Alasdair Malloy
Presenter

Alasdair Malloy is a creative musician crossing musical boundaries, working as a concert presenter, percussionist, glass harmonica player, programme deviser and arranger.

Presenting a celebrated catalogue of innovative family and children’s concerts across the globe, Malloy’s extensive programme catalogue covers all school subjects as well as a host of family favourites, from magic and mystery to film, food and travel. He regularly works with some of the UK’s top orchestras including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, Sinfonia Viva and Oxford Philharmonic. In Europe, he appears with the Orchestre d’Auvergne, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and RTÉ Concert Orchestra in Dublin. In Asia, he appears regularly with Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra – the première of his highly acclaimed Bugs!! won the National Silver Award for Best Performance in China for children in 2005.

Principal percussionist with the BBC Concert Orchestra for over 25 years, and a regular soloist, Malloy incorporates percussion-inspired features within his own programmes. He is also active as a percussionist in other genres and regularly arranges, records and performs with celebrated artists including Jarvis Cocker and Scott Walker. His 20th year of working with Mike Oldfield culminated in a performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony.

As Britain’s leading glass harmonica specialist, Malloy has performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Aldeburgh Festival, St John’s Smith Square, Kings Place in London, and St George’s Bristol. He premiered David Horne’s Vapours and Fireflies with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra respectively. In 2014, he performed at the opening of the ICE Kraków Congress Centre for which the noted Polish film composer Zbigniew Preisner composed a work specifically for the occasion. He is regularly invited to record with acclaimed artists such as Icelandic pop star Björk and can be heard on numerous film soundtracks: two Harry Potter films, the BAFTA and Oscar-winning Hollywood blockbuster Gravity and most recently Aeronauts. In 2019, he was invited to perform at Chihuly Nights, an exhibition that transformed Kew Gardens, showcasing American artist Dale Chihuly’s glass sculptures.

Having made his BBC Proms solo début in 1998, Malloy has returned to the festival numerous times including a recent collaboration with the Kanneh-Mason siblings and author Michael Morpurgo for a special presentation of Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. Other notable festival appearances include Bury St Edmunds, Chester, Henley, Arundel, Lichfield and Risør in Norway.

Malloy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of the West of Scotland in 2017 for his contribution to music and education. In 2019, he was appointed Artistic Advisor on the “Apollo: One Giant Leap” project celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, working closely with composer Geoff Edge and Dorchester Arts.