Peter Stark - Conductor

Hon DMus, Hon FTCL, Hon ARAM, GRSM, ARCM

Peter Stark’s performances as a conductor are exhilarating, imaginative and inspiring. At the heart of all his work lies a passion and commitment to the study and practice of music to profit humanity. Peter is Professor of Conducting at London's Royal College of Music and has taught over five hundred private students. His acclaimed courses in conducting have taken him across the world and his reputation as a teacher is renowned.

Whilst having performed with a number of the world’s leading ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, The Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Peter fosters a hunger to work with any orchestra that plays with spirit and enthusiasm.

Peter's growing media profile includes his appointment as series consultant to the popular BBC television series ‘Maestro’ and regular screen appearances as a mentor. For this role, Peter was responsible for the training of eight celebrity ‘students’, as orchestral conductors. Peter has since made live ‘Maestro’ webcam commentaries for the BBC Proms and a subsequent TV series.

In addition to Peter’s work at the Royal College of Music in London, he is also Rehearsal Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra. He has conducted many youth orchestras, such as the Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestra (Principal Conductor since 1994), the New South Wales Public Schools’ Symphony Orchestra and the Toyota City Junior Orchestra in Japan. Peter also holds the post of Principal Conductor of the Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra. Between 1985 and 2010 Peter was Conductor-in-Residence to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Peter is honoured to have had the privilege of assisting many of the world’s finest conductors including Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Lord Menuhin, Sir Roger Norrington and Klaus Tennstedt. His numerous awards include the Tagore Gold Medal from the Royal College of Music and Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of the West of England in recognition of outstanding contribution to music.

Plans for the forthcoming year include further masterclasses at the China Conservatory in Beijing and the State Conservatory at St Petersburg, a second appearance at the Youth Artists’ Festival at Bayreuth in Germany and a return to Oman. He will also be conducting a concert in the Valdres Festival, Norway with the Young Philharmonic Orchestra, in association with the Olso Philharmonic Orchestra. EUYO auditions, as well as residencies in Switzerland and Austria, add to the increasingly important role that foreign work plays in Peter’s work. He is also researching and drafting the first of two planned books based on his experiences as a conductor and an educationalist.

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