Christopher Austin, England

One of the UK’s foremost conductors specialising in contemporary repertoire, Christopher Austin has given more than 80 world and local premieres in the last decade, including works by Hans Abrahamsen, John Adams, Simon Bainbridge, Luke Bedford, Michael Finnissy, Morgan Hayes, Elisabeth Lutyens, John McCabe, Colin Matthews, Peter Maxwell Davies, Olivier Messiaen, Olga Neuwirth, Steve Reich, Poul Ruders, Bent Sørensen and Raymond Warren. More than 40 of those premieres were given by the Brunel Ensemble of which Austin was Artistic Director throughout its existence.

Recent work includes debuts with the London Sinfonietta, the Esbjerg Ensemble, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestra della Teatro Regio Parma, the Danubia Symphony Orchestra and at the Aldeburgh Festival. Other work includes the BBC Orchestras, The Philharmonia and Hallé Orchestras, Present Music (New York), Athelas Sinfonietta, the Danish Radio Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He teaches composition, orchestration and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2009, his work there, in collaboration with the music critic Paul Morley, was the subject of a two-part BBC documentary called How to Be a Composer.