Kevin Mallon

The Irish conductor, violinist and composer, Kevin Mallon, was born in New Jersey, USA. However, at an early age he went to live in Belfast, Northern Ireland and became a student at St. Malachy's College. He won a scholarship to Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, UK, where he was greatly influenced by the conductor and early music specialist John Eliot Gardiner. Under him Mallon developed an interest in performance on period instruments, leading to a distinguished career as a violinist and conductor. At Chetham’s, Mallon was involved in the choirs, singing with the award winner Chetham’s chamber choir and at Manchester Cathedral. He was a member, and rehearsal conductor, of the National Choir of Great Britain. Mallon later studied composition with Peter Maxwell Davies at Dartington College of Arts, and studied violin at the Royal Northern College of Music. While a student Mallon played in projects with the Hallé Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1989-1992 Kevin Mallon led and directed The Irish Baroque Orchestra, was concert- master of Le Concert Spirituel and Les Arts Florissants in Paris. With these groups, he recorded and performed concerts all over Europe, including Vienna, London (Wigmore Hall), Berlin, Paris (Versailles), Russia, The Baltic States, China, and Japan. In 1993 he accepted positions with the University of Toronto and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and has developed parallel career as a conductor of opera, choral and orchestral music. He now left those positions in order to pursue his conducting career.

In 1999 Kevin Mallon founded the vocal and instrumental group the Aradia Ensemble, with whom he has toured widely, and become conductor of the Toronto Chamber Orchestra. With these ensembles he has made over 50 recordings for Naxos (including a series of 20th century works), has produced two music videos and appeared on numerous film soundtrack including Yes Man- Jim Carey (2008). The Aradia Ensemble has toured extensively across Canada, to Ireland, Italy, the USA and New Zealand. From 2010 to 2013 Aradia Ensemble was the orchestra in residence at the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy with Mallon conducting: George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare (2010), W.A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni (2011), Le nozze di Figaro (2012).

Kevin Mallon is an Irish fiddler and is also a composer; most recently writing music for the TV series Camelot.