Richard Gill

Richard Gill, OAM, is one of Australia’s pre-eminent and most admired conductors specialising in opera, musical theatre and vocal and choral training and is internationally respected as a music educator. Richard’s work in developing young musicians and creating opportunities for them is recognised world-wide. He is Founding Music Director and Conductor Emeritus of Victorian Opera and also Artistic Director of the Education Program for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He has been Artistic Director of OzOpera, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, and the Adviser for the Musica Viva In Schools program.

This year Richard’s engagements will include Director of the National Music Camp for the Australian Youth Orchestra in Canberra, Discovery concerts (Sydney Symphony), Ears Wide Open (Melbourne Symphony), Schools concerts (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra), Sydney Chamber Choir, and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

In 2011/2012 Richard conducted Cinderella, a Pantomime, The Rake’s Progress, The Marriage of Figaro, The Play of Daniel, the Viva Verdi Gala concerts, The Magic Flute, Sing Your Own Opera, How to Kill Your Husband and The Threepenny Opera (at Sydney Theatre Company) all for Victorian Opera, Discovery and Family concerts, Meet the Music and Tea with Symphony for Sydney Symphony and Ears Wide Open and Classic Kids concerts with Melbourne Symphony. In 2012 Richard’s memoirs “Give me excess of it” were also published.

Further works Richard has conducted for Victorian opera include Sleeping Beauty, a Pantomime, The Coronation of Poppea, Damnation of Faust,  Julius Caesar,  Don Giovanni, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, Carmina Burana, Ariadne auf Naxos, The Parrott Factory, The Cockatoos and the world premiere of Rembrandt’s Wife.

His work in the concert hall is extensive and includes concerts with all the major Australian orchestras, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra,Sydney Philharmonia, Canberra Symphony Orchestra as well as the Australian, Sydney, and Western Australian Youth Orchestras.  For the Sydney Symphony he regularly conducts their Meet the Music concerts, Discovery concerts with the Sydney Symphony Sinfonia, and Sinfonietta concerts.

Richard’s repertoire for Opera Australia includes Julius Caesar, The Love for Three Oranges, Orpheus in the Underworld, the world premiere of Moya Henderson’s Lindy, Faust, The Gondoliers, The Eighth Wonder, Macbeth, La forza del destino, Rigoletto, Lucia di Lammermoor, Il trovatore, Romeo et Juliette, Pericole, The Merry Widow, Fidelio, Turandot, Pearl Fishers, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorindain a double bill entitled ‘Baroque Masterworks’; for Oz Opera, The Barber of Seville, La bohème, Carmen, and The Magic Flute;  for Opera Queensland he has conducted The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro; and for Victorian Opera, Noyes Fludde, The Snow Queen, Così fan Tutte, Metamorphosis,Les Noces/Oedipus Rex and in concert, St John Passion.

Music theatre repertoire includes Brundibar (Windmill Performing Arts), the world premiere of Jonathan Mills’ The Ghost Wife at the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival and London Barbican, Eternity Man for Sydney Festival, The World’s Biggest Singing Lesson at the UWA Perth International Arts Festival and Sing Your Own Opera at the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts. He also acted as Chairman of the Jury for the ABC/OA Operatunity OZ project 2005/06.

He has held several important posts including Dean of the West Australian Conservatorium of Music (1985-1990) and Director of Chorus at The Australian Opera (1990-1996) and has received numerous accolades during the course of his career, including an Order of Australia Medal, the Bernard Heinze Award for Services to Music in Australia, an Honorary Doctorate from the Edith Cowan University of Western Australia for his service to Australian music and musicians, an Hon. Doc. (ACU), and the Australian Music Centre’s award for ‘Most Distinguished Contribution to the Presentation of Australian Composition by an Individual’. Richard is also the recipient of the prestigious Don Banks Award 2006 by the Australia Council.