Joining us in autumn 2022, Tom made a great impact as our Assistant Conductor. Over his two-year tenure, he’s performed 70 concerts with us in 30 venues across Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. As well as these concerts he has assisted 20 conductors and 46 soloists.
Tom Fetherstonhaugh conducts the BSO (C) BSO
Tom has led concerts with a range of world-renowned artists and has played an active role in our Participate team — leading our Explore the Orchestra concerts, SEND schools tours, On Your Doorstep concerts and taking part in our Cornwall Residency, to name only a few projects. This year Tom signed to Rayfield Alllied and has recently directed the Fantasia Orchestra at the BBC Proms this August!
When “passing on the baton” to his successor, Tom sent Enyi a “map of the entirety of Dorset and the South Coast” so that Enyi could make the most of his time in the area. Enyi said he’s “very excited to put the map to good use from September”, as well as being “excited to have the sea play a bigger part in my life, in a way that it’s never done before” and to “explore the Jurassic Coast”.
Enyi joins the BSO after recently graduating from the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Sian Edwards and held the Derek Butler award. He describes his new role with the BSO as a “dream come true”. As an undergraduate at the University of Bristol, he says he remembers “watching the BSO play at the Victoria Rooms” and said “to have gone from watching and following them as a student to now being their Assistant Conductor 5 years later is quite special!”
The BSO’s new Calleva Assistant Conductor, Enyi Okpara (C) BSO
Passionate about working with young people and fostering the next generation of talent, in 2021 Enyi founded Elysium Music, an initiative dedicated to collaborative projects between young professional musicians and children. And when he’s not conducting he loves travelling, cycling, hiking and camping, as well as supporting his local football team, Arsenal!
We’re bidding a very fond farewell to Tom and wishing him luck on his next chapter. And we can’t wait to see how the year develops for Enyi in his new role…catch him perform his main season debut at Lighthouse, Poole [13 Nov].
The Calleva Assistant Conductor programme is funded by The Calleva Foundation, in memory of Jack Butt.