Julian Bigg is a British conductor, musical director, arranger, orchestrator and writer, who studied at The Royal Academy of Music in London, and subsequently with the much-revered Vernon Handley.
For nearly four decades he has enjoyed an extensive global career of music making, in musical theatre, ballet and opera, in the recording studio, in concert and on TV, Film and Radio.
After many years of working around the world, Julian now spends most of his time in Sweden.
Theatre
Julian has been Musical Director/Supervisor for many of the greatest musicals of recent decades, both in The West End and throughout the world. Credits include Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Cats, The Witches of Eastwick, Merrily We Roll Along, The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, Marie Antoinette, Sweeney Todd, Candide, Crazy For You, Shrek The Musical, Top Hat and My Fair Lady. He was Musical Supervisor/Director for The Witches of Eastwick in Australia, Moscow, Prague, Stockholm and for the North American premiere, as well as many productions of Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon around Europe.
He was Musical Director for the I Love Musicals Scandinavian Arena tour for three years and has appeared regularly at Gothenburg Opera, Malmö Opera and Wermland Opera. Most recently he was Music Director for The Phantom Of The Opera and The Witches of Eastwick in Stockholm's Cirkus Theatre.
Julian co-wrote the book and is co-Musical Supervisor/Orchestrator of The Osmonds: A New Musical, which premiered in February 2022 prior to a UK and Ireland tour.
Films in Concert
Julian is honoured to be one of only a handful of conductors worldwide to be officially approved by both The John Williams Organisation and The Walt Disney Company to perform a complete film score live.
Over the last few years, Julian has conducted over 60 full Film Scores Live in Concert, including Star Wars, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Frozen, Love Actually, Return Of The Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back.
Julian Bigg's lifelong passion for cinema has seen him programming movie music in concerts throughout his career, often using his own reconstructions of music from the Golden Age of Cinema, arranging the music of Korngold, Herrmann, Waxman and many others.
.Julian was the conductor of Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas animated movie, as well as BBC's Captain Pugwash TV Series.
Special Events
Julian Bigg's versatility and expertise in many musical genres has found him in great demand as a Musical Supervisor for large scale prestige events around the world.
He was Musical Supervisor for HM The Queen's Golden Jubilee Celebrations in front of 800,000 people at Buckingham Palace and many millions around the world on TV. In addition, he was Musical Supervisor for HM The Queen's 40th Anniversary Celebrations; The VE and VJ 50th Anniversary celebrations in Hyde Park and Horse Guards' Parade; The 200th Anniversary of The Battle of Trafalgar, in Portsmouth Sound; and HM The Queen's Golden Wedding celebrations at Windsor Castle.
Worldwide, he was Musical Supervisor for the Sochi Winter Olympics launch; The UEFA Euros 2012 ceremony; The Universal Studios Singapore Hollywood Dreams Parade; The Doha Aspire Sports Academy Opening Ceremony; The Meydan Racecourse Dubai Opening Ceremony; The Jordan Armed Forces Parade; and The Dubai World Cup Ceremonies for three years.
Orchestral
Julian Bigg has conducted The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Philharmonia, The London Philharmonic, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, The Guildford Philharmonic, The Ulster Orchestra, The Opera North Orchestra, The BBC Concert Orchestra and The Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Across the world, among many others, he has conducted The Simon Bolivar Orchestra in Venezuela, The Hamburg Symphony, The Stockholm Sinfonietta, The Malaysian Philharmonic, The Kristiansand Symphony, The Bangkok Symphony, The Västerås Sinfonietta, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Ballet, The Stockholm Concert, The Czech Symphony, The Trondheim Symphony and The Gothenburg, Malmö and Wermland Opera orchestras.
His 1983 recording of the Shostakovich Chamber Symphonies remains Gramophone Magazine’s recommended recording to this day, and his Opera Karaoke CD has been used by opera singers the world over for 30 years!