Voted one of the top '100 Conductors of the 20th Century' by Classic Music Magazine, McCreesh's early career centred on his work with the period instrument Gabrieli Consort and Players (which he founded in the early 1980s), with whom he quickly established an outstanding international reputation for his critically acclaimed historically-informed presentations of Renaissance and Baroque music.

Numerous prize-winning recordings with the Gabrieli Consort and Players have included music by Bach, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Purcell, Schütz and an on-going series of Handel oratorios.

Possessing broad musical interests, McCreesh has conducted a wide range of later repertoire over recent seasons with modern orchestras in the UK, Europe and the USA including works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Fauré, Stravinsky, Elgar, Schubert, Ravel, Bruckner, Schnittke, Britten, Grainger, Mahler and Ives.

In the 2000/01 Season, McCreesh made a phenomenal operatic debut at Welsh National Opera with a universally praised new production of Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice. This was followed by a new production of Britten's Albert Herring at Amsterdam and The Hague Conservatoires.

Other debuts included both the National Symphony in Washington DC and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Nearer home, McCreesh debuted with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, Vlamms Radio Orkest, Israel Camerata and made return visits to The Netherlands Bach Society and Northern Sinfonia.

Forthcoming orchestral projects include a tour with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, and concerts with Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Vancouver Symphony, Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid, Minnesota Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Orquesta Ciutat de Granada.

Future opera projects include new productions at both Welsh National Opera (Jephtha) and Komische Oper (Orlando) and a debut at Royal Danish Opera (The Magic Flute).