John Gilhooly (16 February)
John Gilhooly became Director of London’s Wigmore Hall in 2005, making him at 32 the youngest leader of any of the world’s great concert halls. As the Director, he programmes the largest chamber music and vocal series in the world.
Born in Limerick, which has a strong musical tradition, he read History and Politics at University College Dublin before going on to study singing as a tenor with Veronica Dunne, winning numerous prizes in Irish competitions.
From 2010 to 2024, he was Chairman of the Royal Philharmonic Society, one of the oldest musical societies in the world, and is Chairman of the Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize.
John was also an outspoken advocate for the importance of live performance during the coronavirus pandemic, initiating the gradual return to live performances through livestreaming from an empty Wigmore Hall.
In 2022 he was awarded the CBE. Other honours include the Knight of the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, the Order of the Star of Italy and the German Order of Merit. He is an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Music and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, the Guildhall School and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Patronages include those of Leeds Lieder, Irish Heritage, the Wimbledon International Music Festival and the Corpus Christi Maiden Lane Refurbishment Project. He was awarded the Heidelberger Frühling Music Award in 2019 and was also presented with the Musicians’ Company Cobbett Medal for Chamber Music.
This evening, he talks to the owner of one of radio’s most familiar voices, Sean Rafferty.
