He is an orchestral conductor and musician born Robert John Stephen King in Wombourne, Staffordshire, England.
He began his musical career as a choirboy at St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he was an acclaimed soloist and appeared on Durufle’s Requiem which was a best selling recording.
His studied music at Cambridge College and when he was 20 years old he founded The King’s Consort who have become extremely successful with numerous world tours and nearly 100 recordings under his conductorship.
A recognized expert in Henry Purcell’s works, an acclaimed interpreter of Baroque works and a specialist in English 20th Century composers, he is also known for his operatic works and has led successful performances of operas that include Handel’s Ottone and Ezio, Purcell’s The Indian Queen and Gluck’s Armide.
As a guest conductor he has appeared with Les Violins de Roy, the Danish National Radio, the Bergen Philharmonic, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Detroit, Atlanta and Houston Symphony Orchestras, among many others. In the world of TV and film he has appeared as a broadcaster on BBC, he was the harpsichordist on Shrek 2 and was a consultant to Ridley Scott for the music of the The Kingdom of Heaven.
In 2007 he was jailed for three years after being convicted of the sexual abuse of five boys under sixteen.
The King’s Consort recordings
Concerto in C Major for Trumpet, 3 Oboes, Bassoon and Continuo (Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni)
Hyperion 66383
Conductor – Robert King
Here he is leading The King’s Consort in Handel’s “Zadok the Priest”…
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_King_(conductor)
- http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/King-Robert.htm
- http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/artist_page.asp?name=rking
- http://imdb.com/company/co0152630/