British conductor Rumon Gamba is Principal Conductor and Musical Director of the Symfoniorkestern Norrlandsoperan. Between 2002-2010 he was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. He regularly conducts the BBC Orchestras and has appeared at the BBC Proms on a number of occasions. He records exclusively for Chandos.

Rumon Gamba has given several high profile premieres. In 2010/11 he will conduct the Swedish premiere of Poul Ruders' Dancer in the Dark with the Norrlands Opera. Following his successful opera debut conducting Candide with the English National Opera he will return there in spring 2011 for the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s opera Two Boys. He has also conducted the Icelandic premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Scherzoid (a co-commission with New York and London Philharmonic orchestras) and the world premiere of Brett Dean’s Viola Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In celebration of Hans Christian Andersen’s 200th birthday he gave the world premiere of Per Norgard’s oratorio The Will O The Wisps Go To Town with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Rumon Gamba has recently worked with Orquesta Nacionales de Espana, London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming engagements include Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Ulster Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Aalborg Symfonieorkester and the Berner Symphonie-Orchester.

Following on from his tremendously successful first season with the Symfoniorkestern Norrlandsoperan, this season will open with a Schumann symphony cycle (performing all on two consecutive nights). May 2011 will see the Swedish premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Blood on the Floor as part of their contemporary festival. Rumon Gamba will also be implementing his late night concerts, highly successful in Iceland and specifically aimed at young adults.

With the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, recordings for Chandos Records include two volumes of the orchestral works of Malcolm Williamson and, most recently, an ongoing series of D’Indy’s Orchestral Works – the first of which was nominated for a Grammy Award. Other recordings for Chandos include several award-winning and Grammy-nominated CDs as part of their acclaimed Film Music series.

Within North America Rumon Gamba has worked with the New York Philharmonic, Toronto and Indianapolis Symphony orchestras, National Arts Center Orchestra Ottawa and the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. He has worked with all the major Australian orchestras and guest conducted with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong, Osaka and Nagoya Philharmonic orchestras.

Having studied with Colin Metters at the Royal Academy of Music, Rumon Gamba became the first ever conducting student to receive the DipRAM. He then went on to win the Lloyds Bank BBC Young Musicians Conductors Workshop in February 1998 and subsequently became Assistant and then Associate Conductor to the BBC Philharmonic until 2002. Rumon Gamba was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2002.

2010/11 season only. Please contact HarrisonParrott if you wish to edit this biography.

Photo credit: Sussie Ahlburg