Barry Douglas has established a major international career since winning the Gold Medal at the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Moscow. As Artistic Director of Camerata Ireland, the only all-Ireland orchestra and the Clandeboye Festival, he continues to celebrate his Irish heritage whilst also maintaining a busy international touring schedule.

In recent seasons, Barry has performed with orchestras including the London Symphony, Estonian National Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lille, Nuremberg Symphony, and Staatskapelle Halle, among others.

Barry marked the 30th anniversary of his Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition win with full Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto cycles with the National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin and the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast. Also noted for his promotion of contemporary repertoire, he performed the premiere of Kevin Volans’ fourth piano concerto with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the European premiere of the Penderecki Piano Concerto.

A highly sought-after recitalist and chamber musician, he has given performances across the
globe from Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Wigmore Hall and the Verbier Festival to the
Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Grand Theatre in Shanghai and other cities in China.
In addition to North American and Chinese recital tours, Barry will continue to perform in recitals throughout Europe.

He has previously appeared with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Seattle Symphony, Melbourne and Sydney Symphonies, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony, Russian National, Vancouver and Colorado Symphonies, the Halle Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestras, and many more.

Barry is an exclusive Chandos recording artist. He recently completed a six-album recording of the full works for solo piano of Brahms. International Record Review wrote that “this is indeed Brahms playing of the utmost integrity and authority… this cycle looks set to become a benchmark version.” His current recording projects focus on the solo piano works of Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Liszt. Also with Chandos, Barry is exploring Irish folk music through his own arrangements, working with ancient melodies through to pieces by contemporary song writers.

In 1999 Barry Douglas founded the chamber orchestra Camerata Ireland to celebrate and nurture the very best of young musicians from both Northern and the Republic of Ireland. In addition to striving for musical excellence, one of the orchestra’s aims is to further the peace process in Ireland by promoting dialogue and collaboration through its musical education programmes. Barry regularly tours with Camerata Ireland throughout the world. Highlights of past seasons were Camerata Ireland’s debut at the BBC Proms in London and a world premiere of a new cantata commissioned by The Honourable The Irish Society, “At Sixes and Sevens”, alongside the London Symphony Orchestra to celebrate Derry Londonderry becoming City of Culture 2013.

In January 2021 Barry Douglas was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to music and community relations in the 2021 New Year Honours List. He previously received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2002 New Year’s Honours List for services to music.

Camerata Ireland brings together fine musicians who live and work in Ireland and Irish musicians who work and live abroad.

Since its formation Camerata Ireland has travelled the world to wide critical acclaim. Tours to North and South America in earlier years have been followed by trips to Italy, Germany (Munich), Poland (Warsaw) and China (Shanghai and Beijing). Notable successes have included the Irish Festival of Arts and Culture in China in 2004, the 2006 International Beethoven Festival in Warsaw, the Smithsonian Festival in the US Library of Congress, the Naantali International Festival in Finland in 2007, the Festival de la Chaise-Dieu in France in 2008 and 2009, their Carnegie Hall debut in 2011, the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall in summer 2013, and the 40th Anniversary Kilkenny Arts Festival. In May 2011 the orchestra was honoured to be invited to perform for the (former) President of Ireland, Mary McAleese and Her Majesty the Queen, as part of the latter’s historic State visit to Ireland. Highlights of 2015 included a tour to South America taking in Buenos Aires, Rosario, Cordoba, Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo.and a tour of China, with appearances in Guangzhou, Yichun, Beijing, Wuhan and Shanghai.

Every summer Camerata Ireland returns to its homeland to take part in the annual Clandeboye Festival held in August in the historic Clandeboye Estate. The festival has just celebrated its twelfth anniversary.

Camerata Ireland has recorded the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos and the Triple Concerto. All of Camerata Ireland’s recordings have met with great critical acclaim.

‘There is an extra special quality to Irish string playing which comes from the roots of Irish tradition’ says Barry. ‘I knew that if I could bring the best Irish players together something special would result – and I have not been disappointed’.

Nor should he be. In recognition of the exceptional nature and quality of its work Camerata Ireland was awarded the Joint Patronage of Mary McAleese, President of Ireland and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2004.