Tom Fetherstonhaugh
Conductor & Artistic Director
Tom Fetherstonhaugh is the Artistic Director of Fantasia Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. His recent projects include a joint concert with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra, a concert for peace in the Korean Demilitarised Zone, and a return to Ulster Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah.
Tom has conducted concerto performances with leading soloists including Alena Baeva, Alim Beisembayev, Julian Bliss, Danny Driver, Jess Gillam, Thomas Gould, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Vadym Kholodenko, Tasmin Little, Jennifer Pike, Laura van der Heijden, Steven Osborne, and Maria Włoszczowska.
Tom founded Fantasia Orchestra in 2016, at its inception being a group of budding young musicians from junior Conservatoire departments. It has grown into an orchestra of exciting talent who have a busy schedule at festivals and venues across the country.
In 2022, Tom was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. His second season in the role (2023-24) sees him conduct 39 performances across the year, with a wide range of repertoire and international soloists.
At the invitation of the Kanneh-Mason family, Tom conducted the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2022, and is delighted to be working with the orchestra now on an ongoing basis.
He has been a member of The Grange Festival’s music staff team for the past three years, working on productions of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, and Verdi’s Macbeth. In 2023 Tom returned as Assistant Conductor for the world premiere of David Matthews’ Anna, conducted by Jac van Steen.
As well as Fantasia Orchestra and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Tom has conducted the Brandenburger Symphoniker, Britten Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra, Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra, Lindenbaum Festival Orchestra (Korean Demilitarised Zone), Jersey Chamber Orchestra, Oxford University Sinfonietta, the orchestra of the Oxford Chamber Music Festival, Southbank Sinfonia, Leicester Symphony Orchestra, Hereford Symphony Orchestra and, aged 13, the choristers of Westminster Abbey on their tour to Russia.
Tom started his musical journey with the Suzuki method of violin playing, and was a chorister of Westminster Abbey. He trained with conductor Roland Melia, of Ilya Musin’s school. Tom read music at Merton College, Oxford, where he held organ and academic scholarships and graduated with a First. He then studied conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music where he held the Julien Award. Tom graduated in 2021 with Distinction, winning the Norma Simpson award for his contribution to the Academy and a DipRAM prize for an outstanding final performance.