Edward Gardner was born in Gloucester in 1974 and studied at Cambridge University and under Colin Metters at the Royal Academy of Music. After three years at The Hallé assisting Sir Mark Elder, and a further three years as Musical Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera, he began his tenure as Music Director of English National Opera with a new, critically acclaimed production of Britten's Death in Venice. Under his direction, the ENO has presented a series of stellar productions, including Damnation of Faust, Boris Godunov, Peter Grimes and a double bill of The Rite of Spring and Bluebeard’s Castle. This season productions include Eugene Onegin, Der Rosenkavalier, Flying Dutchman and Billy Budd. His many successes with the company won him the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Best Conductor in 2008 and the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 2009.

Equally successful outside English National Opera, he made his début in 2005 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and has been re-invited each year, conducting the UK première of Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater in concert at the Barbican in 2008 as well as frequent Proms appearances, culminating in The Last Night of the Proms in September 2011. In September 2010, Edward was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The appointment is for an initial period of three years during which he will conduct the CBSO for four weeks a season. Symphonic highlights in the 2011/12 season and beyond will see Edward conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rotterdam Philhamonic, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Danish National Symphony, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Melbourne Symphony and Houston Symphony. Edward also works regularly with young musicians including the CBSO Youth Orchestra and Barbican Youth orchestra as well as the Trinity College of Music, Royal Academy and Royal College of Music. In 2002 he founded the Hallé Youth Orchestra.

An exclusive recording artist for Chandos, Edward has most recently released four critically acclaimed discs of Lutoslawski and Britten vocal and orchestral works.