Biography

Ryan Bancroft grew up in Los Angeles and first came to international attention in 2018 when he won both first prize and audience prize at the Malko Competition in Copenhagen. Since 2021 he has been principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, artist in association with the Tapiola Sinfonietta in Finland, and in 2023 became chief conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic.

Mr. Bancroft returned to Los Angeles last summer to make his Hollywood Bowl debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and also made his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Festival. Recent and upcoming appearances include the Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, and New Japan Philharmonic. He has also conducted the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony, Danish National Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and Ensemble Intercontemporain. He makes his San Francisco Symphony debut with these performances.

Passionate for contemporary music, Mr. Bancroft has performed with Amsterdam’s Nieuw Ensemble; assisted Pierre Boulez in a performance of Sur Incises in Los Angeles; premiered works by Sofia Gubaidulina, John Cage, James Tenney, and Anne LeBaron; and worked closely with improvisers Wadada Leo Smith and Charlie Haden.

Mr. Bancroft studied trumpet at the California Institute of the Arts, and also studied harp, flute, cello, and Ghanaian music and dance. He then went on to receive a master’s degree in conducting from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He played trumpet with the BBC Scottish Symphony on many occasions, and continued his conducting studies in the Netherlands, graduating from the conducting program run jointly by the Amsterdam Conservatory and Royal Conservatory of the Hague.