About
Associate Conductor of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, John Murton is an orchestral conductor, originally from London, and now based in Washington, D.C. Praised for his “musicality and gravitas” on the podium, he has appeared with orchestras in the United States and Europe and was the winner of the 2022 Sofia Sinfonietta International Conducting Competition.
Murton has been a cover conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and National Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as holding conducting fellowships with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Allentown Symphony Orchestra, and at the Eastern Music Festival. Drawing upon his background as a singer, Murton is a particularly sensitive collaborator in opera, with credits including critically acclaimed productions at London’s Grimeborn Festival, the Tête à Tête Opera Festival, and at the College-Conservatory of Music.
A strong proponent of the power of musical education to change lives, Murton leads the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra’s Link Up educational concerts, providing many students in Fairfax County Public Schools with their first taste of live orchestral music. He has also collaborated on the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's educational programming and worked with young musicians at the Youth Orchestras of Prince William County and Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Murton relocated to the United States from the UK, taking up a scholarship at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati where he studied with Mark Gibson. A graduate of the University of Oxford, he held a choral scholarship at Magdalen College, going on to build a career performing with professional choirs and consorts across the UK and Europe.