About

Tom Fetherstonhaugh is Artistic Director of Fantasia Orchestra, with whom he has conducted four BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall.

In the 2026/27 season, Tom makes debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, and returns for engagements with Britten Sinfonia, Welsh National Opera and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with whom he maintains a close relationship. He was Assistant Conductor at the BSO between 2022-2024 where he conducted 70 performances, and he is delighted to be returning for 12 concerts in 2026/27.  

Tom has enjoyed re-invitations in the last season with the BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, Orchestra of Opera North, and Ulster Orchestra, including several subscription-series concerts.  

Artistic collaboration is at the heart of Tom’s work. This season he performs with soloists Ning Feng, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Guy Johnston, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Martin Owen, Elena Urioste, and Laura van der Heijden. Wider cultural partners this year include Anthony Gormley (sculptor), Dame Sheila Hancock (actor), Mary McCartney (photographer), and Nitin Sawhney (musician & composer).

Tom has a growing profile in opera, and made his Welsh National Opera debut with Play Opera LIVE in 2026. He has been assistant conductor for Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, and Bernstein’s Candide (WNO), Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (Opera North), Verdi's Macbeth and David Matthews' Anna (The Grange Festival), and has worked on productions of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Puccini's Manon Lescaut (The Grange Festival).

Tom started his musical journey with the Suzuki method of violin playing, and was a chorister of Westminster Abbey. He read music at Merton College, Oxford, and studied conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music. Tom graduated from the Academy with Distinction and a DipRAM prize in 2021, and was awarded Associate Honours (ARAM) in 2024 for his contribution to the music profession.