Gregory Batsleer
Gregory Batsleer is one of the UK’s busiest choral conductors and chorus masters. His current posts include Chorus Master at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Manchester Consort, Director of the Hallé Youth Choir and he maintains an association with the venerable Dorking Choral Society. Within his various posts, Gregory has worked regularly with leading conductors including Sir Mark Elder, Markus Stenz, Robin Ticciati, Laurence Cummings and Sir Roger Norrington. At the Hallé, Gregory works regularly with The Hallé Choir and The Hallé Youth and Childrens Choirs.
Gregory has previously held conducting posts with the Amadeus Orchestra, LUX, the Collegiate Choir for the Episcopal Church at Princeton University and Trinity Church Princeton. Since 2008 he has worked regularly as a guest conductor for the RNCM Outreach Department, where he has conducted and staged productions of West Side Story, Mennotti’s Amahl and The Night Visitors. In 2009, he worked on a production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Princeton Opera Festival. In 2011 Gregory will conduct a Bizet’s Carmen in London.
Over the forthcoming season, as well as his regular work with his choirs, Gregory will conduct the Hallé, The Brandenburg Sinfonia, the University of Manchester Symphony Orchestra and lead an opera workshop for the SCO Connect. In September and January, he will be spending a period of study with Simon Halsey and the Berlin Radio Choir, and with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. In June 2011 Gregory will work as Guest Conductor with the Universty of St.Andrews Music Society for a special European tour. This summer, Gregory represented the Royal College of Music at an International Conducting Masterclass at the Three Choirs Festival and has just completed a concert tour to Italy with the Hallé Youth Choir.
Throughout this season, Gregory is in demand to lead workshops on singing, conducting and vocal production in choirs. Recent workshops have been given for the Association of British Choral Directors and the national singing campaign SingUp. Outside the classical world, Gregory has worked with leading cultural artists such as Elbow, Damon Albarn, the composer Joe Duddell and the band James.
Gregory first started performing music as a chorister and soloist with the Manchester Boys Choir. He first started conducting as a junior exhibitioner at the RNCM. Other study has taken place in Princeton, USA and in London at the Royal College where he continues to study as a scholar.
