Northampton Symphony Orchestra
Our Conductor: Alexander Walker
Alexander Walker is in demand as a guest conductor with orchestras all over the world. He works regularly with the legendary Russian (formerly USSR) State Symphony Orchestra with concerts at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, and International Performing Arts Centre. Appearances during the last couple of seasons have included concerts with the City of London Sinfonia, Prague Philharmonia in the Dvorak Hall of the Rudolfinum, with the Russian Philharmonia, Belgrade Philharmonic, Enescu Philharmonic, Bucharest and North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra. In the UK he has conducted regular Gala concerts at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall with the Manchester Concert Orchestra and at London’s Barbican Centre with the London Concert Orchestra. Other engagements in Britain have included concerts with the City of London Sinfonia and the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra.
Regular engagements have taken him to work with Symphony Orchestras in Poland, Finland, Denmark, Hungary, Turkey, Romania and the Balkans. He is well-known in Poland where he has conducted most of the major symphony orchestras developing a long-standing relationship with a number of them. These have included the Wroclaw State Symphony Orchestra, the Sudettan State Philharmonic, South Silesian Philharmonic and state orchestras in Kielce, Lublin and elsewhere. In Finland, he has been a regular guest with the Mikkeli and Lappeenranta City Orchestras and in Denmark has worked with the Vestjysk State Symphony Orchestra and Esbjerg Ensemble. He is becoming a regular visitor to Turkey with repeated invitations to conduct the Izmir and Adana State Symphony Orchestras. Appearances in Romania and the Balkans have included concerts with the Transylvanian State Symphony Orchestra, Belgarde Strings (broadcast on National television), and the Macedonian National Philharmonic.
He has a particular affinity with central and East European symphonic repertoire. He has been pro-active in introducing audiences to music which is new to them: Polish music in Finland, Scandinavian and British music in the former Soviet Union and lesser known Russian music in the UK. He has been responsible for a number of first performances. A sensitive concerto accompanist, he has worked with many distinguished soloists including Christian Blackshaw, Chen Halevi and Wanda Wilkomirska. He has given premieres of new works by Alan Charlton, Yuri Falik, Andrei Petrov, Aki Yli-Salomaki and Vladislav Uspensky amongst others.
Alexander became the NSO's Musical Director in January 2009 and is also Music Director of the Norfolk Symphony Orchestra. For more information about his career and musical influences, please visit his website.
