MUSIC DIRECTOR

English conductor George Vass studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music; he made his professional conducting debut at St John's Smith Square, London in 1979. As artistic director of the Regent Sinfonia of London, he appeared at many of the United Kingdom's premier concert halls and festivals. As a guest conductor he has worked with a wide variety of groups including the Ulster Orchestra, Amsterdams Promenade Orkest, Konzertensemble Salzburg, Joyful Company of Singers, London Mozart Players, Malmv Opera Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Schola Cantorum of Oxford and Oxford Orchestra da Camera. He has also broadcast for BBC radio and Channel 4 television, and in 1999 made his conducting debut at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

His first commercial recording was well received, prompting Gramophone to comment: 'George Vass shows himself an honest, thoroughly musical commentator ... phrases are always shapely and dynamics scrupulously adhered to'. His recording of Stephen Dodgson's Concertino for two guitars and string orchestra was chosen as Editor's Choice in the March 2003 issue of Gramophone, in which John Duarte wrote: 'In every respect the performances and recordings are of the highest quality ... This is a landmark recording ...' More recently Ivan March, again in Gramophone, commented on Vass's recording of works by Cecilia McDowall: 'Performances here are immaculate, full of life, and above all consistently reveal the composer's imaginative resource.' His rapidly growing discography includes a series of choral and orchestral works by Cecilia McDowall, two CDs of orchestral music by Sir Donald Tovey, a recording of British viola concertos accompanying Sarah-Jane Bradley and a recently released disc of vocal and orchestral music by David Matthews.

George Vass has held the post of artistic director to the Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts since 1992, described by Roderic Dunnett of The Independent as having '... the pulse of contemporary music. It commissions intelligently, and constitutes one of the most satisfying of all summer music events'. He is also currently artistic director of Orchestra Nova and serves the Bushey Symphony Orchestra, City of Canterbury Chamber Choir and St Albans Choral Society as music director. After successfully planning and programming the 2004 Hampstead and Highgate Festival, George Vass was appointed artistic director shortly afterwards.

In his dual career as conductor and festival director, George Vass maintains a strong interest in the performance and promotion of contemporary music. Over the last fourteen years he has commissioned and premiered a variety of new works from many leading composers including David Matthews, John McCabe, Cecilia McDowall, Rhian Samuel, Hilary Tann, Adrian Williams, Ian Wilson and Hugh Wood. George Vass is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.