The English conductor, Richard (Sidney) Hickox, studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1966 to 1967, and was an organ scholar at Queen's College Cambridge from 1967 to 1970.

In 1971 Richard Hickox founded in London the Richard Hickox Singers & Orchestra, with which he gave programs of works ranging from the 14th century to the present era. He also founded the City of London Sinfonia in 1971 and is its Music Director, and following a long association with the London Symphony Orchestra he is their Associate Guest Conductor. From 1982 to 1990 he was Artistic Director of the Northern Sinfonia, and is now Conductor Emeritus. In 1990 he formed a new period instrument group together with Simon Standage: Collegium Musicum 90. His contract as Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales starts in September 2000.

Richard Hickox was internationally recognised as one of Britain's leading conductors and was the recipient of the 1998 Association of British Orchestras award, the 1995 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award, three Gramophone Awards, the Diapason d'Or, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, and in 1997 a Grammy for his recording of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes. His part in the Royal Opera House's productions of B. Britten's Paul Bunyan and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Pilgrim's Progress was also recognised in awards from the Evening Standard, Olivier Awards and a second Royal Philharmonic Society Award, all in 1998.

Recent operatic successes include Peter Grimes in Hamburg, Salome in Los Angeles and Billy Budd for Opera Australia, R. Vaughan Williams' Pilgrim's Progress and B. Britten's Paul Bunyan at the Royal Opera House (where he conducts Billy Budd in Autumn 2000). He returned to Los Angeles in 1999-2000 to conduct Bellini and Verdi, and in coming seasons returns to Hamburg (Love of Three Oranges), English National Opera (Dallapicola and Luciano Berio) and Opera Australia as well as conducting in Cologne. He was Music Director of the Spoleto Festival, Italy, where he conducted Cunning Little Vixen and Menotti's The Consul in 1998, Prokofiev's War and Peace in 1999, with Rosenkavalier in 2000.

International guest engagements have included Detroit Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington), San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa's New Japan Philharmonic in Tokyo, Swedish Radio, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln, Berliner Symphoniker, Russian National Orchestra, and Camerata Academica Salzburg.

Richard Hickox was under exclusive contract to Chandos Records, for whom he has recorded nigh on 150 discs. He is currently recording Bruch and R. Vaughan Williams (London Symphony), Percy Grainger (City of London Sinfonia), Haydn symphonies and masses (Collegium Musicum 90), a Bridge cycle (BBC National Orchestra of Wales) and a series of B. Britten operas.