Conductor Jessica Cottis has earned widespread recognition for her inventive,
thought-provoking programming and inspiring musical leadership. A gifted
communicator described as “cool, contained, super-articulate and engaging”
(The Scotsman), she is one of the most outstanding Australian conductors
working today, in high demand from orchestras around the world.
Cottis’ recent highlights include engagements with the London Symphony
Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Royal Danish Opera, Oslo Philharmonic, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Singapore Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic,
National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada, BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Dublin, Orchestre National de
Bordeaux, as well as numerous re-invitations to the Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden, and the prestigious BBC Proms. She has recorded for the
BBC, ABC, and Decca Classics labels.
During the 2023-2024 season Jessica Cottis makes highly anticipated debuts
with orchestras including Opera Australia (La Traviata), Luxembourg
Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and in Milan with Orchestra i
Pomeriggi Musicali, and looks forward to continuing collaborations with the
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, National Arts Centre Orchestra
Ottawa, Romanian Radio Symphony, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and
the Aldeburgh Festival.
From September 2023 Jessica Cottis takes the role of Artistic Partner of the
Västerås Sinfonietta in Sweden, and continues her third season as Chief
Conductor and Artistic Director of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. Under
her visionary leadership, the CSO has pioneered several important and award-
winning initiatives, including a significant commissioning output,
collaborations with indigenous creators and championing Australian
composers.
Jessica Cottis’s domain is music of the 19th to 21st centuries. This season she
will conduct major works by Berg, Brahms, Mahler, Beethoven, Sibelius,
Elgar, R. Strauss, Mendelssohn, and Janáček. Her performances of the great
Romantic repertoire have consistently received high praise. Widely admired
for her deep musical curiosity and affinity for new music, Cottis most recently
conducted critically acclaimed productions of Poul Ruder’s ‘The Handmaid’s
Tale’ for Royal Danish Opera and John Adams’ ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’
for Norrlandsoperan, and acted as Music Director for Laura Bowler’s new
work ‘The Blue Woman’ at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Jessica Cottis grew up on her family’s sheep farm in south-eastern Australia
and quickly developed a lifelong interest in both music and the natural world.
She is especially interested in the relation between music, nature and science,
and the act of listening. She works widely as an advocate for classical music,
and has given masterclasses for the Royal Philharmonic Society and Royal
Academy of Music, and led courses for emerging women conductors for the
Royal Opera House. She sits on the Board of new music organization and
record label Nonclassical, and is Chair of the Music Board of the Tait
Memorial Trust for Young Australians: an organisation supporting young
Australian and New Zealand performing artists studying in the UK. She is
also a frequent contributor on BBC radio and television, where she comments
on a wide range of arts-related topics, from opera to architecture,
synaesthesia, and acoustics.
Cottis’ early musical career was as an organist. Awarded first class honours at
the Australian National University, she continued her studies in Paris with
pioneering French organist Marie-Claire Alain. After a wrist injury halted her
playing career, she began conducting studies at the Royal Academy of Music
in London, studying with Colin Metters and Sir Colin Davis. She went on to
serve as Assistant Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and at
the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, where she worked closely with mentors Sir
Donald Runnicles, Charles Dutoit, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Hailed as the
“2019 Classical Face to Watch” (The Times), Cottis was more recently
honored with the title of Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and
Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the School of Music, Australian National
University.
Jessica Cottis resides in London and Stockholm, and outside of music pursues
her passion for butterflies all over the world.
