Meet The Director

Antony Walker

Artistic Director and Conductor

Born in Sydney in 1967, Maestro Walker studied composition, cello, voice, and conducting at the University of Sydney. At the age of 22, he became musical director of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs where for six years he prepared and conducted works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor and St. Matthew Passion, the Verdi Requiem and Britten’s War Requiem.

Since his conducting debut in 1991, he has led operas, large-scale choral/orchestral works, and numerous symphonic works with companies in Europe, his native Australia, and the United States. His impressive talent was recognized in October 2006 when Pittsburgh Opera signed him as its Music Director, where he has conducted Billy Budd, Samson et Dalila, Aida, Eugene Onegin, and Falstaff.  He has served as Artistic Director/Conductor of Washington Concert Opera since 2002, and makes his New York Metropolitan Opera debut in April, 2011 conducting Gluck’s Orfeo.  This summer he opens the Santa Fe Opera season conducting Madama Butterfly. In January, 2011 he returns to the Sydney Opera House conducting Il Barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Australia.

His ever-expanding repertoire ranges from the early 17th to the 21st century, and he is equally at home with baroque, “standard” Italian and French operas from various periods, and modern dramatic works.

Maestro Walker has conducted at New York City Opera, the Teatro Communale di Bologna, Vancouver Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Arizona Opera, Minnesota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera   and Chautauqua Opera.  Recently, he debuted in Maria Stuarda for the Canadian Opera Company, and Lucia di Lammermoor for English National Opera.

In 2005 he received the Richard F. Gold Debut Artist Award from the New York City Opera following his conducting of Orlando. Earlier he was the first recipient of the Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Award presented by the British Council and the Australia Britain Society.

In addition to his WCO and Pittsburgh Opera positions and guest assignments throughout the world, Maestro Walker maintains a very active musical career in Australia. Maestro Walker has recorded around 30 CDs with Cantillation and The Orchestra of the Antipodes for ABC Classics, including the highly successful Messiah, and complete Beethoven Piano Concertos. He became Co-Artistic Director of Sydney’s Pinchgut Opera in 2002 and has since conducted their performances to great critical acclaim.