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Biography |
by Joseph Stevenson
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Rumon Gamba is a highly promising British conductor who began to gain gained fame quickly at the age of twenty-five. He is particularly known for his interest in new music, twentieth-century classics, and classic film music.
He studied music at Durham University in England and then went to the Royal Academy of Music in London. His main conducting teacher was Colin Metters. He also had regular classes with Sir Colin Davis and George Hurst, and further lessons with Maryn Brabbins, Mark Wigglesworth, and others.
He was the first conducting student to be awarded the DipRAM (the Royal Academy of Music performer's diploma). He also won the Henry Wood Scholarship and the Bob Harding Bursary. This recognition led to his being appointed Assistant Conductor of the Havant Symphony Orchestra and the British Youth Opera.
He appeared as conductor at the Newbury, Ashover, Lichfield, and Wraysbury Festivals. He was chosen to be the British representative at the International Masterclass for Conductors in 1997, and was appointed conductor of the Ipswich Orchestral Society.
His breakthrough year was 1998. He won the Lloyds Bank BBC Young Musicians '98 Conductors Workshop in Manchester. This victory carried with him the appointment as Lloyds Bank BBC Philharmonic Assistant Conductor. In that capacity, he has led touring concerts of the orchestra in smaller cities in the UK, as well as the children's concerts (called Blue Peter Family Concerts) at Royal Albert Hall in England.
He has also appeared as guest conductor with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Manchester Camerata, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
He soon became an important part of the Chandos Record company's new label imprint, CHANDOS Movies, which concentrates on scores from classic films of the British cinema produced by such studios as Hammer and Ealing. In this project he has conducted one album each of music by Malcolm Arnold, Georges Auric, and Alan Rawsthorne.
These albums include excerpts from Trapeze, David Copperfield, The Belles of St Trinian's, The Captain's Paradise, and The Roots of Heaven (Arnold); The Lavender Hill Mob, The Innocents, Moulin Rouge, Father Brown, It Always Rains on Sunday, Dead of Night, and Passport to Pimlico (Auric); and The Cruel Sea, Burma Victory, The Captive Heart, and Uncle Silas (Rawsthorne). |
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