British conductor. He studied at Cambridge University where he also took composition lessons with Alexander Goehr, followed by studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Having won both 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2009 Leeds Conductors Competition, he went on to participate in the Lucerne Festival conducting masterclasses with Pierre Boulez. During his time on the Royal Opera House Young Artist Programme he assisted conductors including Antonio Pappano, Mark Elder, Andris Nelsons and Daniele Gatti on an extensive repertoire. For two seasons he worked in Bayreuth as musical assistant to Kirill Petrenko for Der Ring des Nibelungen.

In recent months, he has conducted the Danish National, Hamburg Symphony, Aarhus Symphony and Nagoya Philharmonic, all of whom have reinvited him. In the UK, he appeared with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, and Brighton Philharmonic (Wagner’s Ring, De Vlieger’s orchestral arrangement), with all inviting him back. He also returned to the BBC Scottish Symphony for filmed sessions.

Last year he conducted the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra during the final concert of the Warsaw Autumn Festival. In the 2024/25 season he also conducted the London Sinfonietta, the Nash Ensemble, and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. He continues to collaborate with Norwegian jazz saxophonist Marius Neset, with whom he has performed many times, including at the BBC Proms in London, Bergen Festival, and Northern Lights Festival with the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic. Several times a year, Paterson takes part in artistic projects with the London Sinfonietta.

Opera has always featured prominently in his concert activities. Recent performances he has conducted include Benjamin Britten’sA Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Frankfurt Opera, Philip Glass’s Orpheus at the English National Opera in London, Willem Jeth’sRitratto at De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam. He also appeared at the Bavarian State Opera (Gian Carl Menotti’s Consul, ballets by Maks Richter and Kaija Saariaho) and De Nationale Opera (Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bessand Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet Cinderella). In autumn 2024 he conducted two contemporary ballets at the Royal Opera House.