Paul  Goodwin  is  renowned  for  his  historically  informed  interpretations  of  music  of  all  periods , his  wide  repertoire , and  his  interest  in  contemporary music . He  has a  great  passion  for  incorporating  period  style  within  the  traditional  orchestral world  and  creating  unusual  and  dynamic  programs . He  is  Musical  Director  and  Conductor  of  the  Carmel  Bach  Festival  in  California .

Paul has for a long time been associated with the Kammerorchester Basel, with whom he performs both on modern and period instruments in a wide range of repertoire from Bach to Shostakovich and contemporary Swiss composers. He has recorded CDs of two of Handel’s rare operas, Lotario and Riccardo Primo and has recently releasing a disc of Handel's great english oratorio Athalia.  He is also a regular guest conductor with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrucken Kaiserslautern and has recorded several discs, including one of Christmas music from Praetorius to Britten, another of Richard Strauss (Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Couperin suites) and recently a disc of the varied music of Amadeus Hartmann. Paul was the Principal Guest Conductor of the English Chamber Orchestra for six years, collaborating with such artists as Kiri Te Kanawa, Joshua Bell, Maria João Pires, Mstislav Rostropovich and Magdalena Kozena. He has also recorded CDs of Ami Beach and a highly acclaimed CD of Elgar's Nursery Suite for Harmonia Mundi.

For many years he has worked closely with the Academy of Ancient Music, with whom he has toured extensively and made recordings of Schutz choral music, Mozart’s singspiel Zaide and two discs of music by John Tavener that he commissioned for the AAM. Three of these CDs have been nominated for Grammy (USA) and Gramophone (UK) awards. Subsequent AAM commissions were pieces by David Bedford, John Woolrich and, most recently, Thea Musgrave.

Paul has a wide symphonic repertoire, conducting orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, the Hallé Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In the US he has conducted the Minnesota Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra Washington, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra. In Europe, the Belgium and Spanish National Orchestras, Helsinki and Royal Stockholm Philharmonics, in Germany the Bayerischer, Hessischer  and MDR Leipzig Rundfunkorchesters and many of the Spanish orchestras including the Symphonies of Astorias, Seville and Galicia. His repertoire spans from Purcell and Bach to Brahms and Schumann, from Ravel, Elgar and Stravinsky, to Messiaen, Takemitsu and Mark-Anthony Turnage.

In opera, Paul’s refreshing approach is in great demand. His recent successes have included Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride at the Komische Oper Berlin, Britten’s Rape of Lucretia at the Teatro Real Madrid and Handel’s Orlando at both Opera Australia and Scottish Opera. Past highlights include Mozart’s Figaro and Il Re Pastore at Opera North, Idomeneo in Graz, The Magic Flute at the Teatro Aalto in Essen, Monteverdi’s Incoronatione di Poppea in Athens, Handel’s Orlando at the Flanders Opera and Haydn’s Orfeo in Madrid.

Paul’s dedication to educational projects has led him to work with both the National Youth Orchestras of The Netherlands and Spain, the Britten-Pears Orchestra, the European Union Baroque Orchestra and with the orchestras of the Royal College and Royal Academy of Music, London, and the Royal Conservatoire in the Hague. Paul Goodwin is a regular visiting conductor for the Queen Elisabeth Competition Brussels.

Paul Goodwin was awarded the Handel Honorary Prize of the City of Halle (Saale) in 2007 in recognition of his extraordinary services to performances of works by George Frederic Handel.

Please contact Paul’s management for an up-to-date biography

In former times Paul Goodwin was an oboist....

He studied oboe with Janet Craxton , composition and music history at Nottingham University, then specialized in contemporary oboe techniques before moving to the baroque oboe, studying in Vienna with Jurg Schäftlein.

Goodwin was for over a decade recognized as one of the worlds foremost early oboe specialists, playing all periods of music on historical oboes, and was principal oboist of The English Concert and The London Classical Players. He has made many solo and concerto records.

In 1996 he made the decision to give up his oboe career and dedicate himself solely to conducting. He subsequently studied conducting in Helsinki with Jorma Panula, and took up posts with The Academy of Ancient Music (associate conductor), and the English Chamber Orchestra (principal guest conductor).