Professor Joanna McGregor

Joanna MacGregor was the Gresham Professor of Music with Stephen Pratt between 1997 and 2000.

She is thought of as one of the world’s most innovative musicians, committed to expressing musical connections in increasingly diverse and original programmes. Artistic Director of Bath International Music Festival since 2006, she was also the curator of the 2010 multi-arts Deloitte Ignite Festival at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and in September 2011 became Head of Piano Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

She enjoys a close artistic partnership as conductor and performer with Britten Sinfonia, in programmes ranging from classical music to collaborations with jazz and world musicians. Appearing as a concert soloist in over 60 countries, she has worked with many eminent conductors - Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev and Michael Tilson Thomas amongst them - and has premiered many landmark compositions, ranging from Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Django Bates to John Adams and James MacMillan.

As a recording artist Joanna MacGregor is a veteran of over 30 solo recordings, ranging from Bach, Scarlatti, Ravel and Debussy, to jazz and contemporary music. Her own record label SoundCircus – now in partnership with Warner Classical and Jazz - was founded in 1998 and has released many highly successful recordings, including the Mercury-nominated Play, Live in Buenos Aires, Bach’s Goldberg Variations(recorded at the Mozarteum in Salzburg) and a 4 CD Messiaen set.

Joanna MacGregor holds Professorships at Liverpool Hope University and the Royal College of Art and has received Honorary Fellowships from the Royal Academy of Music, Trinity College of Music and Murray Edwards, Cambridge, as well as Honorary Doctorates from Bath University, Bath Spa and the Open University.