Joanna MacGregor CBE is one of the world’s most innovative musicians, appearing as a concert pianist, curator and conductor. MacGregor is Head of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music and runs two annual piano festivals for young musicians. She has been the Artistic Director of Dartington International Summer School and Festival of Bath International Festival and Deloitte Ignite at the Royal Opera House. MacGregor has just been appointed Principal Conductor and Music Director of Brighton Philharmonic, as it approaches its centenary.
She has released over forty solo recordings – many of them on her own award-winning record label SoundCircus – ranging from Chopin and Piazzolla to Bach, Schnittke and John Cage. Her collaborative projects encompass jazz, film, visual art, contemporary dance and electronica. As a solo artist she has performed in over eighty countries and appeared with many eminent conductors. She has premiered many landmark compositions and performs regularly at major venues throughout the world.
MacGregor is a regular broadcaster, making numerous appearances at the BBC Proms. She made her conducting debut in 2002 and has enjoyed a close artistic partnership with the Britten Sinfonia for more than fifteen years. Amongst the many artists with whom she has collaborated are Carolyn Sampson, Adrian Brendel, Kathryn Tickell, Brian Eno, and the writer Marina Warner.
She was also seen on BBC’s recent Civilisations series. MacGregor was awarded a CBE for services to music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2019. She was Visiting Musician at Oriel College Oxford, and in 2016, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cambridge. Her ongoing series of music books, PianoWorld, has been hailed as ‘a new series for the Millennium’. She is currently Chair of the Paul Hamlyn Music Awards and was a 2019 Booker Prize Judge.
