Jules Buckley returns as chief conductor of the Metropole Orkest

The Metropole Orkest welcomes Jules Buckley back as chief conductor.

Under his first tenure as leader of the orchestra from 2013-2020 Jules led the orchestra to multiple grammy nominations and collaborations including Gregory Porter, Tori Amos, Bokanté, Henrik Schwarz, Markus Stockhausen, Michael Kiwanuka and Snarky Puppy (honoured with a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Album for ‘Sylva’ in 2016) to name a few.

As an artist known for bringing music from genres as broad as Jazz to Dance to avant-garde to orchestras on the most prestigious stages, Jules Buckley and the Metropole Orkest have a special synergy, as Jules described: “It’s a joy to work with The Metropole Orkest. The orchestra is special because it’s a full time jazz and pop orchestra and so when it comes to groove playing or the understanding of Swing, the Blues, the orchestra has a distinctive sound.”

Jules has helped solidify the orchestras international reputation at the BBC Proms, with memorable performances with the likes of Quincy Jones, Jacob Collier and Laura Mvula and celebrations of musical legacies including Nina Simone and Charles Mingus.

What’s next for the Metropole with Jules Buckley back at the helm? Buckley talks of continuing to break new ground with collaborations and how “The orchestra is always striving to work with the most current artists and that’s part of their signature sound. Balancing that we will be looking after the legacy of jazz music and pop music at the same time”. Their latest project together in November 2023, saw the orchestra with Jules at the helm delve into a world of bold and playful experimentation with genre-bending jazz duo DOMi and JD Beck, showing a statement of intent for the year to come.

Managing Director of the Metropole Orkest Jan Geert Vierkant: “For us it is a great honour to have Jules Buckley return as chief conductor, since he has extensively proven in the past to have a clear insight in what’s hip and happening in the musical scene.”