Guest Conductor - Jac van Steen

 
Jac van Steen was born in the Netherlands and studied orchestral and choral conducting at the Brabant Conservatory of Music.

Since participating in the BBC Conductors Seminar in 1985 he has enjoyed a very busy career conducting Europe’s finest orchestras, as well as the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (S.A.), the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (Kuala Lumpur) and the New Japan Philharmonic (Tokyo). In May 2025 he made his South American debut with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) in Brazil.

He has held posts as Music Director and Chief Conductor with the Dutch National Ballet, the orchestras of Bochum and Nuremberg, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra of Dortmund, and Musikkollegium Winterthur, as well as Principal Guest Conductor posts with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. At present, he is Honorary Principal Guest Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra.

Jac van Steen built up a substantial opera repertoire during his long directorships of the German opera houses of Weimar (2002–2005) and Dortmund (2008–2013), after which came debuts with both Opera North and the Vienna Volksoper in 2013 followed by a very successful debut at the Garsington Opera. He returned to Opera North for several more productions, developed an annual association with the Vienna Volksoper and has made biennial appearances with Garsington Opera including for Strauss’s Intermezzo (2015), Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (2017) and Smetana’s The Bartered Bride (2019 & 2023). He also led the Jette Parker Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in the 2018 Summer Performance. The 2018/19 season saw his debut with the Oslo Opera in two Puccini productions. His debut with the Dutch Touring Opera came in the 2023/24 season with a highly acclaimed production of Korngold’s Das Wunder der Heliane, the success of which led to an invitation to return the following season for R. Strauss‘s Ariadne auf Naxos.

Alongside his work as a conductor, Jac van Steen serves as Professor of Conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague, working with a select group of students from all over the world who take part in the National Masters Programme. He has also worked with the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and gives regular master classes and concerts at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London, as well as at Cambridge University.

Assistant Conductor - Max Todes

Max Todes is a British conductor whose work spans symphonic, operatic, and historically informed repertoire. He first discovered conducting at the age of fifteen following an introductory masterclass at Pro Corda, an experience that proved formative and set the course of his musical career.

At sixteen, he founded the Cavatina Orchestra, drawing together outstanding students from London’s Junior and Senior Conservatoires with the aim of creating a serious orchestral training ground for young musicians. Under his direction, the orchestra has performed major symphonic works by Sibelius, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Mozart, and Beethoven, and has appeared at leading London venues including St John’s Smith Square. Highlights include the world premiere of New Work by BBC Young Composer Prize winner Gregory May.

In the same year, Max co-founded Cavatina Opera, directing a three-night production of Die Zauberflöte at the City of London School. The performances, featuring undergraduate and postgraduate soloists, sold out and raised over £11,000 for charity.

Max is a graduate of St John’s College, Cambridge, where he studied Music and was a choral scholar under Andrew Nethsingha. An award-holding cellist on the University Instrumental Scheme, he was also continuo cellist with the Cambridge Baroque ensemble Collegium, directed by Maggie Faultless and Nick Mulroy, gaining extensive experience in historically informed performance practice.

While studying at the University of Cambridge, Max conducted a wide range of operatic repertoire including Le nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflöte, and Handel’s Semele. He held the University Conducting Scholarship and served as a Lay Clerk at King’s College, Cambridge, where he assisted conductors such as Martyn Brabbins, Jac van Steen, and Ben Glassberg.

He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, studying with Martyn Brabbins. He has participated in masterclasses with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and Scottish Opera Orchestra, and assisted Jac van Steen with National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. Alongside his studies, Max continues to develop ambitious collaborative projects, with a particular interest in nurturing young musicians and presenting orchestral and operatic repertoire with clarity, depth, and imagination.