Gareth Hudson – Music Director / Conductor
“He’s a charming host, with a reassuring voice of honey, providing an entertaining and informative running commentary on all the pieces we were going to hear …. André Caplet’s orchestral arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de Lune received a stunning performance from the orchestra …. The first half of the concert wound up with another blistering performance, this time of Bizet’s L’Arlésienne Suite, No 2 …. Mr Hudson returned to the podium to crack out a fun and frolicsome performance of Offenbach’s Infernal Galop from Orpheus in the Underworld.”
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / 17 July ’16 – reviewer: therealchrisparkle
Gareth Hudson conducts across a wide range of musical styles in concert, theatre and studio. He works with many international artists with UK and European orchestras who have included Kathryn Jenkins, Fiona Fullerton, Jason Donovan, Hayley Westenra, Alfie Boe, Westlife, Marti Webb, Paul Nicholas and The Chieftains and other artists from the USA, Scandinavia and Ireland like Ola Salo, Niklas Andersson, Marianne Morck and Christopher Wollter, Trine Gadeberg, Jesper Lundgaard, Helge Engelbrecht, Povl Dissing, Sigurd Barrett and Kurt Ravn. In musical theatre he has collaborated with directors such as Hal Prince and choreographers Gillian Lynne and Nicola Traherne. He has compiled concerts in association with Terry Wogan, Spike Milligan, Barry Norman, Howard Blake, Honor Blackman, Richard Baker, Alasdair Malloy, Don Black and Ron Goodwin amongst many others. He was for three years Principal Conductor and Music Director of “Phantom of the Opera” in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s own production in Switzerland, recruiting singers and musicians from over 25 countries for the production in Basel for two years and recorded by Polygram with Cameron Mackintosh subsequently asking him to conduct the production in London’s West End. His work for BBC Radio 2 has included Lerner and Loewe’s “Camelot” starring Paul Nicholas and Jason Donovan.
Gareth Hudson was Associate Conductor of Dublin’s RTÉ Concert Orchestra for many years, developing the orchestra’s light music, family concert and entertainment programmes for broadcast and public concerts. He works with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London’s Royal Albert Hall and elsewhere and has conducted BBC Radio 2’s “Friday Night is Music Night”. He has conducted productions of “South Pacific”, “Zorba” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” at Malmö Opera, the last being recorded by Universal Records. Recent engagements have been with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Helsingborg Symfoniorkester, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester, Aalborg Symfoniorkester, Odense Symfoniorkester, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, Ulster Orchestra, WDR Rundfunk Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie (Hanover) and Wuerttembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen (” …. all of it wonderfully and organically alive and integrated by conductor Gareth Hudson.” Reutlinger General-Anzeiger: von Armin Knauer) in programmes ranging from New Year concerts through light music, Family and Children’s Concerts. He has conducted well over 300 concerts and broadcasts with the RTÉCO and others with the BBC Concert and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras. He received a major national award for his “Outstanding Contribution to Music in Ireland” in recognition of his work with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra.
Gareth Hudson’s abilities on the podium as conductor and presenter is matched by his innovative programming ideas using the lighter classical repertoire, ballet and theatre music, film (including silent movie accompaniment) and the finest quality light music in his programmes that include “Elation”, Movie Classics”, “Divas”, “It Takes Two”, “Shaken Not Stirred”, “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber”, “Supertroupers”, “Showstoppers”, “Valentine Day Classics”, “Love Against the Odds”, “Unforgettable”, “Songs for a Swingin’ Orchestra” and a set of specials for Christmas tailored to the individual needs of each orchestra. He has conducted and presented his own series, “Music for Fun”, in over 100 family concerts in Eire using music from a wide variety of backgrounds highlighting his insight into how orchestras function that often feature audience participation which he repeated over a 3-year period in 45 concerts with the Ulster Orchestra. He has also conducted several TV series that included two series of “Make Mine Music” which he also presented. He has also been Principal Conductor of Irish National Ballet (choreographer Domy Reiter Soffer) and conducted several International Film Festivals including two gala performances of silent screen accompaniment for the classic film “The Passion of Joan of Arc”.
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