RCS graduate Ryan Bancroft appointed Principal Conductor of BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Published: 11/09/2019

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland conducting graduate Ryan Bancroft has been unveiled as the new principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

The 29-year-old Californian musician, who won the prestigious Malko Competition for Young Conductors in 2018, studied the MMus Conducting degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Ryan, who was born in Los Angeles, will formally take on the role from September 2020.

Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said: “Our warmest congratulations go to Ryan on his appointment to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. This is a wonderful appointment and tremendous credit to Ryan as well as being an affirmation of the quality of our music training in Scotland.”

Ryan graduated with distinction in orchestral conducting from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2015. During his studies, he conducted the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Red Note. He performed as a trumpet player with the BBC SSO.

The appointment is the latest success for the RCS Conducting department. BMus graduate Kerem Hasan, who studied joint piano and conducting, became chief conductor of the Tiroler Symphonieorchester in Innsbruck in 2018 and earlier in 2019, made his debut with the Toronto Symphony. Previous Conducting Fellows who have made successful entries into the profession include Jessica Cottis, Fergus Macleod, Ciaran McAuley, Holly Mathieson and Jiří Rožeň.

More information on studying Conducting is available on the RCS website: rcs.ac.uk/conducting