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Sir Donald Runnicles has been the General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (DOB) since 2009, Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival since 2005, and in his final season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony since 2001. Runnicles has also been Principal Guest Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra since 2019, its first ever. He holds the title of Conductor Emeritus of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, having served as Chief Conductor from 2009-2016. 

Sir Donald enjoys close and enduring relationships with many of the most significant opera companies and symphony orchestras. His previous posts include Music Director of the San Francisco Opera (1992-2008), during which he led world premieres of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic, Conrad Susa’s Les Liaisons dangereuses, and the U.S. premiere of Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise; Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (2001-2007); and General Music Director of the Theater Freiburg and Orchestra (1989-1993). 

Mr. Runnicles’ extensive discography includes recordings of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Britten’s Billy Budd, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and Aribert Reimann’s L’invisible. His recording of Wagner arias with Jonas Kaufmann and the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin won the 2013 Gramophone prize for Best Vocal Recording, and his recording of Janáček’s Jenůfa with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin was nominated for a 2016 GRAMMY award for Best Opera Recording. 

Sir Donald Runnicles was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was appointed OBE in 2004, and was made a Knight Bachelor in 2020. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. 

Scottish-born Lorna McGhee was appointed principal flute of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2012.



Known for her “exceptionally rich and vibrant tone” (Washington Post) Lorna has performed as guest principal with Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and has worked with conductors such as Haitink, Gergiev, Rattle, Solti, Harnoncourt, Muti and Honeck.  



Before immigrating to North America in 1998, Lorna was co-principal flute of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, England. As a soloist, she has given concerto performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in the UK and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Philharmonia, and Victoria Symphony in Canada, Kyushu Symphony in Japan, Evergreen Symphony in Taipei, and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in the USA.



Career highlights include a performance of Penderecki's flute concerto with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra under the baton of the composer in 2004 and more recently, performances of the Mozart G major, Nielsen and Ibert flute concertos with the Pittsburgh Symphony.



As a chamber musician and recitalist, she has performed in Europe, North America, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia, in venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh International Festival, the Louvre, Paris, the Schubertsaal of Vienna's Konzerthaus, Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.



Lorna is a member of Trio Verlaine (with Heidi Krutzen, harp and David Harding, viola) with whom she has recorded two CDs, “Fin de Siècle” and “Six Departures” and commissioned two new works by R Murray Schafer and Jeffery Cotton. She has also recorded a recital disc “ The Hour of Dreaming” with pianist Piers Lane. Her forthcoming solo CD, “Pieces I Love!” will be released in 2020.  McGhee has taught at the University of Michigan and the University of British Columbia, and has given master classes in the UK, United States, Canada, Europe and Japan, including the Julliard School, Banff International Centre for the Arts, Galway Flute Festival, William Bennett International Summer School and the Japanese Flute Convention.



Lorna is an honorary “Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music,” and is an Altus artist. She joined the flute faculty of Carnegie Mellon University in 2015.

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