Grange Park Opera

Equally at home on the concert stage as in the pit, conductor and pianist Chris Hopkins is engaged on a wide range of projects across many disciplines. He is a frequent face at English National Opera, recently conducting the new Olivier Award-nominated production of HMS Pinafore following from previous acclaimed performances of La Boheme, The Mikado, Iolanthe, The Magic Flute, and others. He returns later this year to conduct La Boheme and Yeomen of the Guard. He recently made his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in works by Kashperova, Liszt and Franck and next season makes debuts with various other companies.

 He is principal conductor of English Sinfonia and Orchestra of the City and has worked at the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne Opera, with Grange Park Opera, Opera de Paris, on record with English Chamber Orchestra, on other projects with Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Crash Ensemble, London Mozart Players, Birdgang Ltd, and appeared at many festivals including Aldeburgh, Presteigne, Cubitt Sessions, New Paths, and Latitude.

A long-term advocate for British music, Chris was the first postgraduate from the Centre for the History of Music in Britain, the Empire and the Commonwealth (CHOMBEC) before continuing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Leverhulme and Elton John scholarships. He has premiered works by composers including Colin Matthews, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, David Matthews, Rob Keeley, Thomas Hyde, Detlev Glanert, Gilad Hochman and the Pet Shop Boys. He continues into a twelfth season as Musical Director of Orchestra of the City.

As a pianist, Chris has played for audiences around the world, working with orchestras in a range of concertos, including Brahms, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven (complete) Shostakovich and Gershwin; this season he tackles Mozart 15, 19, 22, 23 and 24, Rachmaninoff 2, Beethoven 4 and Shostakovich 2.

Chris was honoured in 2013 to be made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.