RICHARD HOWARTH
JUAN ORTUNO
ROBERT CHASEY
STEPHEN THRELFALL
Robert Chasey was formerly Principal Second Violin of the t BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
Born in Bristol in 1952, Bob studied violin at the Royal Northern College of Music in
Manchester, before joining the Orchestra of the Royal Ballet as Assistant
Leader.
As a soloist he has performed all over the world in such varied places as
Philadelphia, Gibraltar and Montreux and continues to record extensively for
the BBC.
The conducting spark was lit while working with the late Rudolph Kempe in London
and Switzerland. Bob has 30 years' experience as a conductor and his great
humour and charm instil wonderful warmth wherever he goes. He is a regular
contributor to the nationally acclaimed Rehearsal Orchestra and for many years
was conductor of the Lancashire Chamber Orchestra.
In 2003 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Bolton Symphony Orchestra and
since then Bob has earned tremendous respect for his stunning interpretations
of works by Janacek, Respighi, Tchaikovsky and many more.
Richard Howarth is President and Chief Guest Conductor of the Alderley Edge Symphony Orchestra.
Richard has had a distinguished career as a violinist, leading and directing
orchestras for over twenty years. He brings to conducting a wealth of
experience and dynamism to inspire both musicians and audiences.
He is as comfortable working with elite orchestras as he is training and
educating amateur and youth groups. He 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.
Richard 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.
Spanish conductor Juan Ortuño is enjoying an exciting career in the UK, and has conducted the Alderley Edge
Symphony Orchestra on a number of occasions.
Juan started music lessons in Madrid with his parents. Both were performers in
the Spanish National Radio and Television Choir. His first ambition was
Astrophysics in which he obtained a Bachelors Degree. At the same time, he was
studying voice, piano, and violin. He then decided to focus on a career in
music and earned degrees in Orchestral and Choral conducting at the Royal
Conservatory of Madrid.
He was selected to take part in the young conductors' project of the Spanish
Youth Orchestra (Joven Orquesta Nacional de España) and since then has continued working with them as guest conductor in concert
tours.
During this time he has attended several conducting master classes with Benjamin
Zander, George Hurst, Martyn Brabbins, and Antoni Ros-Marbà.
After finishing his degrees in Spain, Juan was awarded a scholarship from the
Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continue further studies in the UK. He
is a Masters graduate from the Royal Northern College of Music where he studied
with Clark Rundell and Mark Shanahan.
From 1995 Stephen Threlfall was Director of Music at Chetham’s School of Music, the UK’s leading music school - a happy culmination of many years’ experience in the professional music world. After 24 years he decided to
relinquish this post to further his conducting and creative work.
As a conductor, Stephen has earned much acclaim for his performances, recordings
and broadcasts having conducted at many major venues and festivals throughout
the UK and alongside many renowned international solo artists.
His engagements have taken him to the USA, Europe and Scandinavia, with regular
visits to the Urals Philharmonic and Bach Orchestras in Yekaterinburg and the
Royal Oman and Amman Symphony Orchestras.
His work with choirs has included St George’s Singers,Leeds Festival Chorus,Chester Bach Singers and Manchester Chamber
Choir. He works frequently with a number of student and youth ensembles
including the National Children’s Orchestra and also with the Northern Ballet and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras,
the Hanover Band and frequently with the Northern Chamber Orchestra and
Manchester Camerata, with whom he recently recorded a CD of orchestral works by
Marcus Blunt.
EDWINA WOLSTENCROFT
RITA BLANCO
JAMES HEATHCOTE
DAVID CHATWIN
Edwina Wolstencroft is a music graduate of Exeter University where her first study was the piano.
She also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance (conducting), from the RNCM
and has conducted several amateur orchestras in the North West, most regularly
the Middlewich Concert Orchestra.
Her day job is as a BBC Editor, leading programme teams in the production
department at BBC Radio 3, where the programmes she is responsible for include Afternoon Concert and The Listening Service.
In the Woman’s Hour 2018 Power List, Edwina is listed as one of the top 40 most successful women having an impact
on the music we’re all listening to today.
Rita Blanco was awarded a degree in orchestral conducting at the Academia Nacional Superior
de Orquestra in Lisbon in 2016. In 2017 she obtained her M.Mus at Escola
Superior de Musica de Lisboa and is currently contining her studies at RNCM.
Born in Portugal, Rita has taken part in many masterclasses with conductors
including Sir Mark Elder, Marin Alsop and Johnannes Schlaefli.
Assistant conductorships have included the Hallé Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and
Manchester Camerata.
Rita has conducted concert performances with Northern Ballet Sinfonia, Stockport
Symphony Orchestra and RNCM New Ensemble.
James Heathcote is a versatile musician based in Manchester. He took up conducting whilst
studying on the ‘joint course’ at Manchester University and the Royal Northern College of Music, where he
studied with Mark Heron and Justin Doyle. Whilst there, he conducted
performances including Ligeti’s Atmosphères, Holst’s Chamber Opera Sāvitri and Tallis’ Spem in Alium in his own arrangement for 40 celli, which was featured by
Classic FM.
After graduating, James went to study for a Master’s degree in Historically-Informed Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of
Scotland, studying cello with David Watkin. He also studied how audience
behaviour has changed over the past century, under the supervision of John
Butt.
As a cellist, he has performed with a number of the finest orchestras in the UK,
including the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He is also an
experienced choral accompanist, and has worked with the Hallé choirs and Streetwise opera, as well as a number of amateur choirs in the North
West.
In 2019, he played Tchaikovsky’s Rococo variations with the AESO.
David Chatwin was Principal Bassoon of the BBC Philharmonic for 44 years until 2016, working
with many of the greatest conductors and soloists of our times. His playing
career has included at least 50 foreign tours, 350 CDs and over 40 seasons at
the Royal Albert Hall Proms.
At the Royal College of Music, London, David studied bassoon, and conducting,
with Harvey Phillips and Vernon Handley and attended courses with Sir Adrian
Boult and George Hurst. During his time in London, David conducted orchestras
in Chelsea and Kensington and in 1970 initiated the first performance of Sir
Arnold Bax's earliest surviving work, Cathleen Ni Houlihan. More recently he
has premiered works by five living composers.
David has conducted the BBC Philharmonic Wind Ensemble and coached several youth
orchestras, including the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and the
Queensland Youth Orchestra. He has been associated with the Chester
Philharmonic since 1991 and became principal conductor and Artistic Advisor
there in 2002. In addition, David has conducted orchestras in Birmingham,
Oldham, Sheffield, Blackburn, Kendal and York.
In 1978 hejoined the teaching staff at the Royal Northern College of Music in
Manchester where he continues to be involved with ensemble work and individual
bassoon tuition. ]
David was appointed to be principal conductor of the High Peak Orchestra in
Spring 2017. He lives with his wife, Rachel, in their converted chapel in the
Peak District.
