Cambridge Philharmonic are thrilled to appoint Jorge Jiménez as Associate Orchestra Leader for the season. Jorge will be performing with us at our opening choral concert Handel: Dixit Dominus – Saturday 14 November 2026, 3pm. He will be joined by our full chorus, the Cambridge Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and Up-and-coming vocal soloists from the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music. Find out more here Adding exceptional virtuosity and experience to our performance, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Jorge and learn from his widespread experience.
About Jorge
Jorge is a violinist, composer and conductor with an adventurous approach to music creation. Equally at home performing on historical instruments, conducting from the violin, directing opera, composing electronic music or creating projects that bring music into unexpected places, he has built a career that refuses to sit neatly in one box. His repertoire spans from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, driven by curiosity and a desire to discover what happens when familiar music is seen from a different angle.
He is the founder and artistic director of Tercia Realidad, winner of the FestClásica Award 2023, artistic director of Música Callada Festival in Spain and of the concert series Bach in Ipswich in the UK. His projects range from reimagining Bach’s Goldberg Variations for solo violin to exploring the meeting point between music, theatre and storytelling.
As a soloist, concertmaster and ensemble leader, Jorge has worked with ensembles including La Risonanza, Forma Antiqva, L’Arpeggiata, The Hanover Band, Capella Cracoviensis, I Fagiolini and Laudonia Ensemble. His orchestral engagements include guest leadership with Euskadi Orchestra, Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Oviedo Filarmonía and Opera Vlaanderen, among others. As a director and conductor, he has worked with Capella Cracoviensis, the Northern Chamber Orchestra and Kiez Oper, bringing his experience as a violinist and orchestral leader to orchestral, operatic and theatrical projects.
His work in theatre includes regular appearances as musical director and soloist at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, where he has led projects including The Secret Theatre, featuring music by Alexander Balanescu, and Four Seasons, with music by Max Richter. His performances and solo projects have taken him across Europe, Australia, South America and Canada.
Jorge’s recordings reflect his curiosity about the violin and its repertoire. His solo violin transcription of Bach’s Goldberg Variations (Pan Classics, 2022) offers a fresh take on one of the great keyboard works, an interpretation described by La Lectura as “risky and original”. His recording of Bach’s Cello Suites in Hans Sitt’s 19th-century adaptation for violin explores another unexpected perspective on familiar music, with The Strad praising his “effortless technical finesse”.
Whether performing alone or leading an orchestra, Jorge is interested in music as something alive: music that can surprise, unsettle, move us and make us hear things differently. He plays a 1720 Bergonzi violin from the Jonathan Sparey Collection.