Charles Barker has conducted orchestras worldwide, including the Royal Philharmonic, Paris Opéra Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Opera House Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, and the Pacific Symphony. He is currently principal conductor of American Ballet Theatre (since 1987), music director for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (since 2007), and a regular guest conductor for The Australian Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Washington Ballet.
Barker’s introduction to dance was unconventional. In 1983 he became the first and only music director of the John Curry Skating Company, a singular group that performed music from Albinoni to Artie Shaw with choreography by Twyla Tharp and Lar Lubovitch, among others, at the Metropolitan Opera House, the Kennedy Center, and Royal Albert Hall.
In addition to Barker’s work with ABT, he was music director of The Australian Ballet from 1997 to 2001, when he joined The Royal Ballet in London until 2003. He was music director of the Kansas City Ballet from 1985 to 1987. From 1995 to 1998 he was a member of the Barnard-Columbia Ancient Drama Group, which presents Greek and Latin drama in the original language. He was a cast member and wrote music for productions of The Bacchae, Hippolytus and Heracles.
Barker was music director and conductor of the American Chamber Orchestra from 1981 to 1987. In November 1983 he made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the ACO in A Tribute to Aaron Copland in honor of the composer’s 83rd birthday. In 1985, he was music director for Copland’s rarely performed opera The Second Hurricane, which played to critical acclaim at the New Federal Theatre in New York.
Barker has conducted numerous film and television features for dance, including Dance in America, a PBS special presentation on the works of Antony Tudor; the BBC in England; TV Asahi in Japan; the ABC in Australia; and simulcasts of several ballets for The Australian Ballet.
Barker lives in New York with his wife, Miranda Coney, former principal dancer of The Australian Ballet. Their son, Max Barker, is a dancer in ABT.
Charles Barker will conduct TŌN on February 27 & 28, 2027. He previously conducted the orchestra on February 28 & March 1, 2025.
Bio: Oct 2026