Acclaimed for his inspirational performances and eloquent musicianship, Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career as both a cellist and conductor. In the 2009 / 10 season he was appointed the first ever Music Director of the English Chamber Orchestra, and also took up the post of Principal Guest Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, which he held till 2012. As soloist he performs regularly with all the major British orchestras and has made seven appearances at the BBC Proms, giving a televised performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2007. He has performed with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Turin, among others. A dedicated chamber musician, he was a member of the Nash Ensemble from 1997 to 2013, when he joined the Emerson String Quartet. He has given solo recitals at the Wigmore Hall and South Bank Centre, London, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, and The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh. For Chandos he has recorded the cello concertos by Elgar, Delius, Tobias Picker, Cyril Scott, Lutosławski, and Miklós Rózsa, the Cello Symphony by Britten, Dialoghi by Dallapiccola, and Reflections on a Scottish Folk Song by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, as well as works for cello and piano by, among others, Martinů, Mendelssohn, Parry, Delius, Bowen, Bax, Ireland, Rubbra, Rawsthorne, E.J. Moeran, and Foulds with his brother Huw Watkins. Paul Watkins plays a cello made by Domenico Montagnana and Matteo Goffriller in Venice, c. 1730.