Julian Perkins

Julian Perkins is a British conductor and keyboard player (harpsichord, fortepiano and clavichord). He is Founder Director of the early music ensemble Sounds Baroque and Artistic Director Designate of Cambridge Handel Opera Company. He is rare among his counterparts in having also performed professionally as a singer, violinist and recorder player at the start of his career. This versatile background is an invaluable asset in all of his work.
Julian Perkins has been praised for his 'heartening dramatic energy' and 'dynamic direction', while his harpsichord accompaniment has been described as 'superbly creative'. His discography includes premières of harpsichord suites by James Nares and John Christopher Smith, and clavichord suites by Stephen Dodgson. He directed the first recording of Daniel Purcell's opera-oratorio The Judgment of Paris, which he subsequently performed in London at St John's Smith Square. Other recordings include Johann Sebastian Bach's French Suites on clavichord, three of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's keyboard duets with Emma Abbate, and two recordings of Italian cantatas with Sounds Baroque.
In 2009, Julian Perkins performed and recorded solo harpsichord at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In 2013, Julian Perkins worked with the Academy of Ancient Music performing in the exhibition about Johannes Vermeer at London's National Gallery. Julian Perkins has conducted staged opera productions for organizations including the Buxton Festival, Dutch National Opera Academy, Grimeborn Festival and Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and devised an opera pasticcio about Giacomo Casanova with librettist Stephen Pettitt that he directed for the Baroque Unwrapped series at London's Kings Place in May 2016. He has appeared live on BBC Radio 3, and contributed to the station's pioneering podcast about George Frideric Handel's Orlando with Welsh National Opera. Concert performances have included appearances as music director for Coram with Simon Callow, Peter Capaldi and Dame Emma Kirkby, and solo recitals in international festivals at St Albans, Buxton, Canterbury, Oundle, Ryedale, Two Moors and Tel Aviv. He wrote a brief introduction to the clavichord for BBC Music Magazine, and his article about John Christopher Smith was published by Early Music Today. He is a harpsichord tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.