Sir Jeffrey Tate | |
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Born | Jeffrey Philip Tate 28 April 1943 Salisbury, Wiltshire, England |
Died | 2 June 2017 Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy | (aged 74)
Education | Farnham Grammar School |
Alma mater | Cambridge University Christ's College, Cambridge |
Occupation | Conductor |
Years active | 1979–2017 |
Spouse |
Klaus Kuhlemann (m. 1977) |
Awards | Knight Bachelor (2017) Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1990) |
Sir Jeffrey Philip Tate CBE (28 April 1943 – 2 June 2017) was an English conductor of classical music. Tate was born with spina bifida and had an associated spinal curvature. After studying medicine at the University of Cambridge and beginning a medical career in London, he switched to music and worked under Georg Solti at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, before making his conducting debut in 1979 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. He held conducting appointments with the English Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, among others, and was the first person to be appointed principal conductor of the Royal Opera House. He was knighted for his services to music in 2017.