Thomas Bowes (born 1960) is an English violinist and orchestra leader.

Life and career

Thomas Bowes was born in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

, Hertfordshire, England, and graduated from Trinity College of Music in 1982, where he studied violin under Bela Katona. Bowes played with the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

beginning in 1985 and the

Academy of St Martin in the Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy o ...

beginning in 1986. He made his debut as a soloist in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1987. Bowes was a founding member of the Maggini String Quartet and served as leader from 1988-92. In 1989 he began serving as leader of the

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History B ...

, where he led the ensemble at their

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

debut in 1991. Bowes has served as guest leader of orchestras including 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

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 ...

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

, 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, ...

, and the French L’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Bowes married pianist and composer

Eleanor Alberga Eleanor Deanne Therese Alberga (born 1949) is a Jamaican contemporary music composer who lives and works in the United Kingdom. Career Eleanor Alberga was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She decided at the age of five to be a concert pianist and ...

in 1992, and the two live in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

, England. They formed the duo Double Exposure in 1995 and began to tour internationally. During this time, Bowes developed an expanded repertoire as a soloist. He took a position as Artistic Director of the Langvad Chamber Music Jamboree in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and with Alberga founded the Arcadia music festival in northern Herefordshire. Bowes masters film scores and maintains an extensive discography and filmography His most recent CD was released 2011, ''Walton and Barber Violin Concertos - Thomas Bowes/Malmo Opera Orchestra/Swensen'', which was well received. He plays a

Nicolo Amati Nicola Amati, Nicolò Amati or Nicolao Amati (, ; 3 September 1596 – 12 April 1684) was an Italian master luthier from Cremona, Italy. Amati is one of the most well-known luthiers from the Casa Amati (House of Amati). He was the teacher of ...

violin from 1659.

References

External links

Official siteClip from Thomas Bowes recording of Walton Violin Concerto
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowes, Thomas Living people 1960 births English classical violinists British male violinists English classical musicians British classical violinists Alumni of Trinity College of Music People from Welwyn Garden City Musicians from Hertfordshire 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century British male musicians Male classical violinists