Past conductors

Past conductors include:

John Arnold (United Kingdom), Anton Hartman (South Africa), Avi Ostrowsky (Israel), Alberto Bolet (USA), Alois Hochstraser (Austria), Ali Rahbari (Iran), Howard Griffiths (Switzerland), John Hopkins (Australia), Reinhard Schwarz (Austria), Bernhard Gueller (Germany), Gerard Korsten (SA), Viktor Yampolsky (USA), Omri Hadari (Israel), Robert Maxym (Germany), Hikotaro Yazaki (Japan), Gerben Grooten (the Netherlands), Conrad van Alphen (South Africa) and Stefan Solyom (Sweden).

In 2009:

June/July Orchestra Course:

• The National Youth Orchestra, Stefan Solyom (Sweden)
• The National Youth Concert Orchestra, Alex Fokkens (South Africa)
• The National Youth Wind Orchestra, Dr. Laszlo Marosi (Hungary)
• National Youth String Orchestra, Stephen Phillips(Australia)

The National Youth Orchestra 2009 was conducted by Stefan Solyom (Sweden)



Stefan Solyom has rapidly acquired an international reputation to complement his firmly established status in the musical life of his native Sweden. His appearances in the opera house and on the concert platform have drawn praise for their lyrical warmth and strong conviction, and the immediacy of his rapport and engagement with orchestral players has delighted critics, audiences and musicians alike.

Born in Stockholm in 1979, Stefan Solyom studied horn and then conducting at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. A pupil of Leif Segerstam and Jorma Panula – two of the world’s most revered and colourful conducting teachers – he was a prizewinner at the 2000 International Sibelius Conducting Competition. His career blossomed from the start: his work in Scandinavia and Finland includes regular engagements with the Swedish Radio Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Radio Orchestra, Finnish Radio Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic and Lahti Symphony Orchestra. In Germany he has conducted the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg and Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Stefan Solyom is currently Associate Guest Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

In 1999 he made his debut with the Royal Swedish Opera, for whom he has conducted Ingvar Lidholm’s A Dream Play, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the World Premiere of Carl Unander-Scharin’s Hummelhonung, Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, Gefors’ Christina and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. When he conducted The Barber of Seville at the Komische Oper Berlin in 2002, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised his treatment of the score as ‘light as a feather’, adding that ‘the whole evening sparkled with spirit and delight’. Other operatic engagements in Germany include Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (Komische Oper), Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (Frankfurt Opera 2004, Munich Opera, 2005) and Puccini’s Tosca (Frankfurt Opera 2007).

Stefan Solyom has shown complete assurance in a wide range of styles, from comic operetta to Brahms Symphonies and from Rachmaninov to Sandström. Recent and forthcoming engagements include debuts Utah Symphony and Tonkuenstler Orchestras and return appearances with Stavanger Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony, MDR Symphony, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Frankfurt Opera (Leoni’s L’Oracolo & Puccini’s Le Villi), Royal Swedish Opera (Verdi’s Falstaff and Il Trovatore) and Danish National Opera (Mozart’s Die Zauberflote). He makes his Opéra National de Paris debut in the 2008/2009 season conducting Tosca.


The National Youth Concert Orchestra 2009 was conducted by Alexander Fokkens (South Africa)



Alex Fokkens

Alexander Fokkens received his Bachelor of Music degree in double bass from the University of Cape Town. After graduating from UCT, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he obtained a Masters Degree in double bass performance and completed additional studies in theory and conducting at Texas Christian University. While at TCU, he was appointed as an adjunct faculty member and served as assistant conductor for the orchestras – conducting the TCU Symphony on several occasions.

From 1999 to 2005 he served as director of orchestral activities and conductor of the Aberdeen University/Civic Symphony in Aberdeen, South Dakota. During the six years of his appointment, he built one of the strongest college orchestra programmes in the region. From 2001 to 2003 he served as the conductor for the Fargo Moorhead Area Youth Symphony in Fargo, North Dakota.

While in the USA, Alex was often invited to act as clinician, judge and guest conductor throughout the American Mid-West. He has also been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in South Africa.

The National Youth Wind Orchestra2009 was conducted by Dr. Laszlo Marosi (Hungary)

Laszlo Marosi was born in Sarvar, Hungary. His musical education began at the age of five, and continued at the Music Gymnasium, where he majored on both piano and trombone. He studied conducting at Liszt Academy of Music with Tamas Breitner, the director of the Pecs Opera. From 1982 to 1997 Marosi worked as the conductor of the Hungarian Central Army Orchestra. During this period he recorded a number of works by Liszt and several composers. He also conducted his ensemble for radio and television productions productions and toured with the group throughout europe. His book, “The History of the Military Music in Hungary from 1741-1945″ was published in 1994.

For twelve years he taught conducting at the Liszt Teacher Training College, Budapest. In 1993, he was asked to serve as conductor and artist director of the professional Budapest Symphonic Band, in addition to his responsibilities as the conductor of the Liszt Academy Wind Orchestra. These ensembles produced several commercial cd recordings for leading European companies, including Hungaroton.

Between 1989 and 1994, Marosi conducted more than fifty performances annually with the Budapest State Operetta Theatre Orchestra. He was invited to guest conduct the Matav Symphony Orchestra, and toured Europe with the Strauss Symphony Orchestra (1996-1998).

As guest conductor, lecturer, and adjudicator he has appeared throughout Europe, Israel, England, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, and the United States.

Following his professional career in Hungary, he matriculated to Florida State University, where he earned an M.M. in Conducting and a Ph.D. in Music Education with James Croft and Philip Spurgeon. He frequently conducted the University Symphony Orchestra, including acclaimed performances of the music of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Shulamit Ran. As Visiting Professor, Dr. Marosi served as Associate Conductor of the FSU Wind Orchestra during 2002-03 academic year.

For his contrbutions to Hungarian comtemporary music, he was twice awarded the Artisjus prize by the Hungarian Composers Union. In 1997, he was awarded the FAME prize for his international conducting activities.

The National Youth String Orchestra 2009 was conducted by Stephen Phillips (Australia)

Composer, arranger, violinist, organist, avid chamber musician and advocate for the performing arts, Stephen Phillips has poured his considerable energy into 35 years of passionate interaction with music and theatre in many and varied forms.

Educated in Queensland, Australia, he studied violin under Dr Anthony Doheny, receiving his Graduate Diploma in Violin Performance before taking up work with the QLD Theatre Orchestra and the QLD Symphony Orchestra. As leader of the QLD Youth Orchestra, QLD Conservatorium Opera Orchestra, Conservatorium Baroque Orchestra, University of Queensland Orchestra, the Hunter Orchestra Newcastle, the Australian Palm Court Orchestra, Chamber Ensemble QLD, the Cavatina Quartet and as Artistic Director of the Eclectic Light Orchestra Brisbane, he has explored a wide spectrum of styles and presentation formats. As a member of the Paradise Quartet, he toured Queensland and performed quartets of Borodin and Beethoven for live National Broadcast, and has appeared frequently in concert with Early Music ensemble The Badinerie Players. In December 2008, Stephen was asked to lead the Queensland Orchestra in its special Cathedral performance of Handel’s Messiah. He has performed on Organ, Piano and Harpsichord as soloist with the orchestra, as well as violin solo for Opera Queensland productions throughout the state, and has contributed technical production support on many occasions.

Conductor and tutor of numerous school orchestras and University-based ensembles, he has championed youth music and multi-media concepts in festivals, workshops and special concert series throughout Queensland. As part of the Queensland Orchestra’s Special Needs Listen and Talk and MBF Children’s program, he has led presentations in hospitals and schools across Brisbane, and is a mentor for the orchestra’s Conservatorium training program. He has worked extensively with opera QLD’s Young Artist program, notably in workshopping his score for the original musical theatre piece Right Where I Belong, due for release on CD this coming year.

Conrad van Alphen

The South African conductor Conrad van Alphen was born in 1963 in Pretoria, where he had his general education and studied the double bass and conducting.

In 1989 he moved to The Netherlands where he played with nearly all the major orchestras. After moving to The Netherlands, Conrad continued his conducting studies with conductors like Eri Klas and Roberto Benzi.

Conrad is artistic director and conductor of the Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra, which he founded together with professional musicians in 2000. He has built up this orchestra to one of the best chamber orchestras in The Netherlands. As well as having their own concert series in Rotterdam, Conrad conducts this orchestra in concert series at many venues including “Het Concertgebouw” in Amsterdam, “De Doelen” in Rotterdam and the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Antwerp.

Despite the often recorded repertoire, their latest CD (Telarc) with works by Grieg, Dvorák and Elgar has received excellent reviews internationally. Previous releases include Rodrigo’s Concierto Madrigal for two guitars and orchestra for Channel Classics (Editor’s Choice in Gramophone magazine) and Beethoven Rarities for Raptus. Conrad is also chief-conductor of the State Philharmonic Orchestra in Kislovods (Caucasus). He was appointed by the Ministry of Culture. He received a reward for his contribution to the culture in the Caucasus.

He is a popular guest conductor of various orchestras in The Netherlands and internationally. Before founding the Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra in 2000, Conrad van Alphen held principal guest conductor positions in Bulgaria and Russia. Currently he works extensively in Eastern Europe and is a welcome guest conductor at leading orchestras in Slovenia, Poland, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Russia.

Closer to home his conducting engagements include Holland Symfonia Amsterdam, Holland Belcanto Festival, Limburg Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestra of the East (Netherlands), The Brabant Orchestra (Netherlands) and the Chursachsische Philharmonie (Germany).

Recently he has worked with leading orchestras such as the Cape Philharmonic, the Johannesburg Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, The National Youth Orchestra, the Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic and the JMI Orchestra, all in South-Africa. Conrad is extremely popular with musicians, soloists and audiences and he has been re-invited by all the orchestras he conducts.

In 2006 he conducted the National Youth Orchestra performaing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in the Beethoven Halle in Bonn at the Beethovenfest.

Bernhard Gueller

Beginning his career as a cellist, with a degree from the Hochschule in Stuttgart, Bernhard Gueller won the United German Radios Conducting Competition in 1979. Two years later he was deputed by the legendary conductor Sergiu Celibidache to take the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra on a national tour, and was acclaimed as one of Germany’s most talented young conductors. Celibidache, who regarded Gueller as his best pupil, also invited him on many occasions to conduct the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Today Gueller has an extremely heavy international schedule conducting orchestras throughout the world.

Gueller is increasingly being sought after internationally. In recent times he has been lauded in the prestigious Stuttgarter Zeitung for his direction of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bruckner’s monumental ninth symphony, in The Australian for his highly successful concerts with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and in El Pais for his direction of the City of Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and his debut in two concerts with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra in America garnered standing ovations, a return invitation to conduct Mahler which was equally well received, and yet further invitations. His direction of the concert version of Elektra with the CTPO and La Traviata in the Spier Summer Festival in South Africa were both highly acclaimed.



Apart from his recordings for national and international broadcast, Bernhard Gueller has made Compact Disc recordings with RSO Stuttgart and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. Most recently released CDs are with Peter Lukas Graf (flute) and with oboist Lajos Lensces, both with the RSO Stuttgart (SWR). His CD of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Wagner’s Wesendoncklieder with mezzo soprano Hanneli Rupert, the CTPO and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra was released on the RCA label in 2003. He also conducted the CPO in an internationally released film documentary, Cosmic Africa. His first CD with Symphony Nova Scotia, comprising works by internationally-acclaimed Canadian composer Christos Hatzis and featuring violist Rivka Golani, percussionist Beverly Johnson and oboist Suzanne Lemieux, was released in 2006, to great acclaim, notably by the Halifax Chronicle Herald which noted that “The orchestra, superbly directed by Gueller, whose understanding of what Hatzis had in mind went far deeper than the notes, plays compellingly and brilliantly.”

Gérard Korsten

‘His unflashy, truth-seeking mission closely reflects the aims of the production, revealing a high level of textural detail and musical-emotional characterisation. No single phrase is simply allowed to slip by, yet the overall effect remains visceral.’

The Stage – Così fan tutte



Gerard Korsten

Gérard Korsten is an increasingly familiar figure in the world’s concert halls and opera houses. He has been Principal Conductor in Uppsala and at the State Theatre in Pretoria, and was Music Director of the Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari from 1999 to 2005. A highly dynamic and articulate musician, he began his career as a violinist, and was for nine years concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

His concert appearances have included engagements with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai Turin, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players and Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic. Among his recordings are the Tchaikovsky Serenade and Souvenir de Florence with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe for DGG, Don Pasquale for TDK, and Die ägyptische Helena, Euryanthe and Alfonso und Estrella for Dynamic.

Many of Gérard Korsten’s most notable recent engagements have been in European opera houses, including La Scala, Milan (Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro), Opéra national de Lyon (Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, Henze’s L’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe and Wagner’s Siegfried), the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm (Mozart’s Don Giovanni) and Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Britten’s Albert Herring).

In Cagliari he conducted the first Italian performances of Richard Strauss’s Die ägyptische Helena, Weber’s Euryanthe, Delius’s A Village Romeo and Juliet and Schubert’s Alfonso und Estrella. He was also responsible for conducting much of the standard operatic repertoire, including Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Lucia di Lammermoor, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Tosca, Aïda, The Barber of Seville and Don Pasquale.

Current and forthcoming engagements include Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte (Netherlands Opera), Verdi’s La Traviata (Opéra national de Lyon), and debut with the English National Opera (Verdi’s Aida) Gérard Korsten studied the violin with Ivan Galamian at the Curtis Institute in the USA and with Sándor Végh in Salzburg. He became Concertmaster and Assistant Musical Director of Camerata Salzburg, and in 1987 he was appointed Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He left the COE in 1996 to concentrate on conducting.