Martyn Brabbins is Chief Conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic, Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic and Music Director to the Huddersfield Choral Society. He was Artistic Director of the Cheltenham International Festival of Music from 2005 to 2007 and Associate Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from 1994 to 2005. He studied composition in London and conducting with Ilya Musin in Leningrad, winning first prize at the 1988 Leeds Competition. Since then Brabbins has become a frequent guest with leading orchestras across the globe. He is known for his affinity with music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly British music. He has made around 120 recordings, has conducted hundreds of world premieres and has close links with many of today’s foremost composers. In 2014/15, Brabbins notably led the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra in rare performances of both Walton’s symphonies, conducted the first ever performance in Antwerp of Elgar’s The Kingdom, and performed with the Deutsche Sinfonieorchester in the Berlin Philharmonic. Recent appearances have also included débuts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and at La Scala Milan, and at the First Night of the BBC Proms. Opera productions include The Rake’s Progress in Budapest and Tristan und Isolde for Grange Park Opera, following on from performances in 2014–15 of Strauss’ Die schweigsame Frau in Essen and Boris Godunov with Sir John Tomlinson in the title rôle. He is a regular visitor to the opera houses of Amsterdam, Lyon, Antwerp and Frankfurt, and made his Bavarian State Opera début in 2013. Martyn Brabbins is represented by Intermusica.