NATALIE MURRAY BEALE
conductor + music consultant
BIO
Natalie Murray Beale is a conductor, curator and music consultant driven by a passion for storytelling.Her work crosses disciplines and includes conducting for concerts, opera & dance, supervising and conducting for film and collaborating with boundary-pushing theatre & film directors.
Natalie has conducted prestigious ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Malta Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, the Presidential Orchestra of Turkey, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Symphony Nova Scotia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, Auckland Philharmonia, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of London.
In 2020, she made her Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, debut, which was praised in the press: "Could this be the defining work of art of the Covid period?". THE STAGE. Natalie was the 7th woman to conduct for the Royal Opera House main stage in its close to 300 year history. Further opera engagements include conducting for Theater Bonn, the Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Opera Holland Park, New Zealand Opera and for the award-winning physical theatre company Circa. As well as leading productions of traditional repertoire, Natalie has conducted world or stage premieres by John Adams, Missy Mazzoli, Anna Meredith, Jessie Montgomery, Joby Talbot and Anna Thorvaldsdóttir.
Natalie’s conducting for film and video games includes BAFTA-nominated soundtracks. As Music Consultant & Conducting Supervisor for the feature film TÁR, she was critical to the film’s success and much praised authenticity. Natalie worked closely with the writer & director Todd Field, and coached Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, who plays the chief conductor of a major German orchestra.
She worked with Dresdner Philharmonie for the shoot and conducts Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Sophie Kauer and the London Symphony Orchestra on the TÁR concept album, released on Deutsche Grammophon. It reached No. #1 in the Billboard Traditional Classical Charts.
TÁR received 6 Academy Award nominations and a BAFTA, Golden Globe and the Volpi cup for Blanchett.
Natalie Murray Beale trained at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama and National Opera Studio, London. She continued her studies in conducting with Jorma Panula and began her career on the Music Staff of Welsh National Opera. Following her time at WNO, Natalie was Guest Chorus Director at London Symphony Chorus, where she collaborated with Valery Gergiev, Sir Colin Davis, Xian Zhang and Daniele Gatti. She gained further conducting experience in the European opera houses and festivals of Opéra national de Paris, Festival Aix-en-Provence, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Wiener Festwochen.
Natalie was selected by The Dallas Opera for the Hart Institute for Women Conductors Programme and the same year received a BBC Performing Arts Fund Fellowship, mentored by Esa-Pekka Salonen. She was Assistant Conductor to Salonen for many opera and symphonic projects.
Natalie has been a guest speaker for the BBC World Service Proms broadcasts, Classical Music Next, Opera Europa and has presented Inside Music for BBC Radio 3. She is an invited speaker at this year's Dallas Symphony Women in Classical Music symposium. Natalie was a Jury member for the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition, Ivors Composer Awards, Ora Composer Awards and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Gold Medal, where she conducted the final performance. She was chosen by Festival Aix-en-Provence for the Women Opera Makers programme and has been a mentor for the Festival Aix Academie. Natalie is a Professor at the Royal College of Music and formally, Creative Director of Independent Opera at Sadler’s Wells.