Philip Pickett

British Early Music Conductor and Instrumentalist

Philip Pickett (born 19 November 1950) is an English musician and convicted sex offender. Pickett was director of early music ensembles including the New London Consort and Musicians Of The Globe, and taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Pickett began his career as a trumpeter, before becoming one of Britain's leading recorder players, performing and recording as soloist with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Polish Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players and English Concert. In February 2015, Pickett received an 11-year prison sentence for the rape and sexual assault of pupils at the school. As guest conductor Philip Pickett was regularly invited to appear with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire in France and the Aarhus and Aalborg Symphony Orchestras in Denmark. He also conducted the Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique de Nancy, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France, Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, Halle Opera Orchestra, Mexico City Philharmonic, Macau Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. From 1996-2003 Philip Pickett was artistic director of the South Bank Centre’s annual Early Music Festival. In 1995 he was appointed Director of Early Music at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.