Fauré, Elgar and Tippett. Appearing with period- and modern-instrument ensembles alike, he has conducted the orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; the Israel, Royal Stockholm, Rotterdam and Royal Liverpool philharmonic orchestras; Bayerische Rundfunk; Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo; and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In the US, he has conducted orchestras in Boston, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Minnesota, San Francisco, Saint Louis and Seattle; the Los Angeles and St. Paul chamber orchestras; and the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. As music director of western Scotland’s Crear Studio, Bicket oversees a varied concert series that presents established artists such as Ann Murray and Trevor Pinnock and provides unique performance opportunities for exceptional young musicians. Additionally he has established educational residencies and workshops with the Southbank Sinfonia and produced a series of CDs called Crear Classics in conjunction with the Avie label.

photo Geraint Lewis