Paul Watkins

Paul Watkins first came to public attention as a cellist but has also developed a flourishing career as a conductor, launched in 2002 when the jury unanimously awarded him first prize at the Leeds Conductors' Competition.

Recognised as one of Britain's most promising conductors, Paul Watkins has conducted all the principal UK orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with repeat invitations from the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras.  He made his opera debut in 2006 conducting a critically acclaimed new production of La Voix Humaine, directed by Deborah Warner for Opera North.

Watkins made his Japanese debut in June 2008 conducting Elgar Symphony No 3 with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at Suntory Hall, which led to standing ovations by an enthusiastic public.  He has also toured Australia with the Queensland Orchestra, conducted the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Symphony, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, Brabants Orkest, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Helsingborg Symphony, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders where he is a regular guest.

In addition to concerts and tours in the UK and abroad with the ECO, highlights of this season include engagements with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Sonderjyllands Symphony Orchestra Denmark, Ulster Orchestra and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestras.

Watkins' first release for Warner Classics (Feb 04) was shortlisted for a Grammy Award and won a Schallplattenpreis in Germany.  The recording with the BBC Symphony Orchestra of the Britten and Berg Violin Concertos with soloist Daniel Hope was met with great enthusiasm by the press "Extremely well conducted by Paul Watkins, who draws the most subtly shaded tone-colouring from the orchestra" (Sunday Telegraph).  In June 2006 he conducted a recording of Cello Concertos by Julius Röntgen with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, and his most recent release is a live recording of the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra for Octavia Records.

Alongside his conducting activities, Paul Watkins maintains a successful career as a cellist, working regularly with many of the major British orchestras and has performed in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Prague, Russia, America and Australia.  A recent highlight was his televised performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto at the First Night of the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jirí Belohlávek and recorded live by Deutsche Grammophon.  Watkins recently signed exclusively with Chandos and will be recording a recital disc of works by Martinu, as well as the Britten Cello Symphony with the BBC Philharmonic/Ed Gardner this season.