Photo: Eric Richmond

Martin Yates

Representation: General Management

"…one of the most exciting and versatile British conductors of his generation…" The Times

Martin Yates has over two decades built a career with a broad range of repertoire and genre. He has conducted widely across Europe and has developed relationships with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, the Finnish Ballet and the Royal Swedish Ballet.

Martin Yates has worked as a guest conductor with some of the UK’s most respected orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Hallé. He has worked extensively in Scandinavia with orchestras such as the Gothenburg Symphony, Malmo Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, with whom he conducted the world premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage’s A Prayer Out of Stillness. Elsewhere he has conducted the Zurich Tonhalle, Jerusalem Symphony, Danish Radio Symphony, Royal Flanders Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony and the Orchestra of Gran Canaria. In early 2009, Yates made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the New York Pops Orchestra in a programme celebrating the music of Charles Strouse and in September 2010 he conducted the flagship Proms in the Park event at Hyde Park for the third time.

Ballet has become a staple of Yates’ musical life and he has developed an important relationship with the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, where he made his debut in February 2004 conducting Stravinsky’s Agon. Subsequent productions at Covent Garden have included Manon, Romeo and Juliet, Mayerling, Seven Deadly Sins and Swan Lake, as well as tours of the US and Europe. In 2008/9 he toured Asia with the company in addition to conducting productions of L’Invitation au Voyage and revivals of Manon and Seven Deadly Sins in the main season. A regular conductor with both the Norwegian Ballet and the Finnish National Ballet, Yates returned to both last season with great success. November 2011 sees Yates returning to the Royal Ballet again to conduct MacMillan’s production of Manon.

Yates has recorded symphonic repertoire with orchestras such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony and Royal Flanders Philharmonic. Current releases include a series of recordings of the music of Richard Arnell with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on the Dutton Records label – with whom he works on a regular basis – in addition to his extensive catalogue of musicals recordings. Yates is one of the very few conductors to have successfully made the transition from the world of musical theatre to classical music at an international level, having been Musical Director of some of the most important musicals in London’s West End.

Having studied as a pianist, composer and conductor, Yates made his conducting debut with the Israel National Opera, where over a period of two seasons he conducted productions of Verdi’s La Traviata and Puccini’s La Boheme, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. He has conducted in the opera houses of Gothenburg, Stockholm and Rome and made his Edinburgh Festival debut conducting Bernstein’s On The Town. He is lauded as an accompanist of the first rate and enjoys collaborations with soloists of international repute such as Jose Carreras, Barbara Hendricks, Bryn Terfel, Montserrat Caballe, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu and Yo-Yo Ma. He is honoured to have conducted several Nobel Peace Prize concerts in Oslo.

Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Hazard Chase to ensure that you receive the most up to date version.
Email: Kayleigh McGowan