Around the Music Festival

British conductor Donald Runnicles will be Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Runnicles has been General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2009 (-2022).

He is one of the few southpaw conductors, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 65 years old. After studying at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh, he began his career as an assistant conductor at the Mannheim Opera House in Germany.

After that, in 1989, he became the general music director of the Freiburg Theater. In opera, he stands on the podium of famous opera houses such as the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. From 1992 to 2009 he was the music director of the San Francisco Opera.

Meanwhile, he was Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from 2009 to 2016 and is now Conductor Laureate. Since 2001, he has been the Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Photo：Berliner Philharmoniker