Owain Park
Owain Park is a composer and conductor whose work spans orchestral, choral and stage repertoire, bringing together a lifelong fascination with music of every period and a commitment to new voices and collaboration. Born in Bristol in 1993, he is the incoming Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers, having served as their Principal Guest Conductor since 2022. He takes up the role in autumn 2026, succeeding Sofi Jeannin.
As Director of The Gesualdo Six, Owain has led the ensemble to international acclaim through performances, recordings and collaborations across Europe, North America and Asia. Their imaginative programming, placing Renaissance masterpieces alongside contemporary music and unexpected musical conversations, has become a hallmark of the group's work.
Owain also appears with orchestras, choirs and festivals across Europe in programmes ranging from Renaissance polyphony to contemporary music, symphonic repertoire and musical theatre. Recent highlights include conducting the BBC Singers at the BBC Proms in a programme of Bruckner motets; a broadcast of Friday Night is Music Night with the BBC Concert Orchestra and saxophonist Amy Dickson; and performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in music by Anne Dudley and Iain Farrington as part of the BBC Singers' centenary celebrations at the Barbican; the Aldeburgh Festival; and the premiere of Héloïse Werner's M87. In 2026 he helped launch BBC Get Singing, a nationwide initiative encouraging young people across the UK to discover the joy of singing together.
As a composer, Owain's music is published by Novello and performed internationally by leading choirs and orchestras, including The Tallis Scholars and Aurora Orchestra. Recent works include Canticles for a Passion, written for Tenebrae's twenty-fifth anniversary, while his orchestrations feature on London Choral Sinfonia’s album On Christmas Night. His music has been recorded by the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, whose album devoted to his compositions was nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award. In 2023, Battle Cry: She Speaks, a collaborative album by Helen Charlston and Toby Carr featuring his title work, received the Gramophone Award for Best Concept Album.
Owain studied orchestration with John Rutter at the University of Cambridge before completing a Master's degree in composition. He is President of Cathedral Commissions at Wells Cathedral and a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. Before turning to a full-time performing career, he was Senior Organ Scholar at Wells Cathedral and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was awarded the Dixon Prize for improvisation.
Away from the concert platform, Owain is a devoted gardener and is happiest with muddy boots, pruning shrubs, or harvesting cherry tomatoes.
