Julian Clayton studied violin and conducting at Dartington, Toulouse and Birmingham. Following an early career as a violinist he made his professional debut as a conductor with London Festival Ballet. A recent prize at the International Conductors' Workshop in the Czech Republic has resulted in engagements in Zlin, Olomouc, Salzburg and, most recently, in Hradec Králové. He has worked with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, the Magyar Radio and Television Orchestra, the Surrey Sinfonietta, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Also very active in the world of opera, he has conducted seasons for Opera-on-a-Shoestring and Civit Hills Opera.

Julian Clayton has gained an enviable reputation as one of the foremost trainers of young orchestras and as such has worked with many student and conservatoire orchestras and opera departments in the UK and abroad including conducting the massed strings of the London International String Quartet Symposium where he also acted as assistant to Yehudi Menuhin.

n addition to broadcasting on radio and television, Julian's commercial recordings include five discs with the orchestra of Chetham's School of Music, which all met with wide critical acclaim. His recording of Elgar's First Symphony was reviewed by Michael Kennedy as "phenomenal" and a recording of music by Charles Camilleri with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra has just been released. Julian Clayton has recently enjoyed highly successful debuts with the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union, the Limburgs Symphony Orchestra, Maastricht, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the Classics Concert Orchestra, Aberdeen Sinfonietta and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has appeared regularly both in the concert hall and the recording studio.

In recognition of his outstanding work with young musicians, Julian Clayton has recently been appointed Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland.