conductors

Daniel Capps, conductor

Daniel Capps made his main stage debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in May 2008 and has conducted there regularly ever since. He has also toured with the Royal Ballet to China, Japan, Hong Kong, Cuba, Mexico and the USA, conducting at venues such as the Beijing National Theatre, Tiananmen Square, the Kennedy centre, Washington and the Gran Teatro, Havana. Daniel returns to the ROH this season for another thirty performances, joining the Royal Ballet on tour in Spain and Japan this summer, followed by multiple re-invitations for the 2010 -11 and 2011-12 seasons.

Daniel’s work with the Royal Ballet has received much critical acclaim and has been broadcast on both television and ‘Big Screens’ in the UK and abroad. The forthcoming performances of Wayne McGregor’s ballet Chroma are being recorded for release on DVD. Daniel will make his debut with the National Ballet of Canada in June 2011, conducting Christopher Wheeldon’s new ballet Alice in Wonderland.

Daniel graduated with distinction from the Royal Academy of Music, studying Advanced Conducting with Colin Metters, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Charles Mackerras, Mark Wigglesworth, Peter Eötvös, Thomas Ades and George Hurst. During his time at the Academy, Daniel was awarded the Sir Henry Wood scholarship, the Bob Harding Award, the Ernest Read Conducting Prize and, on two occasions, the Fred Southhall Memorial Prize for conducting.

Equally at home on the concert platform, Daniel has been fortunate enough to have worked with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, National Ballet Orchestra of China, Kansai Philharmonic, Washington Opera Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica del Gran Teatro de La Habana, Orchestre national d’Ile de France, Orquestra de Cadaqués, Orchestre de Franche-Comté and the Monteverdi Choir amongst others. He has performed all over Europe, including concerts in St Petersburg, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Barcelona, Stockholm, Prague, Tallinn, Bucharest, Dubrovnik, Helsinki, Bratislava, Brasov and throughout the UK.

Daniel has also acted as assistant conductor to Sir John Eliot Gardiner since 2003, notably with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, whilst also working for the BBC for their drama about the first performance of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony as seen on BBC2 & BBC4. Daniel again assisted Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the ORR during their residence at the Chatelet Theatre, Paris, conducting in each of the performances of Berlioz’ Les Troyens, of which the DVD won a Gramophone Award. More recently he has worked on La Finta Giardiniera with the English Baroque Soloists at the Royal Opera House and the ORR’s Brahms project.

Past conductors of ULSO

John Hollingsworth (1955-1956)
Norman Del Mar (1956-1958)
Anthony Addison (1959-1962)
John Carewe (1962-1966)
Gordon MacKie (1966-1969)
Graham Treacher (1969-1970)
Gordon Kember (1970-1976)
Ian Reid (1977-1985)
Mark Shanahan (1985-1992)
Stephen Jackson (1992-1996)
Harry Curtis (1996-2000)
Jonathan Williams (2000-2003)
Leo Hussain (2003-2006)
John Forster (2006-2010)