Harish Shankar

Conductor

BIO

Hailed for his exacting technique and passionate conducting, the charismatic Malaysian-born Harish Shankar enjoys a growing global presence on the podium.

A prize winner at the 6th International Jorma Panula Conducting Competition, Harish Shankar is currently the first kapellmeister at the Meininger Staatstheater and chief conductor designate of the Theater Erfurt. Current highlights include this season’s debuts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera North. Previous appearances include City of Birmingham Symphony, Gärtnerplatztheater, Munich, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Jena Philharmonics, Manchester Camerata, Bournemouth Symphony, Vaasa City Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Trujillo, and North Czech Philharmonic. His debut with the Hallé Orchestra received high critical acclaim. With an active voice in the media, Harish has been featured in ‘Classical Music Magazine’ and interviewed on BBC Radio 3.

His craft is undeniable and he was a joy to watch as he exuded love and confidence.

Mark Dee

North West End

Harish Shankar completed his Master’s degree in Conducting at the prestigious Conservatoire of Weimar, Germany under the tutelage of Professor Gunter Kahlert.

As Junior Fellow of Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, he received valuable mentorship from Sir Mark Elder. Masterclasses with Paavo Järvi, Nicolás Pasquet and Mark Stringer round off his studies.

He has assisted a number of renowned conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Vasily Petrenko, Eckehard Stier and Juanjo Mena. Early studies with Eiji Oue led to an invitation to lead the orchestra of the award-winning El Sistema project in Peru. During his tenure with El Sistema, he conducted a number of regular and cross-over projects with the aim to engage a growing classical music scene and to bring together children from all walks of life through music.

A pianist by training, Harish Shankar took piano lessons from the age of six with Penny Kam and Loo Bang Hean before being accepted into the class of noted pianist Professor Konstanze Eickhorst at the Conservatoire of Lübeck.

In his free time Harish Shankar serves as an emergency pedagogue with the Friends of Waldorf Education, using music to help children in areas of conflict cope with trauma.

Harish's Repertoire list

Symphonic

Adams

The Chairman Dances

Arutiunian

Concerto for Trumpet

Bach, C.P.E.

Concerto for Flute in d minor

Bach, J.S.

Concerto for 2 Violins in d minor

Barber

Adagio for Strings

Bartók

Concerto for Orchestra

Divertimento for Strings

Piano Concerto No. 2

Beethoven

All Symphonies

Egmont Overture

Leonore Overture No. 2

Piano Concerti No. 1, 4

Violin Concerto in d major

Bernstein

Symphonic Dances from ‘The West Side Story’

Candide Overture

Berlioz

King Lear Overture

Béatrice et Bénédict Overture

Bizet

Carmen Suites No. 1, 2

l’Arlesienne Suites No. 1, 2

Brahms

All Symphonies

Piano Quartet in g minor (Schoenberg)

Haydn Variations

Piano Concerti No. 1, 2

Tragic Overture

Academic Festival Overture

Nänie

Alto-rhapsody

Britten

War Requiem

4 Sea Interludes

Catalani

Comtemplazione

Debussy

La Mer

Iberia

Prelude a l’Apres Midi d’un Faune

Dvořák

Symphonies No. 8, 9

Cello Concerto in b minor

Violin Concerto in a minor

Elgar

Enigma Variations

Cello Concerto in e minor

Romance for Bassoon

Eller

Koit

Enescu

Suite for Orchestra No. 1 in C Major

Glanert

Brahms Fantasie

Frenesia

Grieg

Holberg Suite

In Autumn

Haydn

Symphonies No. 44 ‘Trauer’, 99, 101 ‘Clock’, 103 ‘Drumroll’ and 104 ‘London’

Trumpet Concerto in e flat major

Henderickx

Le Visioni di paura

Khachaturian

Masquerade Suite

Piano Concerto

Kodály

Háry János Suite

Dances from Galanta

Lindberg

Jubilees

Liszt

Les Preludes

Lutoslawski

Concerto for Orchestra

Livre pour Orchestre

Mahler

Symphonies No. 2 ‘Resurrection’ and 5

Das Lied von der Erde

Songs of a Wayfarer

Kindertotenlieder

Matthews

Grand Barcarolle

Mendelssohn

Symphonies No. 3 ‘Scottish’ and 4 ‘Italian’

Violin Concerto in e minor

Hebrides Overture

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Die schöne Melusine

Miyoshi

Concerto for Orchestra

Monn

Cello Concerto in g minor

Mozart

Symphonies No. 26, 31 ‘Paris’, 32, 35 ‘Hafner’, 36 ‘Prague’, 38 ‘Linz‘, 39, 40 ‘Great g minor’ and 41 ‘Jupiter’

Piano Concerti No. 20, 24

Mussorgski

Pictures at an Exhibition (Ravel)

Nielsen

Helios Overture

Flute Concerto

Orff

Carmina Burana

Pärt

Fratres

Swan Song

Prokofiev

Symphonies No. 1 (Classical), 5

Piano Concerti No. 2, 3

Romeo and Juliet Suites No. 1, 2

Ouverture sur des Thèmes Juifs

Rachmaninov

Symphony No. 3 in a minor

Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor

Symphonic Dances

Ravel

Bolero

Ma Mere l’Oye

La Valse

Pavane pour une Infante Defunte

Tombeau de Couperin

Respighi

Fontane di Roma

Pini di Roma

Rimsky-Korsakov

Scheherazade

Rossini

Semiramide Overture

Rota

Concerto for Double Bass

Saint-Saëns

Symphony No. 3 (Organ Symphony)

Carneval of the Animals

Cello Concerto in a minor

Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

Schoenberg

Transfigured Night

A Survivor from Warsaw

Schubert

Symphonies No. 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9

Schumann

Symphony No. 3 ‘Rhenish’

Manfred Overture

Shostakovich

Symphonies No. 5, 9

Scriabin

Poeme de l’Extase

Sibelius

Symphonies No. 1, 2 and 3

Violin Concerto in d minor

Strauss, Richard

Metamorphosen

Horn Concerto No. 1 in e flat major

4 Last Songs

Stravinsky

Dumbarton Oaks

Octet for Wind Instruments

Symphony in 3 Movements

Firebird Suite (1919)

Petrouchka (1911)

Takemitsu

Ran Suite

Green

Tchaikovsky

Symphonies No. 4, 5, 6

Fatum

Piano Concerto No. 1

Marche Slave

Nutcracker Suite

Romeo and Juliet

Swan Lake Suite

Tubin

Symphony No. 6

van Oosten

Square

Verdi

Overture to ‘La Forza del Destino’

Overture to ‘Nabucco’

Wagner

Wesendonck Lieder

Siegfriedidyll

Weber

Overture to ‘Der Freischütz’

Operatic

Auber

Fra Diavolo

Bernstein

Candide

West Side Story

Bizet

Carmen

Bock & Stein

The Fiddler on the Roof

Britten

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Gay

Me and My Girl

Gounod

Romeo et Juliette

Humperdinck

Hänsel und Gretel

Lehár

The Merry Widow

Leoncavallo

I Pagliacci

Mozart

Le Nozze di Figaro

Cosi fan tutte

The Magic Flute

Puccini

La Boheme

Madama Butterfly

Tosca

Rodgers and Hammerstein

The Flower Drum Song

The King and I

Oklahoma

The Sound of Music

South Pacific

Schönberg

Les Miserables

Stravinsky

Jeu des Cartes

Wagner

Der Fliegende Holländer

Weber

Der Freischütz

Weill

Street Scene

A name to watch out for.

Peter Connors

Bachtrack

P. Abraham, Märchen im Grand Hotel

Past Concerts

2018-2019

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Düsseldorfer Symphoniker

Theater Meiningen (Carmen)

Theater Erfurt (Fra Diavolo)

Gärtnerplatztheater (Cosi fan tutte)

Theater Aachen (Romeo et Juliette)

2017-2018

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege

Theater Chemnitz (Marriage of Figaro)

Theater Vorpommern (Casanova, Magic Flute, Me and My Girl, Tosca)

2016-2017

Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

Theater Bremerhaven (La Boheme)

RNCM Orchestras (Street Scene)

2015-2016

Hallé Orchestra

Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra

Manchester Camerata

RNCM Orchestras (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Vaasa City Orchestra

Media

CONTACT

General management

Lorna Neill
Music Inter Alia

+44 20 3375 6374

lorna@musicinteralia.com

CONTACT

Representation in Spain

Gerardo Gomez de Valcarcel
Linked Artists

+34 656 383 956

gerardo@linkedartists.com

CONTACT

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