Upcoming performances

Biography

Benjamin Bayl is a conductor of remarkable versatility, equally at home in the worlds of symphonic, operatic and period-instrument performance. Co-Founder of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, he is widely recognised for his historically informed approach to Baroque, Classical and Romantic repertoire, as well as his flair for opera and contemporary music. “The orchestra is without a doubt peerless; Benjamin Bayl proves himself a master of the classical genre,” wrote De Standaard - a testament to the insight and artistry he brings to the podium.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include returns to several orchestras and opera houses with whom he has established close artistic relationships, such as Concerto Köln, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Theater an der Wien, the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Warsaw Chamber Opera with its in-house historical orchestra. He will also make debuts with Händel Festival Halle, Opera Wroclawska and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra.

Bayl has performed extensively across Australasia and Europe. In recent seasons, he has made acclaimed debuts with the major Australian orchestras, Auckland Philharmonia, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Malaysian Philharmonic and Taipei Symphony Orchestras, as well as Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Orchestra Filharmonica di Torino, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano and the German symphony orchestras of Aachen, Bochum and Bremen. He has also conducted numerous Scandinavian orchestras in Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Gävle, Odense, Stavanger and Umeå. His international festival appearances include Edinburgh, Savonlinna, Melbourne, Cartagena, Euro Klassik Berlin, Ruhrtrienniale, “Chopin in his Europe” Festival and Mozart Festival Warsaw.

In opera, he has conducted at many leading international houses, among them Opera Australia, Staatsoper Berlin, Budapest State Opera, Royal Danish Opera, Dutch National Opera, Staatsoper Hannover, Norwegian National Opera, Polish National Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Opera Vlaanderen & Wiener Staatsoper.

Equally at ease in a wide range of repertoire, Bayl brings particular insight to the Viennese classics, historically informed Baroque and Romantic works, and world premieres of new commissions. A specialist in period performance, he has directed ensembles such as Collegium Vocale Gent at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and led Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Concerto Köln at the Bayreuth Baroque Festival and Theater an der Wien. He has also appeared with B’Rock, Vocalconsort Berlin, Bach Consort Wien, Orfeo Zenekar, Concerto Copenhagen, Wrocław Baroque Orchestra and the Australian Haydn Ensemble. With The Hanover Band, where he served as Associate Director for a decade, he led numerous projects throughout the UK and recorded a Beethoven Symphony cycle for digital broadcast.

Committed to education and mentorship, he frequently leads projects with young artists including the Australian National Academy of Music, Netherlands Youth Orchestra and Slovak Youth Orchestra.

Holding both Dutch and Australian nationality, Bayl was the first Australian Organ Scholar of King’s College Cambridge before studying conducting at London’s Royal Academy of Music and National Opera Studio. He was Assistant Conductor to Iván Fischer at the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and has worked alongside conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniel Harding and Richard Hickox with world class ensembles including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Freiburg Barockorchester, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. 

“Schumann’s Spring Symphony caught fire and came to life… the melodic phrases were carried forward with effortless and unerring musicality.”

- NORDJYSKE Stiftstidende