Jonathan Bloxham has swiftly made his mark as a conductor of “accomplished technique, innate musicianship, with a natural rapport with orchestras and a deep knowledge and understanding of the symphonic repertoire” (- Paavo Järvi).
Jonathan has a natural affinity with opera and made his Glyndebourne Festival debut in 2021, conducting 4 sold-out performances of Luisa Miller with the London Philharmonic. In Autumn 2021 he conducted Glyndebourne Touring Opera’s production of Don Pasquale, receiving 5-star reviews, having assisted and conducted two performances of Rigoletto for GTO in 2019. This season he debuts with the Royal Philharmonic, Münchner Symphoniker, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Kammerakademie Potsdam, National Symphony (RTE) and Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and returns to the London Philharmonic, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, London Mozart Players, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Scottish National and the Hallé. He will focus particularly on the classical and early Romantic repertoire and on Slavic composers, but will also conduct the Britten Sinfonia in a world premiere by Dobrinka Tabakova alongside works by Brett Dean and Steve Reich as part of the Barbican’s 40th anniversary celebrations. He has strong relationships with many leading soloists, and this season works with Frank Peter Zimmermann, Steven Isserlis, Daniel Müller-Schott, Sheku KannehMason, Abel Selaocoe, Jess Gillam, Milos Karadaglic, Timothy Ridout and Mariam Batsashvili among others. 2021 saw the release of his first album – Richard Strauss and Cesar Franck with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford – described as “irresistible” by Musicweb International. Jonathan’s conducting career was launched when he took up the Assistant Conductor position at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2016-2018 under Mirga Grazynte-Tyla, conducting a wide range of repertoire and closing their 16/17 season at Symphony Hall. He was then invited by Paavo Järvi to conduct a summer concert with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, which led to a recording project and subscription concerts in Bremen and at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. He has since become a regular guest on the international circuit, appearing with the Residentie Orkest, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Basque National and Malaysian Philharmonic, among others; he had also been due to debut with the Tokyo Symphony, Shanghai Symphony, Guangzhou Symphony and China National Philharmonic (in Beijing)
until the pandemic intervened. At home in the UK he has returned to the CBSO, conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, RTE Chamber, Aurora Orchestra, and has become a frequent guest with the London Mozart Players, also conducting projects with the London Philharmonic and London Symphony orchestras. For the past 11 years Jonathan has been Artistic Director of the Northern Chords Festival based in his home-town of Newcastle upon Tyne but also performing further afield, notably during lock-down in January 2021 in a live studio concert broadcast on BBC Radio 3 from the Maida Vale studios. Passionate about unearthing little-known composers and championing new work, Jonathan has commissioned several premieres by young composers such as Vlad Maistorovici, Jack Sheen and Freya Waley Cohen. Before taking up conducting he was a founder member and the cellist of the Busch Trio, performing regularly at the Wigmore Hall, Southbank and on BBC Radio 3, and still plays chamber music on occasion. He won several prestigious awards whilst studying at the Royal College of Music and made his concerto debut at the Berlin Philharmonie in 2012. He began his musical training at the age of 8 with a local cello teacher from the Gateshead Schools Music Service. He then studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School & Royal College of Music with Thomas Carroll before completing a Master’s degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Louise Hopkins, taking further conducting studies with Sian Edwards, Michael Seal, Nicolas Pasquet and Paavo Järvi.
