James Judd

James Judd (born 30 October 1949) is a British conductor. Early life and education James Judd grew up in Hertford, learning the piano, flute and organ as a child and discovering his talent for conducting at high school. He studied at the Trinity College of Music in London. He conducted several recordings with the NZSO for the Naxos label, and led the NZSO in its first-ever appearance at The Proms and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 2005.

In 2014, Judd became music director of the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion. He offered to waive his salary in 2015, in the wake of financial difficulties at the orchestra.

In September 2016, Judd was appointed artistic director and principal conductor of the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea. He concluded his artistic directorship of the orchestra as of the close of the 2021–2022 season.

He became chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra as of the 2017–2018 season. As of 2019 he was scheduled to conclude his chief conductorship of the orchestra as of the close of the 2020–2021 season.

Judd has returned to New Zealand to live while holding the position of artistic director and principal conductor of the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea. have a daughter.