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Gregory Batsleer

Chorus Director

Gregory's Chair is kindly supported by Anne McFarlane
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Gregory Batsleer is acknowledged as one of the leading choral conductors of his generation, winning widespread recognition for his creativity and vision. Since taking on the role of SCO Chorus Director in 2009 he has led the development of the Chorus, overseeing vocal coaching, the SCO Young Singers’ Programme and the emergence of regular a capella concerts. As well as preparing the Chorus for regular performances with the Orchestra, he has directed successful appearances at the Edinburgh International Jazz, East Neuk, Glasgow Cathedral and St Andrews Voices Festivals, at Greyfriars Kirk and on the SCO’s Summer Tour.

In 2021 Gregory took up the position of Festival Director for the London Handel Festival. He leads programming and development of the Festival, fulfilling its mission to bring Handel’s music to the widest possible audiences. Since 2017 he has been Artistic Director of Huddersfield Choral Society and was Chorus Director with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra from 2015 - 2021.

As guest conductor, Gregory has worked with many of the UK’s leading orchestras and ensembles. Recent highlights include performances with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, RSNO, Hallé Orchestra, Black Dyke Band, National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Orchestra of Opera North, Manchester Camerata, SCO and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

From 2012 to 2017, he was Artistic Director of the National Portrait Gallery’s Choir in Residence programme, the first ever in-house music programme of any gallery or museum in the world. He has curated and devised performances for the Southbank Centre, Wilderness Festival and Latitude and collaborated with leading cultural figures across a variety of different art forms. Gregory is the co-founder and conductor of Festival Voices, a versatile ensemble dedicated to cross-art collaboration.

As a non-executive director, Gregory sits on the board of Manchester Camerata. His outstanding work as a choral director was recognised with the 2015 Arts Foundation’s first-ever Fellowship in Choral Conducting.

The SCO Chorus, tightly rehearsed by chorus director Gregory Batsleer, brought the whole piece to life, alert to every nuance in their beautifully enunciated text, their sound perfectly balanced and topped with a golden soprano line. A revelatory evening.

***** - The Observer (Mendelssohn Elijah, BBC Proms, 2023)

The SCO Chorus have seldom sung better: their blend was rich and resonant, their rhythms crisp and bracing, their ensemble impeccable, and they paced themselves carefully across Haydn’s ever more exuberant songs of celebration. Quite simply an evening of musical joy …

The Scotsman ***** (Haydn Creation Oct 2022)

The SCO Chorus in the 2024 | 25 Season

Conductor Andrew Manze with his baton raised, and baritone Roderick Williams singing, against a dark background with bright yellow, green, and pink shapes.

Fauré Requiem

A hushed prayer for the departed, and a consoling embrace for those left behind: Fauré’s achingly beautiful Requiem has comforted and inspired generations.

Chorus members photographed from above, holding their sheet music.

Seven Last Words

A choral contemplation of loss and rebirth from Scotland’s greatest living composer, Sir James MacMillan, performed by the SCO Chorus.

Pianist Yeol Eum Son standing with her arms crossed elegantly, lightly smiling at the camera, against a dark green background with a lighter green circle.

Yeol Eum Son plays Beethoven

Join Maxim Emelyanychev in a concert that comes to a climax with the choral grandeur of Haydn’s ‘Nelson’ Mass.

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