“Thomas Blunt conducted a small
accomplished orchestra with verve” Rupert Christiansen, The Daily Telegraph
“Good things here started with the orchestra, playing to a really high standard under Thomas Blunt’s cultured direction, beautifully paced and elegant” Robert Thicknesse, Opera Now
Chorus master of Glyndebourne from 2006 to 2009, British conductor Thomas Blunt recently completed his tenure as Assistant Conductor to Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He is currently one of three conductors invited to take part in the prestigious Allianz International Conductors’ Academy, where he is working with both the Philharmonia and the London Philharmonic Orchestras. He is the first ever British participant on the scheme, which will conclude in a showcase concert at the Royal Festival Hall with the LPO later this year.
He was born in 1977, and studied ‘cello and conducting at the Junior Royal Academy of Music before taking up an organ scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge. After graduation he furthered his studies in orchestral conducting under Neil Thomson at the Royal College of Music in London, where he also prepared orchestras for visiting conductors including Bernard Haitink, Andrew Litton, Gianandrea Noseda, Roger Norrington and Vasily Petrenko.
In 2007 Thomas Blunt made his conducting debut with Glyndebourne in L’elisir d’amore for Glyndebourne on Tour, and has since conducted Falstaff and La Cenerentola for GOT. Throughout his tenure as Glyndebourne chorus master he conducted (as part of the Jerwood Chorus Development Scheme) members of the Glyndebourne Chorus in opera scenes with a chamber orchestra formed from musicians of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
During this same period Blunt assisted conductors including Music Director Vladimir Jurowski, Maurizio Benini, Douglas Boyd, Richard Egarr, Edward Gardner, and Enrique Mazzola. He also collaborated with Jiří Bělohlávek, Mark Elder, Ivàn Fischer, and Kazushi Ono.
Highlights of activities away from Glyndebourne have included a concert with the English Chamber Orchestra, the World Première of Ghosts – a Royal Opera House commissioned ballet by Dave Maric at the Linbury Studio Theatre, taking part in masterclasses with Bernard Haitink, and an invitation from Vladimir Jurowski to conduct the banda in Das klagende Lied for the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s first public performance to open their first concert season at the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall.
Other past engagements include performances of The Rape of Lucretia and Così fan tutte at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School, having also assisted Michael Rosewell; work on The Knot Garden at the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano, and a performance of Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette for British Youth Opera. Symphonic work includes performances with the South Bank Sinfonia, Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra and he also worked with Ivàn Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, in Budapest, on Mahler Symphony No. 6. He has worked as an assistant conductor for Opera North on Rusalka and Così fan tutte, and conducted The Rape of Lucretia at the Arcola Theatre, London.
Recent engagements include his LPO debut at the RFH with two schools’ concerts, Birtwistle’s Theseus Game for LPO/Foyle Future Firsts at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cimarosa’s Italian Girl in London for Bampton Classical Opera with performances at the Buxton Festival and St John’s Smith Square, London, The Turn of the Screw at the Arcola Theatre, London, work as assistant conductor at La Monnaie on Enescu’s Oedipe, and performances of Bruckner’s Mass No. 2 in E minor in Sao Paolo with the LPO and the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo.
In addition to taking part in the Allianz International Conductors’ scheme future plans include assisting Jurowski on the LPO’s Prokofiev Festival, a concert with the LPO/Foyle Future Firsts in the RFH, work at Welsh National Opera as Assistant Conductor, and a re-invitation to conduct the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo.