Harry Ogg, the young British conductor, will join Welsh National Opera this summer as WNO Associate Conductor in collaboration with the Donatella Flick-LSO Conducting Competition .
Ogg reached the final of the Competition in London in 2018 as well as winning second prize at the MDR Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition in Leipzig 2018, He was selected for the Deutsche Dirigentenforum the same year. Next season, he will be working with François-Xavier Roth in Cologne with their resident Gürzenich Orchestra.
Harry Ogg worked with WNO during Autumn 2018 when he assisted Music Director Tomáš Hanus on the Company’s new production of War and Peace, which will also performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden this July. Ogg’s first engagement as WNO Associate Conductor will be to conduct WNO Orchestra for three Summer Opera Classic concerts which will take place in Swansea, Newport and Newtown during June and July.
Ogg is the second young conductor to take up this role at WNO, following in the footsteps of Kerem Hasan who was also a finalist in the Donatella Flick-LSO Conducting Competition and subsequently the first WNO Associate Conductor in this now established collaboration between the Competition and WNO.
Harry Ogg said:
‘I’m over the moon to be taking up this position with WNO. Having worked here on two productions as an Assistant Conductor, to take up this position with a company that I feel so close to is very special for me. Young conductors often struggle to find the right opportunities to build up experience (you can’t ‘practise’ at home in the same way an instrumentalist can) and within this position I’ll be conducting a lot of performances as well as assisting as I already have done in the past. I find the musicians, directors, singers, music staff and technical staff at WNO truly inspiring. I can’t think of a better place to grow and develop.’
Tomáš Hanus, WNO Music Director, said:
‘Having worked with Harry Ogg last year on War & Peace, I am thrilled with his appointment as WNO Associate Conductor. I am really looking forward to working with Harry again this coming Autumn on WNO’s new production of Carmen.’
