Prior was born in London to a British father and a Russian-Ukrainian mother, who is a direct descendant of
Konstantin Stanislavski. 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 an early age, he began piano lessons. He later enrolled in the junior department of the
Royal College of Music. 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. the New World Symphony, Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid/Orchestra of
Teatro Reál, the
Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Spanish Radio Orchestra, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Badische Staatskapelle Karslsruhe, the Deustche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the German Radio Orchestra in Saarbrücken, Camerata Salzburg, the Estonian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Polish National Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Royal Northern Sinfonia, the
Copenhagen and
Calgary Philharmonic orchestras, and the Kristiansand, Helsingborg, and Aarhus Symphony Orchestras. 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, with a focus on programming which reflects the rich diversity and cultural history of the region. By his third season every masters' series concert featured music by female composers. In March 2025, he was appointed as the music director designate for the
Eugene Symphony in
Eugene, Oregon. He commenced his first season as music director in October 2025.
Other engagements Other operatic engagements include
Martinů's
Mirandolina at the
Bayerische Staatsoper,
Verdi's
La Traviata with
Leipzig Opera,
Rusalka at the Tiroler Festspiele in Erl, Hänsel und Gretel at Vancouver Opera, and two productions of Richard Strauss's Elektra – one with Edmonton Opera and the other with Theater Erfurt, where he also led a critically acclaimed production of Weingartner's epic opera "Orestes" – the first performance of this opera in well over 100 years, as well as a completely sold out production of
Wagner's
The Flying Dutchman. 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, and in their symphonic series Holst's The Planets. A planned production of Holländer in 2021 was sadly cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic. Following his debut with
Mozart's
The Magic Flute 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". Prior's Piano Concerto No. 1 was premiered at the V International Piano Festival in St. Petersburg in September 2006. Prior was runner-up in the 2008 International Prokofiev Composers Competition – his Piano Concerto No. 2
Northern Dances was performed by the State Academic Symphony of St. Petersburg in the Great Philharmonic Hall. In 2006, Prior's ballet
Mowgli (based on
Rudyard Kipling's
The Jungle Book) was commissioned by choreographers Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vassilev of the Moscow State Classical Ballet. The official premiere took place at the Kremlin Theatre in Moscow in February 2008. In November 2008, he conducted a performance of
Rimsky-Korsakov's ''
The Tsar's Bride'' in St. Petersburg, followed by a performance of
Tchaikovsky's
The Nutcracker in January 2009. On 8 January 2010, the
Seattle Symphony appointed Prior as an Assistant Conductor. In Summer 2010, he was a conducting fellow at the
Tanglewood Music Center. 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. In 2011, Prior was the principal conductor for the Northwest Mahler Festival in
Seattle. In December 2011, Prior made his debut with the Royal Danish Orchestra and
Royal Danish Ballet performing
The Nutcracker at the
Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. == Awards ==