Ilan Volkov was Chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from 2003-2009 and is currently their Principal Guest conductor. He is a frequent guest with orchestras throughout the world, including the Munich Philharmonic, Ensemble Modern, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, the National Symphony Orchestra Washington DC and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In the opera house he has conducted the San Francisco Opera, the Washington National Opera and at the Glyndebourne Festival.
Born in Israel in 1976, Ilan Volkov was appointed Young Conductor in Association to the Newcastle-based Northern Sinfonia at the age of 19. In 1997 he became Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and two years later was invited by Seiji Ozawa to join the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Conductor. When appointed Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in January 2003, he was the youngest person to hold such a position with a BBC orchestra. Ilan Volkov is one of the guiding forces behind Levontin 7, a performance venue in Tel Aviv that brings together differing musical genres, including classical, jazz, electronic and rock.