Conductor Paul McCusker hails from Belfast, Northern Ireland and is regarded as one of Ireland’s foremost young conductors. A champion of contemporary music, Paul is Resident Conductor of the internationally renowned Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble, leading the group on tours to Warsaw Autumn, the Beijing Modern Music Festival and Musicahora Festival, Chile. His professional debut came in August 2018 with the RTE Concert Orchestra in a live broadcast on RTE Lyric FM with the Irish Times review stating, “There was …a sense not just that he belonged in front of an orchestra but that he knew he belonged there.” In recent years he has conducted the Ulster Orchestra, the Esker Festival Orchestra, Ulster Youth Orchestra and Ulster Youth Orchestra Alumni. An advocate of making music accessible to all, Paul also makes time to conduct the Belfast-based Studio Symphony Orchestra on occasion. Through his work on new music Paul has worked directly with leading composers including Xiaogang Ye, Elaine Agnew, Anselm McDonnell and Piers Hellawell.

After taking up music as a child, studying violin and piano, Paul initially opted to study Biological Sciences, subsequently completing a PhD in parasite molecular biology. Throughout this time Paul began developing a burgeoning conducting career, beginning by leading the Queen’s University Belfast Symphony Orchestra and Music Society Choir. He also established two charity orchestras, Laganside Sinfonia, a Belfast-based group, and the Medical College of Wisconsin Orchestra in the USA. In 2017 Paul moved to Glasgow and completed a Masters in conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, studying with Garry Walker. He quickly established himself as an successful conductor, winning the Hugh S Roberton prize for orchestral conducting and the Feis Ceoil Conducting competition before being selected to participate in a workshop with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and to conduct the Red Note Ensemble in concert.