Peter STARK (Mr)
Principal Guest Conductor, Singapore National Youth Orchestra

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. In the last two years he has given masterclasses in conducting at the China Conservatory Beijing, the Shanghai Conservatory, and the State Conservatory in St Petersburg.

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, his career has focussed on the training of conductors and youth orchestras, He is Rehearsal Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra, has been Principal Conductor of the Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestra since 1994, and in 2017 was appointed Principal Conductor of the Arabian Youth Orchestra. His work with foreign youth orchestras has included Norway’s Young Philharmonic Orchestra 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 his outstanding contribution to music.

The 2017/18 season sees a return visit to conduct the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and trips to many European countries for European Union Youth Orchestra auditions and residencies, and teaching and performing engagements in China, South Korea and Japan. Peter is also researching and drafting the first of two planned books based on his experiences as a conductor and educationalist.