Fergus Sheil
Fergus Sheil studied music in Trinity College in his native Dublin. After graduation in 1992, he pursued private conducting studies with Leon Barzin in Paris and he also attended masterclasses with Ilya Musin, Myung-Whun Chung, Helmuth Rilling and George Hurst.
Fergus began orchestral conducting in 1989 when he formed the Trinity Chamber Orchestra while still at college. In 1995 he won the BRI Conducting competition run by the National Association of Youth Orchestras in the UK. He has appeared in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the RTE Concert Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia (UK), the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St Cecilia, Orchestra 2000 (Cape Town) and many other groups.
In Opera, Fergus has conducted Verdi’s Aida and Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore for Scottish Opera, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore for Opera Ireland, Rossini’s Cinderella and Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse for Opera Theatre Company as well as Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Verdi’s I due Foscari and Attila (Irish première), Puccini’s La Bohème and Madama Butterfly for Lyric Opera Productions, Dublin. A former Head of Music of Opera Ireland, Fergus has also worked as chorus master and assistant conductor at Wexford Festival Opera, Opera Ireland and Scottish Opera. He has also worked as assistant conductor for the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland’s 2002 performances of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Fergus Sheil is also dedicated to contemporary music. In 2002 he became director of Crash Ensemble, Ireland’s leading contemporary music group. With this ensemble Fergus has appeared throughout Ireland as well as in Denmark, Sweden, UK, Estonia and Holland – and highlights have included the world première of Michael Gordon’s 2003 version of his video opera Van Gogh, in collaboration with the composer.
As well as performing throughout Europe, Fergus has undertaken engagements in South Africa (1999 – 2001) as a director of the Amateur Chamber Music Player’s orchestral concerts in Cape Town’s City Hall, and in Australia where he worked as assistant conductor with the Australian Youth Orchestra’s 2005 performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Queensland Music Festival. In 2002 Fergus made his North American début in New York’s Carnegie Hall in the opening concert of a tour of highlights from the “Irish Ring” – The Bohemian Girl, The Lily of Killarney and Maritana.