Timothy Orpen joined the Royal Scottish National Orchestra as principal clarinet in 2020, following five years as principal of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Timothy is also a founder member and principal of the Aurora Orchestra, with whom he continues to perform regularly. Prior to joining the the ROH Orchestra, Timothy spent three years as principal clarinet of the Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Timothy has performed and broadcast concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Aurora Orchestra, with conductors including Sir David Willcocks, Nicholas Collon and Barry Wordsworth.
As a chamber musician Timothy has performed across the Far East, USA, Australia and Europe with artists including Lars Vogt, Anthony Marwood, Melvyn Tan and Pascal Rogé. He has also collaborated with the Klezmer group She’koyokh and given many world premieres, including pieces written for him by Luke Styles, Graham Ross and Aaron Holloway-Nahum. As a guest principal Timothy has performed with all the major London orchestras.
Timothy is a previous overall winner of the Royal Over-Seas League competition and has been featured many times as a soloist on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM.
After spending his early years in Australia he studied at the Royal Academy in London and the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, Germany. In his spare time Timothy enjoys exploring the Scottish hills, and he also has climbed 6000-metre mountains in the Andes and Himalayas.
