First Person: Michael MacLeod
The son of a British diplomat, Michael MacLeod is the newly appointed Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He has worked extensively in the US and European classical music scenes, with companies such as Glimmerglass Opera and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Since this year marks beloved music director Edo de Waart’s last season with the company, MacLeod will guide the orchestra through the selection of a new conductor. He talks to Penny Zhou about childhood, music and adventures.
Because of my father’s job, I’ve lived abroad all of my life. I was born in Bogotá, Colombia. Then we moved to Turkey, Austria, Denver, Los Angeles, Hawaii and [spent] seven years in Africa. Finally, Paris, where my father’s final post was.
My favorite place was Ethiopia, where there was a revolution during my family’s stay. I remember being shot at, with bullets hitting the ground by my feet, an earthquake, and 10 bandits with sticks threatening to kill us when we were driving away for the weekend, and so we had to give them all of our money. These things were such vividly interesting memories for a seven-year-old boy.
The best thing about this kind of lifestyle is the opportunity to see many more interesting things than the majority of people. The worst thing is that I do feel a bit homeless, like a gypsy. My siblings live in other parts of world, too. So sometimes I miss those roots.
Some people need to have big houses and three TVs. But put me in a room with only a radio and a book, I could be just as happy. It’s about how you apply your mind to what’s around you.
By the age of 16, I was at boarding school in Scotland and was made head of house and the school prefect. And I had to try to control this boy who was one year younger and a bit troublesome. His name was Tony Blair.
My father once told me that history is the one subject that puts all our yesterdays and tomorrows into perspective. And that’s what I studied in university. Those studies evolved into medieval European history, then French 12th-century history, which led to my thesis on the west façade of the Abbey of Saint Denis.
I went to an all-boys university in Massachusetts, but we were surrounded by women. There were three all-girls colleges within seven miles. All the students could take courses in any of them and there were buses that conveniently ran till midnight. So… use your imagination.