Irish conductor, harpsichordist, and bassoonist Peter Whelan will become Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale’s fourth music director, beginning his initial three-year term with the 2026–2027 season.
Whelan succeeds Richard Egarr, who resigned in 2024 after a four-year tenure. Philharmonia’s previous leaders were founder Laurette Goldberg (1981–1985) and Nicholas McGegan (1985–2020), who is now music director emeritus.
Whelan’s appointment follows his March 2025 debut with the orchestra, conducting Handel’s Alceste, performances that Executive Director and CEO Emma Moon called “revelatory.” She continued, “We’re thrilled to welcome him as our next music director to shape the future of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale.”
An accomplished opera conductor, Whelan was also on the podium for San Francisco Opera’s centennial-season production of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice in fall 2022, for which he earned rave reviews.
Whelan is currently artistic director of the Irish Baroque Orchestra, with which he won a 2022 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for a production of Vivaldi’s Bajazet for Irish National Opera and The Royal Opera.
Of the companies’ 2024 performance of Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade at London’s Royal Opera House, The Telegraph said, “What keeps this piece going is its constant energy and drive, and that was captured to the full here by the Irish Baroque Orchestra, driven with crackling propulsion from the harpsichord by Peter Whelan.”
In August, Whelan is scheduled to make his conducting debut at the BBC Proms with a performance of Handel’s oratorio Alexander’s Feast. This will be the IBO’s first-ever Proms appearance and only the second time in the festival’s 130-year history that an Irish orchestra has performed there.
Whelan will program Philharmonia’s 2026–2027 season and formally step into his new role in July 2026.
“I’m honored and energized by the chance to join Philharmonia Baroque, a group whose spirit, artistry, and integrity I truly admire,” Whelan said, responding to the appointment. “From my time with the orchestra and staff, I’ve been struck by their warmth and the real sense of community and connection they share with each other and with their audience and donors.
“It’s a privilege to work with passionate musicians who care deeply about the music they perform, and I look forward to exploring new repertoire together, celebrating the beauty of period-authentic performance, and building on the remarkable legacy of this orchestra, which deserves to be recognized and celebrated.”
In a 2022 interview with SF Opera, Whelan spoke of his childhood:
“I was born in Dublin and I was brought up in a town called Celbridge, which is just outside.
“As far back as I can remember, I was always hungry for music. I had piano lessons with a neighbor of mine. I used to love singing in choirs as a child, but I hadn’t really decided to do it professionally until much later, when I studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and at Trinity College Dublin. I think, about that point, I decided, ‘Yeah, I'll give this a go.’
“And I also have a really strong memory of hearing some of my teachers singing in three-part harmony for the first time. I was transfixed. It was like the gates to heaven were open and I knew this was something I had to pursue.”
As Whelan, now a London resident, succeeds two maestros from England — Egarr and McGegan — he fits well into the international ensemble of San Francisco music executives:
SF Opera Music Director Eun Sun Kim is from South Korea, via Germany and Austria, while General Director Matthew Shilvock is from England, via Houston.
SF Ballet Music Director Martin West is from England, while Artistic Director Tamara Rojo was born in Quebec to Spanish parents, going on to make her career in London.
And Opera Parallèle General and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement hails from Quebec, while Music at Kohl Mansion Executive Director Patricia Kristof Moy was born in Paris to Hungarian refugee parents.
