About

Michael Thrift...conducted with an equally steady hand, notably poised in the dying moments of Stef Conner's 'The Ruin.'

                                         - The Guardian

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Australian-British conductor Michael Thrift works across symphonic repertoire, opera, and new music. Known for ‘...combining textural clarity

with a strong sense of musical line…’ his work reflects a balance between structural insight and expressive freedom.

 

Michael is Principal Guest Conductor of the London Firebird Orchestra, with whom he leads multiple projects each season. His recent work with the orchestra has included performances of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, a recording of Chopin’s Piano

Concerto No. 1, a number of collaborations with emerging composers through the University of Middlesex, and tours to Oxford.

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In opera, Michael’s recent engagements include conducting Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Grimeborn Festival. He previously served as

Associate Conductor at Regents Opera, where his work encompassed productions of Verdi’s Falstaff, Puccini’s Il Tabarro, and new stagings of

Simon Boccanegra, Don Carlo, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.

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Internationally, he has conducted at the Rousse State Theatre in Bulgaria, leading performances of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail and

Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila. Other credits include Wagner’s Parsifal, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Bizet’s Carmen, Britten’s Peter Grimes and Billy Budd, and Beethoven’s Fidelio.

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Originally from Sydney, Michael studied composition and conducting at the University of Sydney, later continuing his training in Vienna and Graz, where immersion in the Austro-Germanic musical tradition helped to shape his affinity for the core symphonic repertoire. His early work as a

composer included receiving the ASME Young Composer of the Year Award in 2001, with performances by ensembles including the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He remains a committed advocate for new music,

and has been involved in a range of initiatives supporting emerging composers, including helping to inaugurate the Composer’s Academy at

the Cheltenham Festival, and Firebird’s own Emerging Composer Performances.

Away from the podium, Michael enjoys sharing in the joys of South Australian red wines (while remaining quietly sceptical of New Zealand

whites), escaping into science fiction, and following the fortunes of the Australian cricket team — albeit at a distance when rehearsals and

performances intervene. He lives in Manchester with his wife and two sons.