Tom Fetherstonhaugh
Conductor & Artistic Director
Tom Fetherstonhaugh is the Conductor and Artistic Director of Fantasia Orchestra, which he founded in 2016. Described as ‘a spark to watch’ by BBC Radio 3, his recent projects include conducting Tasmin Little’s final concerto performances, a concert for peace in the Korean Demilitarised Zone and the development of Piers Hellawell’s new piano concerto with players from the Ulster Orchestra.
Tom has conducted concerto performances with some of the country's leading soloists, including Alena Baeva, Alim Beisembayev, Julian Bliss, Danny Driver, Jess Gillam, Thomas Gould, Clare Hammond, Richard Hosford, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Tasmin Little, and Priya Mitchell.
In 2022, Tom was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In this role, he both conducts concerts and assists Chief Conductor Kirill Karabits, Principal Guest Conductor Mark Wigglesworth, and numerous guest conductors.
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 two years, working on productions of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, and Verdi’s Macbeth.
As well as Fantasia Orchestra and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Tom has conducted (in either concert or masterclass setting) the Brandenburger Symphoniker, Ulster Orchestra, Oxford Philharmonic 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.