[6] Prior began composing at the age of eight and by his early teens had written 40 works, including symphonies, concertos, two ballets, two operas, and a Requiem for the children of Beslan.
At 13, he entered the Saint Petersburg Conservatory where he studied composition with Boris Tishchenko and opera and symphonic conducting with Alexander Alexeev (a pupil of Hans Swarowsky).
In 2009, at age 17, he graduated with distinction, with two masters degrees in symphonic and operatic conducting, and in composition from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, a feat previously accomplished by only Sergei Prokofiev.
He was appointed as Chief Conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at just 23 years of age (with a designate season prior to commencing his full tenure in 2017).
Prior invested greatly in the artistic output and community outreach of the orchestra – championing new music,[4] with a focus on programming which reflects the rich diversity and cultural history of the region.
[15] At Frankfurt Opera, where he has a long-lasting ongoing relationship with the orchestra and the company, he has conducted Verdi's Rigoletto, Martinů's Julietta,[16] and in their symphonic series Holst's The Planets.
Following his debut with Mozart's The Magic Flute[18] at Staatstheater Braunschweig he was invited back to conduct a new production of Verdi's Rigoletto, after which the orchestra awarded him their prestigious and rare "Louis-Spohr-Medal".
In August 2011, he conducted the world premiere of his Triple Concerto, entitled "That which must forever remain unspoken", with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong.
And with the Philharmonic he indeed succeeds in turning the Suite into a fairytale winter wonderland, carried by a colourful yet crystal-clear sound, with excellent soloists in the orchestra, and rousing, rhythmic tuttis again and again.
Currently the Chief Conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra as well as a highly commissioned composer, he conducted An Emotional Rollercoaster with the visionary insight and polished skill of superstar veterans like Simon Rattle.
His command of Debussy’s Prelude a’ L’Apres-midi d’un faune revelled in the music’s dreamy ambience, elastic rhythms, lightly nuanced strings and moments of repose.
The orchestra of the Tiroler Festspiel followed: there was playful natural magic from the harp and woodwinds to reveling in the choir’s proud trumpeting (rehearsal: Olga Yanum) simultaneous to calls to damnation for Rusalka, who roared like a “dies irae” doomsday, thoughtfully planned and musically gripping.” Wolf Dieter Peter, Abendzeitung München “The British conductor (and composer) Alexander Prior made his debut as the new General Music Director of Theater Erfurt with "Elektra".
In the end the monumental orchestral sound, the extremely difficult vocal parts, and the profound storytelling flowed together inseparably.” MDR Germany "The two great virtues of this interpretation (of Bruckner symphony no.9) were its sense of overall architecture, and the clarity and detail Prior got from the orchestra.
Then the final movement was deliberately, strictly, built up, almost rigid in its remorselessness, until it broke out into the big march, full of truly terrible Stalinist dread.
This makes sense, as those four movements share the organic growth of germ material, and similar contrasts of mood, and the difference in tone between them is not nearly as marked as in many symphonies.
The thousand twangling instruments had ceased their humming, and the Festival was over.” Mark Morris, Edmonton Classical Review "One special moment at this performance is the debut of the conductor and composer Alexander Prior – a young man of only 21 – with the Gewandhaus Orchestra.
The chamber-music-like withdrawal of the orchestra to an intimate piano level and the character portrayal in pastel- coloured sounds, especially in the strings, evoke strong emotions.