Jack Ridley is a London-born conductor and pianist, trained in Vienna at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst. The son of two actors, he discovered a love of live performance at an early age, an experience that continues to inform his instinctive sense of musical drama.

Highlights from last season include The Gondoliers for English Touring Opera, which received unanimous praise from the critics, The Big Opera Mystery and a concert at Opera North, and a return to the Glyndebourne Festival for Billy Budd. Jack’s 2023 performance of The Rake’s Progress with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, undertaken at short notice, was praised for its outstanding clarity and rhythmic energy and enthusiastically received by audience, cast, chorus and orchestra alike. The performance marked his Glyndebourne Festival debut; his longstanding association with Glyndebourne has also encompassed performances of The Rape of Lucretia, Cendrillon, the inaugural Christmas Concerts, and Phaedra (film) with the Glyndebourne Touring Orchestra. His other work at Opera North has included performances of Ruddigore, while previous engagements for English Touring Opera include Tosca and Patience.

At Garsington Opera, Jack’s debut with Eugene Onegin earned him the Leonard Ingrams Award and three consecutive re-invitations. His interpretation of Der fliegende Holländer for Persona Arts was central to the company’s nomination for the 2025 Making Music Award. Other engagements have included Punch and Judy (Neue Oper Wien), La clemenza di Tito (Drottningholms Slottsteater), Hansel und Gretel (Nederlandse Reisopera), the European premiere of Breaking the Waves (Scottish Opera/EIF), and productions with Welsh National Opera, Birmingham Opera and British Youth Opera.

Beyond the opera stage, Jack’s appointment in 2023 as Principal Conductor of the Cinematic Orchestra of London reflects his commitment to cross-disciplinary work. He conducted Rory Pilgrim’s RAFTS, a project nominated for the 2022 Turner Prize, and led Borka: The Goose with No Feathers at the Hay Festival, blending music with puppetry and multimedia.

On the concert platform he has recently debuted with The Hallé and the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, and previously appeared with the Southbank Sinfonia, Polska Filharmonia Bałtycka, the London Contemporary Orchestra, the Haydn Chamber Orchestra. He was also the principal guest conductor of L’Orchestre QuiPasseParLà in Lausanne. In masterclass, Jack has been fortunate to receive direction from Martyn Brabbins, Pierre-André Valade and George Hurst, and he was a Seminarian at the 2015 Tanglewood Festival.

A distinguished pianist, Jack studied with John Barstow in London and Thomas Kreuzberger in Vienna. A finalist in the inaugural Hans-von-Bülow Klavierwettbewerb, he has performed concertos from Beethoven to Britten, including Beethoven’s C minor Concerto from the keyboard with the Meininger Hofkapelle. He has also worked as a vocal coach and accompanist for the Royal Opera House, English Touring Opera and Theatre Royal, Bath.

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