Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music Appoints International Chair of Conducting

Nicolás Pasquet will assume the role as of the 2024/25 academic year

The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) has appointed renowned conductor Nicolás Pasquet as its new International Chair in Conducting. He will succeed Sir Mark Elder, who held the role for 22 years. 

Pasquet has taught at Germany’s Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar for 30 years as its Professor of Conducting and chief conductor of the school’s symphony orchestra; since 2009, he has served as chief conductor of German youth orchestra Landesjugendsinfonieorchester (LJSO) Hessen. 

From September 2024, he will also hold the Zubin Mehta Chair of Conducting at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain.  

Pasquet was born in Uruguay and trained in violin and orchestral conducting in Montevideo and Stuttgart. In 1987, he won the Besançon International Conducting Competition and served as a lecturer at the Meistersinger Conservatory. 

He has served as chief conductor for Symphony Orchestra of Pécs, Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, Coburg State Theater Orchestra, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, NDR Hanover Orchestra, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Orchestre du Capitole Toulouse, Orchestre Lamoureux Paris, Orchestra of the Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft Basel, as well as orchestras in Australia, South America, and the U.S.

“After so many years of cooperation with the wonderful team and conducting class at the RNCM, I feel happy and honored to join the team as International Chair of Conducting,” Pasquet said in the press release. “I am looking forward to starting next academic year!” 

“For several years my colleague, Clark Rundell, and I have been doing ERASMUS exchanges with Nico and he has become a great friend of our department,” added Mark Heron, RNCM’s Head of Conducting. “He is an outstanding teacher, and we greatly look forward to a deeper relationship with him over the coming years.  

“I would also like to say an enormous thank-you to our outgoing International Chair, Sir Mark Elder, who stands down from his position as Music Director of the Hallé this summer,” Heron continued. “Mark’s commitment to the College since his appointment in 2002 has been nothing short of phenomenal and we look forward to continuing our relationship on his visits to Manchester as Conductor Emeritus of the Hallé.”