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The English harpsichordist, organist, conductor and tenor, Oliver-John Ruthven, began his musical career as a chorister at Westminster Abbey Choir, and went on from there to Tonbridge School and the University of Manchester.
Oliver John Ruthven is an early keyboards specialist and conductor based in London. Equally at home at the harpsichord, chamber organ or conducting, he is making a name for himself as a versatile and dynamic interpreter of early music. He has been Principal Music Director of Hampstead Garden Opera since 2008, conducting a huge variety of repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Jonathan Dove via George Frideric Handel, W.A. Mozart and Donizetti. In 2017, he will conduct the company's production of L'incoronazione di Poppea (Monteverdi).
Oliver-John Ruthven was assistant conductor to John Eliot Gardiner for the Monteverdi Choir's 2015 tours to the USA and Europe of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and the Vespers of 1610. In this capacity he conducted the choir and orchestra in rehearsal, alongside his regular duties as a member of the English Baroque Soloists. He has recently been working with English Touring Opera as Head of Music Staff for the Autumn 2016 Season. He will return to the role for the Autumn 2017 Season. He made his Royal Opera House debut with Georges Bizet's Carmen in a distilled version for the Deloitte: Ignite Festival 2015. In the first half of 2015, he was assistant music director for Glyndebourne Youth Opera's production of Purcell's Dido & Aeneas.
Oliver-John Ruthven is in much demand as a continuo player, working as harpsichordist and organist for the English Baroque Soloists under John Eliot Gardiner. He is a founder member of Musica Poetica, with whom he is performing a 2016 concert series of renaissance and baroque music from across Europe. He has also played with the London Mozart Players, His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts (Director: Timothy Roberts), and the Little Baroque Company.
As a choral conductor and accompanist, Oliver-John Ruthven has been Music Director of the Morgan Stanley Choir since 2013. He has also worked with the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, the Hallé Youth Choir, the Brighton Early Music Festival, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's education department. |
