Neil William Thomson (born 23 May 1966) is a British
conductor and conducting professor.
Neil Thomson was born in London in 1966, and educated at
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...
. He then studied violin and viola at the
Royal Academy of Music (1984–87) and conducting with
Norman Del Mar at the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...
(1987–89). He was a member of the conducting class at
Tanglewood Summer School in 1989 where his teachers included
Gustav Meier
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
,
Seiji Ozawa,
Kurt Sanderling
Kurt Sanderling, CBE (; 19 September 1912 – 18 September 2011) was a German conductor.
Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Orzysz, Poland), to Jewish parents. His early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, whe ...
and
Leonard Bernstein.
Since March 2014 he has served as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the
Philharmonic Orchestra of Goiás,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
In the UK he has conducted the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
, the
London Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Philharmonia
The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, ...
, the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...
, the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...
, the
Hallé, the
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...
, the
Ulster Orchestra
The Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, is the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United K ...
and the
Orchestra of Welsh National Opera.
Recent debuts include concerts with the
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra,
Brazilian Symphony Orchestra,
Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra,
Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese symphony orchestra administratively based in Tokyo. The orchestra primarily performs concerts in Tokyo at the Suntory Hall, but also gives concerts at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The orchestra also performs in Yokohama a ...
,
Tokyo Philharmonic
The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2005, it has 166 members.
The orchestra plays frequently a ...
, the
Century Orchestra Osaka
A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
A centennial or ...
, the
Kansai Philharmonic, the
Lahti Sinfonia, the
Romanian National Orchestra, the
Britten Sinfonia, the
Ulster Orchestra
The Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, is the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United K ...
, the
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full-time professional radio orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestr ...
, the
Orchestra of Gothenburg Opera,
Aarhus Symphony Orchestra
The Aarhus Symfoniorkester (Aarhus Symphony Orchestra) is the principal orchestra for the Danish city of Aarhus.
Description
Established in 1935 as ''Aarhus By-Orkester'' (Aarhus City Orchestra), since 1982 it has performed most of its concerts in ...
and the
Orchestra of Opera North
The Orchestra of Opera North (or English Northern Philharmonia as recording name) is the orchestra that plays for the Opera North.
It was founded as the English Northern Philharmonia, and changed its name during the period when Steven Sloane was O ...
.
He has performed with Sir
James Galway
Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outsta ...
, Dame
Moura Lympany
Dame Moura Lympany DBE (18 August 191628 March 2005) was an English concert pianist.
Biography
She was born as Mary Gertrude Johnstone at Saltash, Cornwall. Her father was an army officer who had served in World War I and her mother original ...
, Sir
Thomas Allen, Dame
Felicity Lott
Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano.
Education
Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...
,
Philip Langridge
Philip Gordon Langridge (16 December 1939 – 5 March 2010)Millington (7 March 2010) was an English tenor, considered to be among the foremost exponents of English opera and oratorio.
Early life
Langridge was born in Hawkhurst, Kent, educ ...
,
Sarah Chang,
Antônio Meneses
Antônio Meneses Neto (born 23 August 1957 in Recife) is a Brazilian cellist.
Antonio Meneses was born into a family of musicians. His father was first horn player at the Opera of Rio de Janeiro. He began to study the cello when he was ten. Durin ...
,
Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse reper ...
,
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme.
Early years and education
Julian ...
,
David Geringas
David Geringas ( lt, Dovydas Geringas; born 29 July 1946 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian cellist and conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He also plays the b ...
,
Natalie Clein
Natalie Clein (born Poole, Dorset) is a British classical cellist. Her mother is a professional violinist. Her sister is the actress Louisa Clein.
Early life and education
Clein started playing the cello at the age of six, and attended Ta ...
,
Ittai Shapira
Ittai Shapira (born December 18, 1972) is an Israeli-American violinist, composer, and curator. Described by the NY Times as “an Israeli dynamo with a flourishing solo violin career”, he regularly performs as a soloist with prestigious orchest ...
,
György Pauk,
Brett Dean
Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor.
Biography
Brett Dean was born, raised and educated in Brisbane. He started learning violin at the age of eight, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan ...
,
Jean-Philippe Collard,
Stephen Hough
Sir Stephen Andrew Gill Hough (; born 22 November 1961) is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality (his father was born in Australia in 1926).
Biography
Houg ...
,
Peter Jablonski,
Jean-Louis Steuerman, Dame
Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015.
Early life
Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The in ...
and Sir
Richard Rodney Bennett
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...
.
Recent collaborations include a
Schumann Cello Concerto with
Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse reper ...
, an
opera gala with
Danielle de Niese
Danielle de Niese (born 11 April 1979) is an Australian-American lyric soprano. After success as a young child in singing competitions in Australia, she moved to the United States where she developed an operatic career. From 2005 she came to wi ...
, a tour in Brazil with
Antônio Meneses
Antônio Meneses Neto (born 23 August 1957 in Recife) is a Brazilian cellist.
Antonio Meneses was born into a family of musicians. His father was first horn player at the Opera of Rio de Janeiro. He began to study the cello when he was ten. Durin ...
,
Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
Second Piano Concerto and
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
Second Piano Concerto with
Stephen Hough
Sir Stephen Andrew Gill Hough (; born 22 November 1961) is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality (his father was born in Australia in 1926).
Biography
Houg ...
, the premiere of
Joseph Phibbs's new Percussion Concerto with Dame Evelyn Glennie and a rare performance of the complete Incidental Music written by
Frederick Delius
Delius, photographed in 1907
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...
for
Flecker Flecker is a German language occupational or topographic surname and may refer to:
*Bruno Flecker (born 1953), Austrian rower
*Florian Flecker (born 1995), Austrian footballer
*Hugo Flecker (1884–1957), Australian medical practitioner
* James Elro ...
's drama ''Hassan'' at the
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...
. He recently stepped in at three days' notice to replace
Louis Langrée
Louis Langrée (born 11 January 1961) is a French conductor. He is the son of organist and theorist Alain Langrée. One of his sisters is an amateur cellist.
Biography
Early years
Langrée studied at the Strasbourg Conservatory, but had no fo ...
with the
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra conducting works by
Messiaen
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonicall ...
,
Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and compos ...
,
Richard Strauss,
Mozart and
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
. This led to immediate re-invitations for 2017 and 2018 where he will be conducting two weeks in the subscription series in both years.
Alongside his symphonic work he has developed a speciality for conducting films with live orchestra. He gave the premiere of the newly reconstructed score for ''
Singin' in the Rain'' at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2013. Other films include ''
Psycho'', ''
Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
'', ''
Casablanca'', ''
The Wizard of Oz'', ''
Fantasia'', ''
Amadeus
Amadeus may refer to:
*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music
*Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name
* ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer
* ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
'' and ''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
''.
Recordings include a disc of American contemporary violin concerti with Ittai Shapira and the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...
and two discs of orchestral music by
César Guerra-Peixe
César Guerra-Peixe (March 18, 1914 – November 26, 1993) was a Brazilian violinist, composer, and conductor.
Guerra-Peixe was born in Petrópolis, son of Portuguese immigrants with Romani origins. Throughout his lifetime, Guerra-Peixe held nume ...
with the Goias Philharmonic Orchestra. He is currently engaged on a project to record all 14 symphonies of
Cláudio Santoro
Cláudio Franco de Sá Santoro (23 November 1919 – 27 March 1989) was an internationally renowned Brazilian composer, conductor and violinist.
Biography Early life
A native of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, Santoro started to study violin ...
for
Naxos
Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...
with the OFG.
He has been a Guest Professor at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the
Krakow Academy of Music, the Conservatoire "Arrigo Boito" in Parma, the
Lithuanian Academy of Music, the
Campos do Jordao Festival and the
Los Angeles Conducting Workshop.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Neil
1966 births
Living people
British male conductors (music)
English conductors (music)
Alumni of the Royal College of Music
21st-century British conductors (music)
21st-century British male musicians
Musicians from London
People educated at Dulwich College