With a repertoire spanning centuries, continents and styles, Clark Rundell has established himself as a champion of music ranging from the 18th century to the current day, from Jazz to Kora, from Tango to European modernism and from large, multidimensional projects to music of complexity and intricacy.
He recently made his debuts with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Klangforum Wien, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon, the SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, NDR Orchestra Hannover and the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege all of whom immediately re-invited him to conduct over the next few seasons.
He works regularly with orchestras and ensembles including all of the BBC orchestras, Britten Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Ensemble 10/10 and Asko Schoenberg. Opera world premieres include James MacMillanâs Clemency at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orlando Goughâs Voices & Votes at the Bergen International Festival, Julian Josephâs spectacular reimagining of Tristan and Isolde in London, Oscar Bettisonâs The Light of Lesser Days in the Netherlands and the hugely anticipated opera Iphigenia by Wayne Shorter and esperanza spalding in Boston and at the Kennedy Centre, Washington, DC. Other opera performances include Albert Herring, The Turn of the Screw, Carmen, Katya Kabanova, Street Scene, LâHeure Espagnole, The Cunning Little Vixen, Greek and L’enfant et les sortilĂšges.
Deeply committed to the performance of new music, Clark Rundell has given world premiĂšres of works by composers such as Louis Andriessen, Steve Reich, Mark-Anthony Turnage, James MacMillan, Django Bates, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Oscar Bettison, Gary Carpenter, Trish Clowes, Tansy Davies, Tim Garland, Adam Gorb, David Horne, Julian Joseph, Steve Mackey, Steve Martland, Grace Evangeline Mason, Brad Mehldau, Martijn Padding, Gwilym Simcock, Joey Roukens, Wayne Shorter and Julia Wolfe.
As an arranger, he collaborated with Louis Andriessen on a suite from the late Dutch masterâs opera Rosa, entitled Rosaâs Horses, which was premiered by Clark Rundell and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic at Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. The pair also collaborated on Vermeer Pictures, a suite from Andriessenâs opera Writing to Vermeer, which was also performed at Het Concertgebouw to great critical acclaim. Clark Rundell is working on further suites of Louis Andriessenâs more recent operas.
He has conducted extensive orchestral projects with artists such as Elvis Costello, the Wayne Shorter Quartet, esperanza spalding, Toumani Diabate, Brad Mehldau, Tim Garland, Trish Clowes, Julian Joseph, Abel Selaocoe, Gwilym Simcock and Pablo Ziegler. A highly versatile musician, Rundell has also performed with artists such as John Dankworth, Bob Brookmeyer, Victor Mendoza, Guy Barker, Julian ArgĂŒelles, Ed Thigpen, Cleo Laine, Andy Sheppard, Lew Tabakin and Michael Gibbs.
He is passionate about working with young people and is Professor of Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and has a close relationship with the Netherlands Orchestral Academy.
Clark Rundell spent much of his childhood in Bloomington, Minnesota. He studied conducting at Northwestern University, Chicago with John Paynter and trombone with Frank Crisafulli, and was subsequently awarded a Junior Fellowship to study conducting with Timothy Reynish at the RNCM.
See Clark Rundell conduct Become Ocean with the RSNO on 28 September 2024.
