Born in 1960 in Tenby, South Wales, Mr. Llewellyn began cello lessons at the age of nine. At the age of eleven his formal musical education began at the Chethams School of Music, where he worked with many illustrious musicians including John Eliot Gardner. Post high-school lessons on the cello took place at the Conservatorio de Francesco Morlacchi ( Perugia ), followed by formal studies at Cambridge University, where he was a choral scholar. At the Royal College of Music Llewellyn studied conducting under the guidance of Norman del Mar. Mr. Llewellyn won a prestigious Conducting Fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center in 1985, where he worked with such major artists as Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, and Andre Previn.

Following his Tanglewood Fellowship Mr. Llewellyn made frequent appearances in the United States, and was appointed Assistant Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1990. During his three-year tenure, he led that orchestra at Tanglewood and at Symphony Hall, and made his Boston Pops debut in 1992.

Mr. Llewellyn also serves as Music Director of the North Carolina Symphony, the flagship cultural organization for that state. He also retains a close link with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, where he holds the title of Conductor in Residence, and with whom he has undertaken numerous television, radio, and CD projects including a six-part series which he both conducted and presented for television.

To date, Grant Llewellyn’s career has led him to hold positions with three European orchestras: Principal Conductor of the Royal Flanders Philharmonic, Principal Guest Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Associate Guest Conductor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Notable European guest engagements have included the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, the Helsinki Philharmonic, and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.

Grant Llewellyn has conducted many orchestras in North America, including the symphonies of Boston, Houston, Montreal, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Calgary and Toronto, as well as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonic.

Opera projects include The Magic Flute with the English National Orchestra, Luisa Miller with the Chelsea Opera Group, and Dido and Aeneas at Spoleto USA. With the Opera Theatreof St. Louis Llewellyn has conducted Alexander Goehr’s Arianna, Handel’s Radamisto and The Magic Flute. Other projects have included concert performances of Puccini’s operas, Rossini’s Semiramide and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

Grant Llewellyn lives in Cardiff, Wales with his wife Charlotte and their children, Imogen, Ceridwen, Jasper, and Theo. An accomplished soccer player, Mr. Llewellyn received his “blue” for representing Cambridge University in competition against Oxford University.

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