Peter Stark
CONDUCTORHon DMus, Hon FTCL, Hon ARAM, GRSM, ARCM
One of the things that continually drives me is that ‘it can always be better’! It doesn’t matter how much you work at something, it can always be improved. We never stop learning.
Curriculum Vitae
Peter Stark
Conductor, Educationalist, Consultant
Training
- Royal College of Music, London; 1973-7. Conducting with Norman Del Mar, violin with Leonard Hirsch
- Canford Summer School of Music, England; 1976-8. Conducting with George Hurst
- Vienna ’Meisterkurse’; 1980. Conducting with Sir Charles Mackerras
Violinist
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Orchestra of Welsh National Opera; 1978-88. (Principal 2nd Violin, 1985-88)
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; 1981-3
Conductor
Orchestras including:
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BBC Concert Orchestra
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BBC National Orchestra of Wales
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Berlin Symphony Orchestra
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Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
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English Chamber Orchestra
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English Northern Philharmonia
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Flanders Radio Symphony Orchestra
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Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra
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Hallé Orchestra
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London Mozart Players
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London Symphony Orchestra
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Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
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Muscat Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
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Norwegian National Ballet Orchestra
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Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
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Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
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Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra
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Welsh National Opera
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West of England Philharmonic Orchestra (Artistic Director; 2000 – 2010)
– Assistant to:
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Pierre Boulez (Schoenberg – ‘Gurrelieder’. BBC Promenade Concert, 1987)
Sir Colin Davis
Sir Andrew Davis
Bernard Haitink
Lord Menuhin
Sir Roger Norrington
Tadaaki Otaka
Vasily Petrenko
Sir Simon Rattle
Mstislav Rostropovich
Klaus Tennstedt
– Soloists:
Nicholas Daniel
Peter Donohoe
Lynn Harrell
Stephen Isserlis
John Lill
Tasmin Little
Vadim Repin
Pascal Rogé
Martin Roscoe
– Venues:
All major concert halls in London and U.K.
Tours to; Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Japan, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sultenate of Oman, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and USA.
– Media:
Series Consultant to BBC ‘Maestro’, BBC television, 2008
Many recordings for BBC Radio, including; Mahler ‘Resurrection Symphony’, Shostakovich Symphony no 10, Arnold – Symphony no 5, many contemporary programmes, ‘Discovering Music’ etc
Subject of a television film made for HTV about a tour to Denmark and Sweden in 1993
CDs with music by Britten, Copland, Elgar, Mahler, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Sibelius and Vaughan Williams
2006 recording of Edwin Roxburgh’s ‘Saturn’, NMCD119
– Conservatoires and Universities:
In demand from all the senior conservatoires in London. He has conducted concerts with all on a regular basis, particularly Royal College of Music (Professor of Conducting, 2007-present), Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Trinity College of Music (Senior Fellow of Conducting and Orchestral Studies, 1997-2004); Junior Academy, Royal Academy of Music. (Professor of Conducting, 1988-2010). He is also frequently used as adjudicator. In 2020 was appointed Distinguished Professor of Conducting to the China Conservatory of Music, Beijing.
Ongoing commitments to the universities of the United Kingdom include regular performances with Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra, Oxford University Orchestra and the University of London Symphony Orchestra
– Youth Orchestras:
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Youth orchestras Peter has conducted:
Arabian Youth Orchestra; Principal Conductor (2016 – present)
Derbyshire County Youth Orchestra; Principal Conductor (1985 – present)
European Union Youth Orchestra; Rehearsal Director (2009 – present)
Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestra; Principal Conductor (1994 – present)
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain; Conductor-in-Residence (1985 – 2010)
Singapore National Youth Orchestra; Principal Guest Conductor (2018 – present)
Has also conducted:
National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain
National Youth Chamber Orchestra
Also many of the world’s finest youth orchestras, including the New South Wales Public Schools’ Symphony Orchestra, Australia, the Toyota City Junior Orchestra, Japan, and the Ung Filharmoni of Norway.
– Repertoire:
In part due to his work with youth orchestras, (where he is often able to choose his own repertoire) his repertory is impressive. He has conducted most of the standard repertoire of all major composers. Composers from Monteverdi to the present day are covered – please see Repertoire List
Animateur
Peter Stark is become very well known for his work as an animateur and consultant.
Through his work with the English Chamber Orchestra, Concilium, the Ernest Read Children’s Concerts, the Stilgoe Saturday Concerts and the West of England Philharmonic Orchestra he has developed a style of interaction with audiences that is beguiling and approachable.
Informative yet light-hearted introductions are an important part of his work as he believes passionately in the need to encourage and nurture the players and audiences of the future.
With the West of England Philharmonic Orchestra he was the leader of an extensive programme of educational work, ‘Musication’, working with thousands of primary school children
Appointments
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1985-2010; Conductor in Residence, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
1985-present; Conductor, Derbyshire County Youth Orchestra
1988-2010; Professor of Conducting, Junior Academy (Royal Academy of Music)
1989-2010; Principal Conductor, Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra
1994-present; Principal Conductor, Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestra
1997-2004; Senior Fellow of Conducting and Orchestral Studies, Trinity College of Music, London
1999-2009; Artistic Director, Parnassus
2000-2010; Artistic Director, West of England Philharmonic Orchestra
2002-2018; Principal Conductor, Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra
2007-present; Professor of Conducting, Royal College of Music
2009-present; Rehearsal Director, European Union Youth Orchestra
2016-present; Principal Conductor, Arabian Youth Orchestra, Dubai
2018-present; Principal Guest Conductor, Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Competitions
1980; Finalist; Vittorio Gui International Competition, Florence
1987; Prize-winner; Third Leeds Competition for Conductors
Awards and Degrees
1976; Graduate of the Royal Schools of Music
1977; Adrian Boult Conducting Scholarship, Royal College of Music
1977; Arthur Bliss Prize, Royal College of Music
1977; Associate of the Royal College of Music
1977; Tagore Gold Medal, Royal College of Music (for the most outstanding student of the year)
1977; Theodore Stier Conducting Prize, Royal College of Music
1979; Allcard Grant, Worshipful Company of Musicians
1996; Honorary Associate, Royal Academy of Music, London
1996; Honorary Fellow, Trinity College of Music, London
2000; Honorary Doctor of Music, University of the West of England
