Claudio Di Meo,
Principal Conductor
Award-winning conductor, pianist and composer Claudio has established himself internationally as an exceptional talent in orchestral and choral music, bringing clarity, integrity and dynamism to his interpretation of wide-ranging repertoire. An ardent exponent of the music of Sibelius, Claudio is a member of the prestrgious Sibelius Society ltalia,whose Honorary President is SirAntonio Pappano.
Claudio is passionate about working with singers in choral and chambermusic. ln April 2015 he formed the Lumina Choir, and has since established performance exchanges with orchestras and choirs in Sweden, Germany and ltaly. He has recently conducted the Lumina Choir in performances of Orff's Carmina Burana, Mozart's Requiem, Vivaldi's Gloria and Faure's Requiem, as well as a cappella repertorre of works by Palestrina, Bach, Brahms, Bruckner, Stanford and Rutter, among others. Recent chamber music engagements include performances with soprano 0livia Robinson (BBC Singers), Nicholas Korth (Co-principal Horn BBC Symphony Orchestra), Selena Markson (Co-principal Clarinet of Goteborgs Symfoniker), Susanna Candlin (former Co-leader London Mozart Players) and Hans Adler (Principal double bass of Goteborgs Symfoniker).
ln addition to conducting, Claudio is widely experienced in film music, musical theatre and thematic musical stage productions as both pianrst and composer. A specialist in ltalian lilm music, he won a composition award in 2013 from the Governor of the State of Mexico and the Director of the National Conservatory in Mexico City in recognition of his "great professionalism and future potential as a composer of music for cinema".
He recognises the importance of music education and is highly skilled in developing the talent of young performers. ln 0ctober 2018 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Hemel Symphony Orchestra and, as a freelance conductor, has been invited to work with other London-based orchestras, including the London Classical Soloists, Trinity Orchestra Harrow, Watford Symphony Orchestra and Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra as Associate Conductor, among others, ln May 2020, Claudio Di Meo was appointed Principal Conductor of the Kensington Philharmonic Orchestra in London and in 2022, he was also appointed Principal Conductor of The Whitehall Orchestra.
Future engagements in the 2022/23 season include performances in the UK and abroad of Carmina Burana at the Cadogan Hall, Beethoven's symphonies 2 & 3, Tchaikovsky's symphonies 4, 5 & 6 among others as well as working alongside with soloists of the calibre of Nicholas Korth (BBC Symphony Orchestra) and Karen Stephenson (Phllharmonia Orchestra) among others.