Thomas Blunt has built a versatile and wide-ranging career conducting in theatres and concert halls across the world, with repertoire ranging from Bach to contemporary music. With a strong background and training in singing he has a particular skill and passion for conducting opera, with an intuitive sense of creating drama through music. He studied at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music in London, and was the first ever British participant of the prestigious Allianz International Conductors' Academy, where he worked with the London Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras. 

 

He enjoys a close relationship with Glyndebourne, where he began his career as Chorus Master and has since conducted L’elisir d’amore, Falstaff, La cenerentola, Il barbiere and Rigoletto on the Tour. As Chorus Master, Thomas worked closely with Music Director Vladimir Jurowski, resulting in his appointment as Jurowski’s Assistant Conductor with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he has since conducted performances at venues including the Royal Festival Hall (including three UK premieres), Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Sala São Paulo, where the LPO were joined by the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo for Bruckner’s Mass in E minor. For OSESP, he has since conducted Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Bach's Cantata Wachet auf, and Brahms's Requiem.

 

He has conducted Jephtha and The Magic Flute for Welsh National Opera, Don Pasquale La traviata and Don Giovanni for Longborough Festival Opera, Madam Butterfly for Iford Arts, La cenerentola for Opéra national du Rhin, and the world premiere of Dave Maric’s Ghosts for the Royal Opera House at the Linbury Theatre. He made his Swiss debut with Ariadne auf Naxos at Konzert Theater Bern, and was subsequently appointed First Kapellmeister for the following season. During his tenure he conducted a highly successful new production of Die Zauberflöte as well as performances of La Cenerentola, and has since returned to Bern as a guest to conduct Lohengrin.

 

Other operatic appearances include I pagliacci and Gounod's Faust for Opéra de Baugé; for Bampton Classical Opera / Chroma he has conducted Cimarosa's Italian Girl in London (also at the Buxton Festival), Gluck’s Il Parnaso confuso, Bertoni’s Orfeo, Gluck's Paris and Helen, Haydn's Il mondo della luna, and Salieri's La Fiera di Venezia, all with performances at St John's Smith Square. He conducted and co-produced acclaimed productions of The Rape of Lucretia and The Turn of the Screw at the Arcola Theatre, London.

 

Concert highlights include, in addition to the LPO and OSESP, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur and the St Endellion Festival.

 

Aside from his work with Vladimir Jurowski at Glyndebourne and the LPO, Thomas has also assisted conductors such as Iván Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and worked for Opera North, Opéra de Lyon, La Monnaie, and the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano.

 

Recent and future highlights highlights include Idomeneo for Royal Danish Opera, concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Das Lied von der Erde with Fifth Door Ensemble at Opera Holland Park, concerts with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Die Fledermaus for IF Opera, and a debut with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducting Handel's Messiah.