Conductors

RESIDENT CONDUCTORS   

John Cope - 1904 to 1919

First concert 8th December 1904

Last concert, after a break, 8th March 1954 

Frederick C Morris - 1919 to 1924

Frederick 'stood in' for John Cope while he went to conduct the Carl Rosa Opera

John Cope - 1924 to 1954

Cope's final concert was on his 50th Anniversary on 8th March 1954. This was also the orchestra's Golden Jubilee

Percy L Rogers - 1954 to 1971

"Percy Rogers announced in March 1971 that he wished to resign from his position as Conductor of the North Staffordshire Symphony Orchestra at the end of the year, owing to the increasing strain of getting regularly to rehearsals during the bad weather of the winter months. Accordingly the concert on 22 November 1971 was his last public one as our Conductor.

Mr. Rogers first played in the Orchestra in the 1920's, but left the district for a time, returning here as Director of Music for Stoke-on-Trent Schools in 1947. He rejoined the orchestra as a viola player, becoming Principal Viola in December 1947, and then succeeded Mr. Ralph Jack as Leader of the Orchestra in October 1949. In 1954 Mr. Rogers was appointed Conductor of the Orchestra, on the retirement of Mr. John Cope.

It would be impossible to assess the value of the work done by Mr. Rogers for the NSSO and the musical population of the Potteries; his enthusiasm and dedicated devotion to the training of young musicians in North Staffordshire has built up a wonderful reserve of youthful instrumentalists on which the Orchestra will be able to draw for many years. We are very grateful to him for all his fine work."  From the Concert Programme of  22 November 1971

Percy Rogers

Alan Paynes - 1972 to 1974

23th March 1972 till 11th May 1974  Alan Paynes' debut as a conductor, in 1972 at a Victoria Hall concert, was described as enterprising and demanding. Alan himself received the accolade an able and accomplished musician and a conductor of quiet authority. Programming by Alan was innovative and maintained the impetus of previous years in using twentieth century material. The concerts for schools continued whilst he was conductor, not surprisingly, since like his predecessor, he was the Education Adviser for Music in Stoke-on-Trent. The music critic who reviewed Alan Paynes' first concert was perceptive when describing Alan as quiet. He is described by orchestra members as a great musician but as a shy man was not comfortable with the 'showiness' required of a conductor. He was an educator and achieved much with his family and school concerts but the audiences for the orchestra's main season concerts plummeted to an all-time low. On gaining promotion, Alan Paynes left the district to work in the Cotswolds. Alan's term as conductor was short - a mere nine concerts over a two-year period. 

Alan Paynes

Nicholas Smith - 1974 to 1979

Nicholas Smith was educated at Birmingham University, the Northern School of Music, Manchester and at the Academia Musicala Chigiana with Franco Ferrara, where he was awarded the special Diploma of Merit. As well as the NSSO, he was principal conductor of The Chamber Orchestra of South Yorkshire and the Manchester-based Northern Chamber Orchestra. Smith conducted the NSSO's 75th Anniversary Concert with the Ceramic City Choir, Stoke-on-Trent Choral Society, Keele Choir and four soloists.  His last concert with the NSSO was on 31st May 1979.

Nicholas Smith

Michael Trowski - 1979 to 1987 

4th October 1979 to 9th April 1987.  Michael Trowski was born into an artistic family, where both his parents were painters, in 1953. He studied music in Manchester at both the Northern School and the Royal Northern College. His conducting skills were honed with Maurice Clare and George Hadjikos, 1971-1975 and he was admitted to the new post-graduate course for conductors at the Royal Northern College of Music in 1975. Here he had the advantage of studying with Sir Charles Groves.

Michael worked with the NSSO orchestra from 1979 until 1987. The review in the Evening Sentinel of Trowski's first concert in Hanley, in December 1979, drew praise. "The orchestra emerged most creditably from a taxing programme of music which provided some testing moments for both individual players and sectional groups. Michael Trowski, making his first appearance in Hanley, created a very favourable impression. He does not lack authority, is assiduous in direction and clearly familiar with the music, which he directed with shape and skill."

Michael Trowski

Tim Redmond - 1992 to 2000

Tim joined the orchestra as its conductor on 1st December 1992. He conducted the orchestra's 90th Anniversary Concert - Mahler's 2nd Symphony, The Resurrection, with Stone Choral Society, Nantwich Choral Society and Stoke-on-Trent Bedford Singers. On 18th June 2000 he conducted the orchestra's Millenium Concert, a performance of Bizet's Carmen. This was his last concert with the NSSO.  Timothy was born in Ashbourne in 1971 and started playing oboe at the age of eight. He received his early musical training as a member of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra and on the Hampshire Specialist Music Course. In 1989 he gained a place on the Joint Course to study simultaneously at Manchester University and the Royal Northern College of Music. Upon  graduating he was awarded with prizes for academic work, conducting and for the performance of contemporary music.In 1992 he won the Third British Reserve Insurance Conducting Prize and in 1993 was awarded a scholarship by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

Tim Redmond

Peter Stallworthy - 2002 to 2017

An early interest in the piano led to Peter joining the Royal Manchester College of Music as a Junior Exhibitioner at the age of ten and winning the National Chopin Competition of Great Britain in London only three years later. A burgeoning passion for conducting encouraged him to participate in a number of conducting seminars under the guidance of Maurice Handford and George Hurst and at the age of eighteen to forming the Manchester Sinfonia which he conducted at various venues around the North West.

Formal studies followed at King's College, University of London, under Thurston Dart and by four further years at the Royal Manchester College of Music where he continued to study piano under Professor Ryszard Bakst. During these studies he was awarded the Ricordi Prize for conducting and he appeared on both television and radio as an accompanist.

An appointment to succeed Maurice Handford as conductor of the Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra followed and was the beginning of a long association with this orchestra. After spending five years in London involved in the classical recording industry Peter returned to the North West in the early 1980's and is regarded as one of the region's busiest and most versatile choral and orchestral conductors. He is principal conductor of the North Staffordshire Symphony Orchestra and the Barnby Choir and in recent years has been a guest conductor with the Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra. Peter Stallworthy is founder conductor of the Cheshire Sinfonia and a chamber choir, CHORALE.

Peter Stallworthy

Juan Ortuño - 2017 to present

Spanish conductor Juan Ortuño is enjoying an exciting career in the UK, where he is Principal Conductor of the Sheffield Symphony Orchestra and the Gorton Philharmonic orchestra. He also regularly conducts concerts with Crosby, Alderley Edge and Wilmslow Symphony Orchestras.

Coming from a family of singers, Juan is very passionate about working with opera and choral societies. He is Musical Director of the City of Manchester Opera, with whom he has most recently conducted thrilling performances of Carmen and The Magic Flute. Since 2014, he has been Director of Music of Bury Choral Society, receiving glorious reviews for the performances of the St. Matthew Passion, The Creation' and The Armed Man'.

Juan also enjoys teaching young talented musicians in the Junior RNCM, where he also conducts the symphony orchestra. Upcoming projects include a collaboration with the Manchester University Confucius Institute to create an international Chinese choir. 

Juan started music lessons in Madrid with his parents. Both were performers in the Spanish National Radio and Television Choir. His first ambition was Astrophysics in which he obtained a Bachelors Degree. At the same time, he was studying voice, piano, and violin. He then decided to focus on a career in music and earned degrees in Orchestral and Choral conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid. After finishing his degrees in Spain, Juan was awarded with a scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continue further studies in the UK. He obtained his Masters degree from the Royal Northern College of Music, where he studied with Clark Rundell and Mark Shanahan and conducted his final concert with the Manchester Camerata. 

Juan has been a guest conductor of the NSSO since 2011. Then from 2017 he conducted two concerts for the season, and is now the orchestra's main conductor, performing three out of the four concerts of the season. 

Juan Ortuño

GUEST CONDUCTORS   

For limited appearances:
Dr. Adrian Boult
Sir Charles Groves
John Hopkins
John Padmore
Colin Touchin
John Sloboda
Xenophon Kelsey
Michael Lambert
David Jones
David Hoult
Sachio Fujioka
Paul Butler
Baldur Bronniman
Gordon Johnson
Andrei Danilov

Marco Bellasi

Jon Malaxetxebarria

Joe Hearson

Anthony Rose