Antony Hermus has become known for his infectiously positive approach to music and life, and his natural talent for encouraging musicians to give their very best. Combining dramatic flair, a strong sense of line and clear-sighted musical thinking, he is equally successful in the opera house and in the concert hall. 

Having recently completed his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra, Hermus takes up the title of Conductor Laureate with the orchestra for 2026/27. From 2027/28 he becomes Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, with whom he will appear annually at the BBC Proms. A significant figure in Dutch musical life, he regularly conducts all the major orchestras in the Netherlands including Royal Concertgebouw, Residentie Orkest, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Rotterdam Philharmonic. From 2015 to 2024 he was Principal Guest of the North Netherlands Orchestra, which subsequently appointed him Honorary Conductor for Life.

Guest highlights in 2026/27 include the Montreal and Vancouver symphonies, the Helsinki Philharmonic, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (RTE) and Polish National Radio Symphony.  Last season he conducted Mahler 8 with the North Netherlands Orchestra, bringing their Mahler-cycle to a close and returned to the Danish National and Royal Philharmonic orchestras, alongside debuts with the KBS Seoul, Barcelona Symphony and Orchestre National de Bordeaux. 

Hermus’s operatic commitments this season include leading Opera North in a semi-staged production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Principal Guest of Opera North since 2019, his semi-staged Simon Boccanegra received five-star reviews on tour and at the Southbank Centre in 2025. Hermus has conducted extensively throughout his career in opera houses across Europe, notably in Helsinki, Stuttgart, Essen, Gothenburg, Strasbourg, Nederlandse Reisopera and Komische Oper Berlin. He was Music Director in Dessau from 2009, culminating his tenure in summer 2015 with his first Ring cycle and promotion to Honorary Conductor for Life.

Channel Classics recently released Hermus’ recording of Brahms and Goldmark with violinist Ning Feng and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. For the CPO label he has recorded neglected Romantic composers such as Hausegger, Klughardt and the Dutch composers Diepenbrock and Wagenaar, as well as Auber’s opera La Muette de Portici.

For Hermus, music is an essential part of life and society. Always pushing the boundaries of traditional concert programming, he has been involved in numerous out-of-the-box-projects, such as Ligeti at the “Lowlands” rock festival and Symphonic Cinema (Mahler/Holst/Stravinsky). He was initiator of the award-winning „Scratch“ concerts and of the first performances in Germany of “Tweetfonie” (52 world premieres on one day) during his Residency at the International Kurt Weill Festival.

Alongside his performing career, Hermus is passionately committed to nurturing the next generation of young musicians; he is Visiting Professor at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and at the “National Master of Orchestral Conducting” programme, and teaches regularly at the Sibelius Academy and Royal Northern College of Music where he was made a Fellow in 2025 in acknowledgement of his contribution to musical life in the North of England. He is also Artistic Advisor to the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands.

Hermus started playing the piano at the age of six. He studied piano with Jacques de Tiège at the Brabant Music Conservatory and conducting with Jac van Steen and Georg Fritzsch. 

26/27 season - not to be altered without permission