Jonathan Lyness
Conductor
Jonathan was born in London and read music at Bristol University where he won both university undergraduate and British Academy postgraduate arts scholarships. He studied conducting with George Hurst since when his career has been built almost exclusively in opera. From 2002 - 2016 he conducted annually at Longborough Festival Opera where his repertoire ranged from Mozart to Britten including a critically acclaimed Janáček cycle: Jenůfa, Katya Kabanová and The Cunning Little Vixen. He has conducted regularly for West Green House Opera since 2000, most recently Ariadne auf Naxos, The Marriage of Figaro, Un ballo in maschera, Madama Butterfly, La Rondine, Britten’s The Beggar’s Opera, Bernstein’s Candide and Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.
He is Music Director of Opera Project, which he co-founded in 1993 and with whom he has conducted much of the standard repertoire at theatres and festivals across the UK. In 2016 he was appointed Music Director of Mid Wales Opera for whom he has conducted Eugene Onegin, The Magic Flute, Tosca, Semele, La Bohème, Macbeth, Hansel and Gretel, Dido and Aeneas and The Marriage of Figaro. In addition to conducting Jonathan has created some twenty reduced orchestrations of operas that are now performed widely across Europe, Asia, the USA and Canada. His stage work Mrs Peachum's Guide to Love and Marriage was performed across Wales by MWO in 2019, his chamber arrangement of Walton’s The Bear is published by OUP and was recently filmed by Opera Holland Park, and his arrangement of Montsalvatge's El Gato con botas is published by Peermusic, NY. He lives with his family in North-West Herefordshire.
Conductor
Jonathan was born in London and read music at Bristol University where he won both university undergraduate and British Academy postgraduate arts scholarships. He studied conducting with George Hurst since when his career has been built almost exclusively in opera. From 2002 - 2016 he conducted annually at Longborough Festival Opera where his repertoire ranged from Mozart to Britten including a critically acclaimed Janáček cycle: Jenůfa, Katya Kabanová and The Cunning Little Vixen. He has conducted regularly for West Green House Opera since 2000, most recently Ariadne auf Naxos, The Marriage of Figaro, Un ballo in maschera, Madama Butterfly, La Rondine, Britten’s The Beggar’s Opera, Bernstein’s Candide and Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.
He is Music Director of Opera Project, which he co-founded in 1993 and with whom he has conducted much of the standard repertoire at theatres and festivals across the UK. In 2016 he was appointed Music Director of Mid Wales Opera for whom he has conducted Eugene Onegin, The Magic Flute, Tosca, Semele, La Bohème, Macbeth, Hansel and Gretel, Dido and Aeneas and The Marriage of Figaro. In addition to conducting Jonathan has created some twenty reduced orchestrations of operas that are now performed widely across Europe, Asia, the USA and Canada. His stage work Mrs Peachum's Guide to Love and Marriage was performed across Wales by MWO in 2019, his chamber arrangement of Walton’s The Bear is published by OUP and was recently filmed by Opera Holland Park, and his arrangement of Montsalvatge's El Gato con botas is published by Peermusic, NY. He lives with his family in North-West Herefordshire.
Claire Tocknell
Leader
Claire was first taught to play the violin by her father and went on to study both violin and piano as a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal Academy of Music. She was very active in music-making at Cambridge while reading Theology at Clare College before completing her postgraduate performance studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Thereafter she taught violin in various London schools before spending five years as Director of Music at Durston House School.
Since moving to Shropshire in 2010 she has worked as an instrumental teacher for the Shropshire Music Service and now teaches privately. As well as being leader of the Ludlow Orchestra she also leads the Shropshire Chamber Orchestra, plays in the Eroica Camerata and gives regular chamber music recitals. She has been Music Director of the Church Stretton Arts Festival since 2016.
Leader
Claire was first taught to play the violin by her father and went on to study both violin and piano as a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal Academy of Music. She was very active in music-making at Cambridge while reading Theology at Clare College before completing her postgraduate performance studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Thereafter she taught violin in various London schools before spending five years as Director of Music at Durston House School.
Since moving to Shropshire in 2010 she has worked as an instrumental teacher for the Shropshire Music Service and now teaches privately. As well as being leader of the Ludlow Orchestra she also leads the Shropshire Chamber Orchestra, plays in the Eroica Camerata and gives regular chamber music recitals. She has been Music Director of the Church Stretton Arts Festival since 2016.