MUSIC DIRECTOR & CHIEF CONDUCTOR

WILLIAM GARFIELD WALKER

Praised for his "passionate and probing performances" as well as for having "a perceptive ear and eye for detail", William Garfield Walker is an emerging young conductor quickly establishing himself on the international stage.  

Walker is currently the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Nova Orchester Wien and Artistic Director and Conductor of the “Master Camerata Orchestra”- the professional orchestra of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra’s international summer music festival. Previously he served as Principal Conductor of the Moonlight Symphony Orchestra, the Royal College of Music Oratorio Society and at the age of 20, founded the Virtuoso Philharmonic of Chicago. Walker has held Conducting Fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music where he was a 2017 recipient of the Bruno Walter Memorial Conducting Scholarship. His performances have been broadcast live on National Public Radio(USA).  In March 2020 a “Resolution Commending the Musical Genius of Mr. William Garfield Walker and congratulating him as an accomplished Orchestral Conductor” was passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives in an unanimous bipartisan vote.

Walker has performed with orchestras in both Europe and the United States. Some of the orchestras that he has worked with include the Berlin Sinfonietta, Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic Ostrava, London Classical Soloists, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Moonlight Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Reino de Aragon, and the Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra. Recently he made a highly successful debut in Russia with the Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theater Orchestra where he conducted the regional premiere of Prokofiev’s Third Symphony Op. 44 to a sold out audience.

Walker is an alumni of several elite institutions including the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Royal College of Music, London where he studied cello and conducting, the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna where he was the first conductor to graduate from the top diploma program, and pursued additional conducting studies at the Aspen Music Festival.

While studying in Vienna, Walker was immersed in the Austro-Germanic traditions of style and sound. In masterclasses with conductors such as Michail Jurowski, Vassily Sinaisky and Vladimir Fedoeseyev, he was steeped in the Russian traditions of Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Mussorgsky. Walker has also studied with other leading maestros including Robert Spano, Cristian Macelaru, Leonard Slatkin, Jorma Panula, Michael Rosewell, Andreas Stoehr and Dwight Oltman.

Originally a cellist, Walker won his first professional engagements at the age of 16 with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. He studied with Richard Hirschl (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and participated in masterclasses with among others Yo Yo Ma, Astrid Schween(Juilliard Quartet) and Desmond Hoebig. Also a composer, Walker has written music for solo instruments, large symphony orchestra and dance. It has had performances in cultural centers such as Chicago, London, Vienna and the Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona). Walker has also written music for collaborations with the Contemporary Dance Ensemble, Art Alive for many performances including in Brussels, at the Guggenheim (Bilbao, Spain) and the Sarajevo Ballet Festival.

For more information please visit: www.williamgarfieldwalker.com