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CONDUCTOR

“Toby Hession conducts the eight-strong ensemble [sic] with precision ... keeping things lively and adding his own skills at the fortepiano..”

- The Arts Desk on La Canterina (Buxton International Festival)

Toby is enjoying a growing career as a conductor of a varied repertoire. He has conducted performances of Carmen and La Traviata for Scottish Opera, and in 2024 made his debut at the Buxton International Festival, conducting Haydn’s La Canterina to critical acclaim.

In 2025, he looks forward to conducting the Lakeland Sinfonia in concert, as well as conducting performances of Trial by Jury, alongside his own A Matter of Misconduct! for Scottish Opera. He has previously worked as an assistant conductor to Tim Redmond, Stuart Stratford, Adrian Kelly, Dane Lam, Duncan Ward, Ben Gernon, Dominic Wheeler, Chad Kelly, Stephen Higgins, and Sian Edwards, among others. During his time at Cambridge, he conducted extensively for Cambridge University Music Society (CUMS), holding the coveted position of Conducting Scholar during his MPhil year (2018-19), and leading the Cambridge University Orchestra on a tour of Southern Poland in 2019.

He has conducted concerto repertoire with soloists including Yuanfan Yang, Jacqui Martens and the late Masayuki Tayama; he has worked in concert or rehearsal with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, The Salomon Orchestra, The Tallis Chamber Orchestra, CUMS Symphony Orchestra, CUMS Sinfonia, The London Schools Symphony Orchestra, The Commonwealth Festival Orchestra, and The Seraphin Project (as Chorus Master). He has been taught by Stuart Stratford, Dominic Wheeler, David Hill and Sian Edwards, and has conducted UK premieres of works by J.N. Hummel and Ivan Fischer, as well as numerous world premieres of student compositions at Cambridge University and Chetham’s School of Music.  

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