Hong Kong-born Briton Jonathan Lo is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra (China), Principal Conductor of the Manchester Chamber Choir, the New Bristol Sinfonia and the Haffner Orchestra. A BBC Performing Arts Fellow in 2015 with the Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) & Rambert Dance Company, he continues to conduct for both companies regularly. He was a semi-finalist in the 2012 London Symphony Orchestra Donatella Flick Competition, and served as an assistant conductor for the Gabrieli Consort. In addition, Jonathan maintains his passion for working with young musicians through his work as Musical Director of the King’s College London Symphony Orchestra and University of Southampton Sinfonietta. He was also Senior Lecturer in conducting at the Leeds College of Music and continues to teach privately.

Born in 1987, Jonathan read music at the University of Oxford, before going on to study conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music on a major scholarship, graduating with distinction and winning the Mortimer Furber Prize in conducting contemporary music. He has been fortunate to have worked and studied with conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Jac van Steen, Koen Kessels and Paul McCreesh. Jonathan was appointed to his first music directorship whilst at university, when he was appointed to the Oxford University Philharmonia after winning the University’s conducting competition aged 18. Since then, Jonathan has conducted orchestras internationally and nationally, most notably the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Malko Competition), the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, the Rambert Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, the Manchester Camerata, the Northern Chamber Orchestra, the Gabrieli Consort, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra (Solon Michaelides Competition), the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra, the Fairey Band and the Orquestra do Algarve.

In the theatre, Jonathan has conducted performances of Swan Lake, Nutcracker, The Dream and Cinderella for Birmingham Royal Ballet, Transfigured Night, Frames, Dark Arteries, Ghost Dances and The Three Dancers for Rambert Dance Company in most UK venues including Sadler’s Wells, Wales Millennium Centre and the Lowry. He was the cover conductor for Mayerling at the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. In the 2017/18 Season, Jonathan will be making his debut with Scottish Ballet this season in a revival of Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling, as well as returning to BRB for La Fille ma Gardee and a contemporary double bill titled Ballet Works. Equally comfortable in opera, Jonathan has conducted performances of Don Giovanni, Cosi fan Tutte (Oxford Opera), Der Schauspieldirektor, Die Zauberflote (Opera Lyrica, Oxford), Les Noces, Anna Bolena (Opera Seria, Manchester), as well as giving premieres of operas such as Amy’s Last Dive by Cheryl Frances-Hoad. As Musical Director of the Manchester Chamber Choir, Jonathan has worked as chorus master for the BBC Philharmonic both in concerts, at the BBC Proms and in the recording studios. In addition to the choir’s series of concerts, Jonathan also conducts them regularly for the Daily Service on BBC Radio 4.

September 2017