conductors

Kenneth Woods - Principal Conductor

Hailed by the Washington Post as an “up-and-coming conductor” and a “true star” of the podium, conductor and cellist Kenneth Woods is quickly becoming recognized as major talent on the international scene. He has worked with many orchestras of international distinction including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared on the stages of some of the world’s leading music festivals, including Aspen, Lucerne, and Scotia. His work on the concert platform and in the recording studio has led to numerous broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, National Public Radio, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is currently Music Director of the Oregon East Symphony, Surrey Mozart Players, Conductor of the Contemporary Music Ensemble of Wales, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Rose City Chamber Orchestra.

Recent highlights include first appearances at the Bridgewater Hall, Menuhin Hall, Albert Hall, Royal Concert Hall of Nottingham and Bute Hall. In America, his recent performance Jennifer Higdon’s new Soprano Saxophone Concerto with the Texas Festival Orchestra at the Round Top Festival was recorded for NPR’s Performance Today- a triumph that led to his immediate invitation to return in 2009. His blog, A View from the Podium, has become a hit with music lovers in the UK, Canada and the US and received wide acknowledgement from the music critics of the New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Independent and Gramophone. 2008-9 sees him making more important UK, US and European debuts, doing extensive studio and concert work for the BBC and making his debut recordings in London for Avie Records.

In the spring of 2001, Kenneth Woods was selected by Leonard Slatkin as one of four participants in the National Conducting Institute. At the completion of the Institute, he led the National Symphony Orchestra in a debut concert, drawing great critical acclaim and a return invitation from the NSO. In the spring of 2000, David Zinman selected Kenneth Woods from a pool of over 200 applicants to be a fellow in the inaugural class of the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. Toronto Symphony Music Director Peter Oundjian has praised Woods as “a conductor with true vision and purpose. He has a most fluid and clear style and an excellent command on the podium… a most complete musician.”

Kenneth Woods has conducted critically praised productions of operas from Britten to Puccini, and ballet scores as diverse as Giselle, the Nutcracker and Firebird. Woods’ work as an active proponent of contemporary music includes collaborations with composers including John Corigliano, Krystopf Penderecki, Peter Lieberson and Oliver Knussen. An active cellist cello soloist and chamber musician, his colleagues include members of the Toronto, Chicago and Cincinnati Symphonies, the Minnesota, Gewandaus and Concertgebouw orchestras and the La Salle, Pro Arte, Tokyo and Audubon quartets.

As music director of the Oregon East Symphony since 2000, he has transformed a tiny orchestra in a remote, rural area into possibly the most talked-about orchestra in the Pacific Northwest, winning universal praise for their ongoing Mahler cycle and their innovative youth programs. In 2005, he was asked by the musicians of the Rose City Chamber Orchestra to found a new professional training institute for young conductors. In just four years under his leadership, the Rose City International Conductor’s Workshop has become widely recognized as one of the leading training centers in the world for young conductors, drawing students from the world’s leading conservatories and nations as diverse as Argentina, Japan, Korea, Germany, Spain, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Russia and Canada. In 2009, the RCICW will be the subject of a major documentary on American television.

www.kennethwoods.net

David Curtis - Guest Conductor

…a brilliant performance... Daily Telegraph
…a genuine exuberance… Musical Opinion

David Curtis is Artistic Director of Orchestra of the Swan, the driving force behind the Swan’s nationally acclaimed Take Note! and Music of Our Time series, and Festival Director of Spring Sounds, a new international music festival in Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon. The closing concert was featured on the South Bank Show with David conducting Tasmin Little and Orchestra of the Swan in the Barber Violin concerto and world premiere of Roxanna Panufnik’s ‘Japanese Spring’, commissioned for Spring Sounds.

…The brilliant success of Stratford's inaugural "Spring Sounds" festival… an avid public, packed houses, enlightened sponsorship, the sheer "wow" factor of David Curtis and his accomplished Orchestra of the Swan and Tasmin Little… co-commissioner of Japanese Spring by Roxanna Panufnik, receiving its premiere here, burgeoned with joyous exhilaration, Little's solo line trilling and dancing, and interacting zippily with various soloists from Curtis' orchestra… Birmingham Post

His thought-provoking programming, infectious enthusiasm for contemporary music and considered but fresh interpretations of standard repertoire have established him as a conductor of note on the international stage, conducting in the Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany - recording with Dimitri Ashkenasi and the Hamburg Symphonika, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Romania, Singapore, Sweden and the USA.

…David Curtis, has raised this jewel (Orchestra of the Swan) to an impressive level of performance… The Guardian

In 2008 he made his debut conducting the Academy of St Martin’s-in-the-Field, one of the world’s most prestigious chamber orchestras and he has appeared with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and the North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest soloist and conductor in Finland, appearing with the Mikkeli City Orchestra, the Roveniemi Chamber and Yvaskyla Symphony Orchestras in the concert hall and on Finnish Radio and in 2005 he premiered a new chamber symphony by leading Finnish composer Aki Yli-Salomaki.

…charismatic, inspiring…a conductor who deserves wider recognition… Birmingham Post

In autumn 2006 he conducted in the biennial Nordic Music Days Festival with the Icelandic contemporary music ensemble Caput, the first British composer to be invited to do so, giving the world premiere of works by four leading Nordic composers for Icelandic Radio and in May 2007 conducted the Moravian Symphony Orchestra in the prestigious annual Olomouc Dvorak's Festival and the Policka Martinu Festival.

…all credit then to Curtis and Orchestra of the Swan… The Guardian

David is a champion of new work and has commissioned and given world premieres of at least 50 works by British, Bulgarian, Chinese, Nordic, and American composers including Snorri Sigfús Birgisson, Oscar Colomina i Bosch, Joe Cutler, Tansy Davies, Joseph Duddell, Sampo Haapamäki, Lars-Petter Hagen, Thuridur Jónsdottir, Peter Lieuwen, Paul Patterson, Joseph Phibbs, Julian Philips, Marie Samuelsson, Dobrinka Tabakova, Param Vir, Andrew Waggoner, Errollyn Wallen, Shu Wang and John Woolrich.

…a packed house for this concert…a genuine esprit de corps, with players as keenly alert to each other as they are to the conductor… Daily Telegraph

David delights in working with musicians of all ages and abilities and has conducted at the Moores School of Music in Houston USA giving conducting masterclasses for students, at Birmingham Conservatoire and the Guildhall School. Since 2005 he has been a regular guest conductor with the American Schools International Orchestras in London, Beijing, Brussels, Geneva and Singapore and he has wide experience with many other student orchestras in the UK and USA; Warwick University, Bedford County Youth Orchestra, Fife Youth Orchestra, Sheffield University, Gloucester Academy of Music, Birmingham Schools Symphony and Syracuse University, NY. He has recently been appointed Principal Conductor for Norfolk County Youth Orchestra.

…a stirring performance under the baton of David Curtis… The Guardian

Since 1999 David has been principal conductor of the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra and under his leadership the orchestra has developed an outstanding reputation, tackling major works such as the Strauss Alpine Symphony, Mahler, and Rachmaninov symphonies and the Britten War Requiem. The reputation of the CSO led to an invitation to give three concerts in the Annecy Festival, France in July 2008.

…a superb performance of Stravinsky's Petrushka… David Curtis's attention to detail paid off handsomely, the crisp, precise and committed playing of the musicians conjured up vividly the bustling atmosphere of the Shrovetide fair in St Petersburg… Gloucester Echo

…a lively performance of Strauss Don Juan, followed by the Four Last Songs… Elizabeth Clarke’s voice blended impeccably with the sensuous playing of the orchestra…sheer perfection. Strauss’ Alpine Symphony towered over both…the charismatic David Curtis succeeded magnificently…a full-blooded, spell-binding performance… Gloucester Echo

Keen to take music into the wider community, David was responsible for the Swan’s residency at Birmingham International Airport and for overseeing their extensive and highly imaginative Education programme. He continues to be in demand as a speaker, giving illuminating descriptions of life on the podium and behind the scenes.

…David Curtis directs his with style and understanding…a lynch-pin in the obvious success of this venture, dreaming up a fascinating menu of offerings, chatting to the audience as if among friends, and drawing colourfully communicative readings… Birmingham Post

Prior to conducting David had a distinguished career in chamber music, working with leading musicians and composers of international stature, including Sir William Walton, Sir Michael Tippett and Robert Simpson. His conducting teachers include the legendary Finnish maestro Jorma Panula.

www.davidconductor.com

Richard Howarth - Guest Conductor

Richard Howarth has had a distinguished career as a violinist, leading and directing orchestras for over twenty years. In recent years he has been in increasing demand as a conductor.

Richard has conducted Manchester Camerata, the Ulster Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the London, Scottish and Manchester Concert Orchestras and, from the violin, has directed Manchester Camerata and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He is in demand as a string coach/conductor and works regularly at the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music. As an educator, he is Principal Conductor of the Vale Royal String Orchestra, Sale Chamber Orchestra and Manchester Youth String Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor of Chester Philharmonic Orchestra and coaches Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra.

Trained as a violinist at the Royal College of Music in London, Richard worked with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and as Leader of the Ulster Orchestra before becoming Leader of Manchester Camerata. He has been a guest leader with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Scottish and Welsh Symphony Orchestras, the BBC Philharmonic, the Halle, Orchestra of St John’s Smith Square, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, East of England Orchestra and Bournemouth Sinfonietta.

www.richardhowarthmusic.co.uk


Jon Malaxetxebarria - Guest Conductor

Jon Malaxetxebarria, born in Gernika Spain, is currently pursuing a Master of Music conducting degree at the Royal Northern College of Music. His primary conducting professors are Clark Rundell and Mark Heron. He was awarded the AIE Foundation (Spain) scholarship and a prestigious scholarship by the Basque Government for his artistic and academic achievements. He studied French horn at the Bilbao conservatory. During this time he played with several orchestras such as BIOS (Bizkaia Symphony Orchestra), and EGO (Basque Country Youth Orchestra). After finishing his studies in Bilbao, Jon won a scholarship from the Bizkaia counsel to attend Roosevelt University Chicago, where he studied with Dale Clevenger, principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He graduated with honors, obtaining a Bachelor of Music degree. Other conducting teachers include George Hurst, Mark Shanahan, Denise Ham, Rodolfo Saglimbeni and Robert Houlihan.