A consummate artist who combines an innate musicality with a superlative technique, and an astute musical ear with an infectious dynamism on the podium, Catherine Larsen-Maguire has been appointed Music Director of the Faroese Symphony Orchestra, a post she takes up in January 2026. She is a sought-after guest-conductor throughout Europe and in Central and South America. Her performances have been praised by critics as ‘charged with recreative energy, flexible tempi, scrupulous balance and interpretative reach’ (The Arts Desk) and ‘difficult to think of a more committed, deeply involved and precise direction than that of Larsen-Maguire’ (Scherzo). Particularly in demand for the clarity she brings to the romantic British repertoire, she remains supremely versatile, equally at home with Haydn, Brahms, Elgar or Mahler as with works by the composers of today.
The closeness of the relationships she forms with orchestras and their audiences is reflected in the frequency of Catherine Larsen-Maguire’s re-invitations; The 2025-26 season sees her returning to the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Orchestre Symphonique Bourgogne Franche-Comté and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa in Mexico, and includes debuts with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Münchener Kammerorchester, Orchestre National Bordeaux-Aquitaine, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa and Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès.
Catherine Larsen-Maguire has, in recent years, also conducted orchestras including the London Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Mecklenburgische Statskapelle, Göttinger Symphonieorchester, Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, Orquesta de Córdoba, Belgrade Philharmonic, and Orchestre de Chambre Fribourgeois. A musician’s musician, she has successfully collaborated with a diverse array of soloists in recent seasons, including Carolin Widmann, Edgar Moreau, Adam Walker, Sean Shibe, Jean Rondeau, Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Guy Johnston and Sarah Wegener.
Embracing the challenges of contemporary music and fearless about the complexity of a new score, Catherine Larsen-Maguire also works closely with living composers, and has given several world and national premieres; in 2021, she conducted the world premiere of Alexander Goehr’s ‘The Master Said’ with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The same year, at the Musikfest Berlin, she gave the premiere of Cathy Milliken’s ‘Night Shift’ with Ensemble Modern, and a year later, conducted the Scottish Ensemble, Ensemble Resonanz and the Trondheim Soloists in the premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s ‘Deep Dark Shine’. She also conducted the world premiere of Gordon Kampe’s ‘Gefährliche Operette’, the American premiere of James MacMillan’s Oboe Concerto, the Spanish premiere of Joey Roukens’ ‘In Unison’, the German premiere of Bent Sørensen’s ‘Evening Land’ and the Spanish premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s Violin Concerto. Catherine Larsen-Maguire has also worked with composers including Brett Dean, Helen Grime, Charlotte Bray, Mica Levi and Michael Zev Gordon, and contemporary ensembles including Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Ensemble Resonanz, Ensemble Ascolta, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the 10/10 Ensemble of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
With a passion for mentoring the next generation of musicians, Catherine Larsen-Maguire places great emphasis on working with young people, both as conductor and educator; she was Music Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in 2024 and 2025, during which period they toured the UK and appeared at Young Euro Classic in Berlin. Other Youth orchestras with which she has recently collaborated include the Young Israel Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Luebeck Hochschule and the Underground Youth Orchestra in Athens; she has given masterclasses in Germany (University of the Arts), Brazil (University of São Paulo, Femusc Festival), Israel (Jerusalem International Conducting Masterclass), Spain (Real Conservatorio Superior de Granada) and Mexico (Queretaro Festival). She was a jury member for the Besançon Competition (2017- 2021, and 2025), and from 2014-16 held a guest professorship in conducting at the University of the Arts, Berlin
Born in Manchester and now based in Berlin, Catherine Larsen-Maguire read music at Cambridge University, followed by studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Karajan Academy in Berlin. She turned her focus exclusively to conducting in 2012 following a successful career as a bassoonist, which included 10 years as principal at the Komische Oper Berlin.
September 2025
