Biography

Music Director Emeritus,
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale

Principal Guest Conductor, Capella Savaria

In his sixth decade on the podium, Nicholas McGegan — long hailed as “one of the finest baroque conductors of his generation” (The Independent) and “an expert in 18th-century style” (The New Yorker) — is recognized for his probing and revelatory explorations of music of all periods. Following a 34-year tenure as Music Director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, he is now Music Director Emeritus. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of Hungary’s Capella Savaria. At home in opera houses, McGegan shone new light on close to 20 Handel operas as the Artistic Director and conductor at Germany’s International Handel Festival Göttingen for 20 years (1991–2001), and the Mozart canon as Principal Guest Conductor at Scottish Opera in the 1990s. He was also Principal Conductor of Sweden’s Drottningholm Court Theatre from 1993 to 1996.

Best known as a Baroque and Classical specialist, McGegan’s approach — intelligent, infused with joy, and never dogmatic, along with an ability to engage players and audiences alike — has made him a pioneer in broadening the reach of historically informed practice beyond the world of period ensembles to conventional symphonic forces. His guest-conducting appearances with major orchestras — including the New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong Philharmonics; the Chicago, Dallas, Milwaukee, Toronto, Sydney, and New Zealand Symphonies; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Scottish Chamber Orchestras; and the orchestras of London's Royal Opera House and Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw — often feature Baroque repertoire alongside Classical, Romantic, 20th-century, and even brand-new works. He has conducted Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Britten, Bach, and Handel with the Utah Symphony; Poulenc and Mozart with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; and the premiere of Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, paired with Haydn, Brahms, and Mendelssohn. He collaborates frequently with the Mark Morris Dance Group, including the premiere productions of Rameau’s Platée and Handel’s Acis and Galatea, and has led performances at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Highlights from McGegan’s 2025–26 guest appearances include a return to Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale featuring Rameau’s La Guirlande alongside Handel’s Dixit Dominus; a Messiah tour with the Milwaukee, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Tucson symphony orchestras; a major all-Mendelssohn program with the Seattle Symphony; Opera Lafayette’s Queen of Hearts Valentine’s Day Revel in Washington, D.C. and New York; and appearances at leading conservatories including Yale, Juilliard, Colburn, and Indiana University, underscoring his ongoing commitment to education and mentorship.

McGegan’s prolific discography includes more than 100 releases spanning five decades. Having recorded over 50 albums of Handel — two of which received the U.K.’s prestigious Gramophone Award — McGegan has explored the depths of the composer’s output with a dozen oratorios and close to 20 of his operas. Since the 1980s, more than 20 of his recordings have been with Hungary’s Capella Savaria on the Hungaroton label, including groundbreaking recordings of repertoire by Handel, Monteverdi, Scarlatti, Telemann, and Vivaldi. McGegan has also released three albums with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra under the BIS label: Josef Mysliveček’s complete music for keyboard with soloist Clare Hammond, and two recordings with horn player Alec Frank-Gemmill featuring early horn concertos and the complete Mozart horn concertos. His extensive discography with Philharmonia Baroque includes two GRAMMY nominations for Handel’s Susana and Haydn’s Symphonies 104, 88, and 101. Recent releases include an album of Mozart violin concertos with violinist Gil Shaham and the SWR Symphonie Orchester, and a recording of Mozart’s double concertos with violinist Zsolt Kalló and Capella Savaria.

With Cantata Collective, McGegan leads an ambitious multi‑year recording initiative with AVIE Records that has recently produced the St. John Passion, Mass in B Minor, Easter Oratorio, and Magnificat. The St. Matthew Passion is scheduled for release in spring 2026.

McGegan is committed to the next generation of musicians, frequently conducting and coaching students in residencies and engagements at Yale University, the Juilliard School, Harvard University, the Colburn School, Aspen Music Festival and School, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Music Academy of the West. He has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Music by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; an honorary professorship at Georg-August University, Göttingen; and in 2016 was the Christoph Wolff Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Harvard. McGegan’s fun and informative lectures have delighted audiences at Juilliard, Yale Center for British Arts, American Handel Society, and San Francisco Conservatory.

English-born, McGegan was educated at Cambridge and Oxford. He was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to music overseas.” Other awards include the Halle Handel Prize; the Order of Merit of the State of Lower Saxony (Germany); the Medal of Honour of the City of Göttingen; and a declaration of Nicholas McGegan Day by the Mayor of San Francisco in recognition of his work with Philharmonia Baroque.

Last updated: August 2025