Introducing our new Royal Ballet Sinfonia musicians

We're delighted to introduce three new Royal Ballet Sinfonia musicians: Richard Stroud, James Flannery and Fabián Galeana. 

Richard Stroud

Richard joins us on 12 June 2026 as Sub-Principal Horn. He studied the horn at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) with Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins, and with Andrew Clark for the natural horn. Upon graduating from the RAM he has freelanced in the UK with most of the UK's top orchestras, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Philharmonic, The Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English National Opera, English National Ballet, London Chamber Orchestra, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Opera North, Northern Ballet, Ulster Orchestra and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Abroad, he has worked for the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Norway and Orkest Van Het Oosten in the Netherlands. He has also recorded for artists including Pete Tong and Pink, and has recorded sessions in Abbey Road studios and Air Studios. 

James Flannery

James joins the Sinfonia as Sub-Principal Viola in September 2026. He is a violist from Northampton who began his musical training with Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust. He went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Rachel Roberts, graduating in 2022 after six years of study. Since graduating, James has performed with many of the UK’s leading orchestras, including BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, where he appeared as Guest No. 2 Viola. Alongside his orchestral work, he performs in commercial recording sessions and enjoys chamber music and solo projects.

Fabián Galeana

Fabián starts with the orchestra on 16 July as Sub-Principal Double Bass, when they perform with State Ballet of Georgia at the London Coliseum. He was raised in Ixtapaluca, Mexico, and began playing the double bass in 2010. In 2014, he started his Bachelor’s studies at the Escuela de Música Vida y Movimiento in Mexico City. In 2019, Fabián moved to the UK to undertake a Master’s degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, studying with Luis Cabrera, José Moreira and Rinat Ibragimov. Since graduating, he has performed with many of the UK’s leading orchestras, including Royal Ballet Sinfonia, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, London Musical Theatre Orchestra and Gabrieli Consort.