The Conductor

Tom Newall

Have you got what it takes to be our conductor?

Unfortunately Tom will be leaving us at the end of November 2010 and so we are currently looking for a new conductor.

Tom Newall

Tom was born in Leeds in 1986. He studied piano from the age of four, and later studied organ whilst at Leeds Grammar School. During his time there, he also took up singing, singing in a number of regional choirs and opera groups as well as working as a soloist. He was awarded the DipABRSM in December 2004.
 

 

Tom began conducting in 2001 as Musical Director of the James Farrell Concert Band. He performed a successful season of concerts with them, and recorded a CD, and was later asked to conduct Alwoodley Sinfonia, with whom Tom performed a wide range of orchestral and choral works, perhaps most notably Handel’s Messiah in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Leeds, and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2. Tom assisted a local councillor in Leeds to found the Shadwell Concert Band, who went on to play at a number of community events.

Tom moved to Durham in October 2005 to read for a BA (hons) in Music and during his time there conducted three musicals with the University Light Opera Society, and conducted the University Chamber Orchestra in his final year. Tom was one of the founding members of Durham Opera Ensemble with whom he has conducted Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel , Bizet’s Carmen and was chorus master for Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilѐges. Tom served a two-and-a-half year tenure with Huddersfield based Paddock Orchestra, performing a number of classical works, most notably Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, and his Symphony No. 5.  

In March 2007, Tom made his professional debut conducting a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Newbury based Cecilia Consort and members of the Tallis Scholars as soloists. Tom worked as Musical Director for Chester Musicals last Summer in their production of My Fair Lady. Tom was recently appointed Principal Conductor of Chesterfield Symphony Orchestra, and also holds the year-long post of Conductor of Durham University Symphony Orchestra. Tom has been on a number of masterclasses, most notably with Baldur Brönniman, Tim Reynish and Mark Heron at the RNCM in Manchester.

Future engagements include Tom’s debut with us at CSO, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring with Durham University Symphony Orchestra. In September, Tom will move to Manchester to study for a Master’s degree in Conducting at the RNCM.

The Leader

Edward Boothroyd

Edward Boothroyd

For many years Edward has been an active musician in Derbyshire, principally as a violinist - he has completed nearly thirteen years as leader of the Chesterfield Symphony Orchestra - but also as a teacher, coach and conductor. In this last capacity he was principal conductor of the North East Derbyshire Music Centre's Senior Youth Orchestra from 1978 to 1997, working amongst others with the contralto Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Peter Cropper of the Lindsay String Quartet. He established the Music Centre's Chamber Orchestra in 1997 and conducted it until 2007; with them he toured Darmstadt, New York, Vienna and Prague.

Edward was instrumental in establishing Derbyshire's County Youth Orchestra and coached the violin sections for many years and from 1999 to 2006 conducted the County Intermediate Youth Orchestra on its twice-yearly courses. Although not teaching the violin so much these days, he still plays a great deal and can be found most weekends in gracious country house hotels providing background music for weddings with his string quartet 'A Touch of Class'.