Neil Metcalfe grew up in Leeds where his early musical experiences were as a multi-instrumentalist (piano, organ, double bass/bass guitar, clarinet, French horn), and as a chorister. These formative years inspired him to pursue further studies in music, firstly reading music at Edinburgh University (Organ Scholar, Greyfriars Kirk), followed by post-graduate studies as a répétiteur, vocal coach & conductor (Opera School, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), and as a composer & orchestrator for film & television (Berklee College of Music, Boston, USA).

Following a first professional appointment as a répétiteur at Scottish Opera, Neil has enjoyed a varied 40-year career as a trusted collaborator across a number of sectors in the industry embracing opera, musical theatre, baroque music, pop/rock, and choral music, working as a vocal coach, pianist, accompanist, composer, arranger, conductor/musical director and session musician in the UK and in the USA, Australia, Malaysia, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland.

As a keen supporter of young people in music, Neil has also held posts in the education sector; as Director of Music in a number of schools (latterly at Strathallan School, Perthshire), as Head of Music at The Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film & Television, and as a Lecturer in Performance and Staff Accompanist at The Music Box, Edinburgh College. He is also closely associated with the work of Edinburgh Young Musicians, the Scottish Schools Orchestra Trust, is a mentor on the University of St Andrews/Byre Theatre collaboration, and has worked for the National Youth Choirs of Scotland.

Recent credits include a residency in New York (Signature Theatre, 42nd Street), as Musical Director and co-arranger/orchestrator of Robin Hiley and Becky Hope-Palmer’s musical “Lifeline” (available on all streaming platforms), musical direction of “The Lightning Thief” (Chichester Conservatoire/New Theatre, Portsmouth), and collaborations with the Northern Film Orchestra (UK) and The Military Wives Choir.

Current projects include collaborations (as Musical Director) with British writers Marc Folan & Paul Mari on their musical “Something In The Water” (Chichester Conservatoire and The Old Operating Theatre, London), and (as Orchestrator) with New York-based composer Carmel Owen on her musical “A Mirrored Monet” (Charing Cross Theatre, London), and (as continuing Musical Director/co-arranger/orchestrator) of “Lifeline” (Southwark Playhouse).

Neil is represented by Infinity Artists.

Monty is a versatile young conductor with a growing reputation for dynamic performances across a wide range of musical genres. Since beginning his PhD at the University of Edinburgh in September, he has worked closely with Will Conway as the assistant conductor of the EUMS Symphony Orchestra, with which he has also been involved as a player.

Monty previously studied at Durham University, where he conducted the main university symphony orchestra for three consecutive years in over 20 concerts, including performances in Newcastle’s Glasshouse, Durham Cathedral, and Durham’s Gala Theatre, amongst other venues. He was also given the opportunity to musically direct and conduct a number of performances of Don Giovanni with the Durham Opera Ensemble, as well as three of Durham University Light Opera Group’s musical theatre productions. Additionally, he took up the position of associate conductor with the Durham University Choral Society, allowing him to work closely with John Forsyth MBE and to conduct the choir on tour in Poland. The groups Monty worked with during his time at Durham all came together for his final concert, where he conducted Beethoven’s Ninth to a sold-out Durham Cathedral with a seven-minute standing ovation at the climax of the final movement – a memory which he treasures.

When Monty is not conducting or playing music, he is usually playing football or studying maths. Whilst at Durham, Monty received prizes for coming top of his cohort in physics in his first year and in maths in his second, third, and fourth years, winning the Margaret Millington Prize for highest overall exam results as well as the highest dissertation mark. This allowed him to win a funded mathematics PhD at the University of Edinburgh, where he currently works under Dr. Dimitra Kosta in the field of algebraic statistics. In the future, he hopes to either take conducting on in a professional capacity or continue further into academia – preferably both!

William Conway is an internationally renowned conductor and cellist, whose performances have been described as ‘astonishingly convincing’ (Opera magazine), ‘a tour de force’ (Guardian), with ‘a flair for the unpredictable’ (Financial Times). On the podium, he is known for his conviction, clarity and intelligent musicianship, while his collaborations with Hebrides Ensemble, of whom he is the Artistic Director and founding member, have been praised for their fresh and inspirational approach to programming.

Born in Glasgow, Conway studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music then London’s Royal College of Music before returning to Scotland to take the position of Principal Cello with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, a post he held for ten years. He is a founding member as principal cello of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and has worked with many of the great conductors including Abbado, Berglund, Boulez, Karajan, Guilini, Haitink, Harnoncourt, Maazel, Nezet-Seguin and Rattle. He is a passionate advocate of contemporary music, is the dedicatee of several works and has commissioned and performed a huge range of new works from composers such as Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sir James MacMillan, Nigel Osborne, Stuart MacRae, Helen Grime and David Fenessy. His work with Hebrides Ensemble, described by The Scotsman as ‘one of the most innovative and thrilling ensembles in Europe’ and now in its fourth decade, underpins this commitment. By placing new music at the heart of a diverse range of repertoire, often in new and surprising contexts, Hebrides Ensemble encourages audiences to approach familiar music with fresh ears. His dedication to developing contemporary music has been recognised by an award from the Scottish Society of Composers for an outstanding contribution to new music.

As a conductor, he studied in Helsinki with Jukka-Pekka Saraste and was a finalist and prizewinner in the 1994 Leeds Conductors’ Competition. Since then, he has established himself as a conductor of versatility in chamber, symphonic and operatic repertoire, and has conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, English Sinfonia, Chamber Orchestra of Europe (with whom he has made a CD recording released by Warner), and the Symphony Orchestras of Cairo, Sofia, Zagreb, de Filharmonie of Flanders, the Belgian orchestra Beethoven Academie, Teatro di Cagliari, Göettingen, Aalborg Sinfonie Orchester and the American Phoenix Symphony Orchestra in all repertoires from baroque to present day.

He made his BBC Proms conducting debut in 2018 in performances of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale.  His performance of Passio by Arvo Part with Dunedin Consort and Hebrides Ensemble was broadcast live on BBCR3 in April 2021 and won the admiration of the composer himself. He has conducted many operas including Mozart’s Magic Flute and Figaro, Verdi’s Otello, Puccini’s Tosca and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, the double-bill Cav/Pag, Puccini’s Gianni Schicci and more recent works including Nigel Osborne’s Differences in Demolition and Sir Peter Maxwell-Davies’s Martyrdom of St Magnus. He is a regular guest with many young orchestras including the National Youth orchestras of Scotland and Australia, also working with the Royal Conservatoire Junior Symphony Orchestra. He teaches conducting in masterclasses and formerly at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

He is Music Director of Edinburgh University Music Society Symphony Orchestra and has had a long association with St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh where he has fulfilled many roles including Artistic Director.  He broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio 3 and has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Linn Records, Unicorn-Kanchana and Delphian Records in a series of highly successful recordings of music by Judith Weir, Nigel Osborne and Helen Grime (to be released in 2025). His recordings with Hebrides Ensemble of music by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Sir James MacMillan have both reached no 3 and no 1 respectively in the classical music charts.

www.william-conway.com