LSSO announces first conductor in residence

The London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO) has announced that conductor Bradley Wilson will be its inaugural conductor in residence. The role was created by Guildhall Young Artists and Black Lives in Music (BLiM) to provide development opportunities to one young conductor each year, with particular emphasis on candidates from historically under-represented backgrounds.

Wilson will be involved in all aspects of the orchestra, and will attend audition panels and sectional rehearsals, as well as conducting the orchestra in concert. He will receive an assistant conductor’s fee of £6,000, plus one-to-one mentoring and support from professional conductors.

Guildhall Young Artists director Alison Mears, said: ‘We are delighted to be welcoming Bradley as the inaugural LSSO Conductor in Residence. It is a joy to see a former student of Junior Guildhall return to work closely with the players in the LSSO, we hope that they will learn from and be inspired by him during this residency.’

Also a trumpet player with Chineke! Orchestra, Wilson is currently in the final year of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s (RBC) Bachelors in Music with Performance course and is music director for The Rusty Players, and conductor for The Peoples Orchestra. He is an RBC school representative, a BLiM ambassador and a consultant for Birmingham City University’s Centre of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts.

Wilson said: ‘I am incredibly thankful to Black Lives in Music and Guildhall Young Artists for this opportunity to be the first Conductor in Residence with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. It is an exciting moment to be part of this orchestra so dedicated to championing diversity and inclusion, and I look forward to working with them over the next year.’