Ilan Volkov

Born in Israel in September 1976, Ilan Volkov began his conducting career at the age of nineteen. Following studies at London’s Royal Academy of Music, he secured positions as Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony. In 2003 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and subsequently became its Principal Guest Conductor in 2009.

Between 2011 and 2014 he held the post of Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Volkov’s arrival coincided with the opening of Harpa, Reykjavík’s visually striking new concert hall. During his tenure in Iceland, he created the Tectonics Festival, which features programmes of classical modern music combined with other new music genres such as improvisation, electronics and rock. Since then, Tectonics has expanded around the world with residencies in cities including Glasgow, Adelaide, Oslo, New York and Tel Aviv.