Leon Gee, Director of Music
Following formative musical training as a violinist, Leon studied conducting at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under Jonathan Del Mar, with further studies in the Czech Republic, at Dartington with Diego Masson, and British Youth Opera with Peter Robinson. Leon was appointed British Arts Council Young Conductor with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, 1991-94, receiving mentoring from Franz Welser-Möst during this time.
Guest engagements have included orchestras as diverse as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Leon has recorded for the BBC, performed at many of the UK’s leading venues, and he has worked with distinguished soloists including Tasmin Little, Artur Pizarro, Lars Vogt, Freddy Kempf, Tom Poster, David Juritz, Anthony Marwood and recent BBC Young Musicians, Martin Bartlett and Lauren Zhang.
Leon has conducted many of the UK’s leading non-professional orchestras, serving as Music Director for the Oxford Symphony Orchestra, the British Police Symphony Orchestra, Northampton Symphony Orchestra, and as Guest Conductor with the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra, Salomon Orchestra, and Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra amongst others. Leon is currently Music Director for the Windsor & Maidenhead Symphony Orchestra.
With a notable reputation as one of the UK’s foremost trainers of younger orchestras, Leon is much in demand within this field. He was founder Music Director for the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, while further guest work includes orchestras at the Birmingham Conservatoire, the Guildhall and Royal Welsh College Junior Departments, Oxford University Orchestra, Pro Corda, and the Scottish Schools Orchestra Trust. Leon has served as Music Director for Worcestershire Youth Orchestra and Berkshire Youth Orchestra; he currently holds conductorship of Ealing Youth Orchestra, the National Scouts & Guides Symphony Orchestra, and Chiltern Youth Chamber Orchestra. Recent work also includes conductorship of Dorset Youth Orchestra, the London College of Music LCM Sinfonia, the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Wales and Birmingham Schools Symphony Orchestra.
