Derrick Morgan is a young Glasgow-based conductor. Born in the Scottish Borders, he is currently the Assistant Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, where he works closely with Music Director Thomas Søndergård and Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Hahn. He was also the inaugural Foundation Conductor of the Orpheus Sinfonia’s Foundation programme based in central London.
As an assistant conductor, he has had the privilege of working with many of the world’s greatest conductors, such as the late Sir Andrew Davis, John Wilson, Karina Canellakis, Andrey Boreyko, Joana Carneiro, and Sir James MacMillan. As a conductor, he has worked with a variety of ensembles and orchestras, including the RSNO, BBC Scottish Symphony, Norwegian Radio, Hebrides Ensemble, Red Note Ensemble, Assembly Project, and the BBC Singers.
His first season at the RSNO saw him record and perform for various audiences across different locations around Scotland. In the recording studio, he has been working with the RSNO’s new partner, Charanga, to create materials for schools and recorded ‘Flower of Scotland’ in an arrangement by Christopher Gough for Euro 2024, which received thousands of views and was repeatedly broadcast on Classic FM. On the concert platform, he has conducted and presented all five of the RSNO’s popular Viennese Galas with soprano Emma Morwood. He also made his Season debut with the orchestra in Dundee, stepping in for an indisposed Stephanie Childress, along with matinee performances presented by Gillian Moore.
In his role as Foundation Conductor of Orpheus Sinfonia he assisted, performed and presented alongside their Artistic Director Thomas Carroll and Principal Guest Conductor Oliver Gooch. In August 2024 he was immediately re-invited by Orpheus Sinfonia to give the European premiere of Zou Ye’s Symphony ‘Kukai’ alongside the Scherzo Ensemble and Choir of the Chinese Central Conservatory of Music. The success of this London performance has led to being invited to give the New Zealand premiere in January 2025.
Education and audience engagement hold particular interest for Derrick. With the RSNO, he is the lead artist for their partnership with Sistema Scotland’s programme, ‘Big Noise’. He serves as the central contact between the two national institutions and prepares the young people of Big Noise for their side-by-side performances with the RSNO, in a new commission by Lisa Robertson. As part of the partnership, he will also deliver CPD to tutors at all five centres. Leading in digital delivery, the RSNO and Charanga’s partnership has seen Derrick record several backing tracks with the orchestra, to be distributed to two million children across Charanga’s platform. In the new Season, he will deliver these songs live in mass ‘come and sing’ programmes for primary schools across Scotland.
Prior to the RSNO, Derrick was Assistant Artistic Director of the RPS-nominated Nevis Ensemble, where he worked with many communities across Scotland, from care centres and schools to hospitals and prisons. Later, he was also involved in training the Nevis Ensemble Fellows. In all of his work, Derrick aims to focus on audience engagement and is an engaging presenter who has conducted concerts and pre-concert talks for various audiences.
Supporting and promoting contemporary music is another significant aspect of Derrick’s career. He has conducted numerous new works in both public and educational contexts. He has collaborated with the Assembly Project and Red Note Ensemble, presenting student works and adjudicating composition competitions at the University of Edinburgh. His interest in contemporary music led him to give the Scottish Premiere of Jonathan Dove’s ‘Mansfield Park’ with Edinburgh Studio Opera in 2016.
Derrick studied Musicology at the University of Edinburgh and conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he received prizes for his achievements in conducting. He studied conducting under the guidance of Martyn Brabbins and Garry Walker whilst benefiting from the expertise of guest tutors, including Mark Wigglesworth, Kevin John Edusei, Ilan Volkov, and James Lowe. In 2017, he became the youngest participant of the Orkney Conductors’ Course as part of the St Magnus International Festival. During this course, Derrick studied with the late Alexander Vedernikov, Charles Peebles, and Sofi Jeanin.
The RSNO Assistant Conductorship is a two-year post and benefits from the support of the Solti Foundation.
