Maestro Arts signs conductor-composer Jack Sheen

Florence Lockheart
Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Sheen will join the artist management agency's roster in the capacity of both conductor and composer

©Hugo Glendinning
©Hugo Glendinning

Interdisciplinary artist management agency Maestro Arts, has announced the signing of Jack Sheen to its roster in the capacity of both conductor and composer.

As well as making his conducting debuts with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, and FontanaMIX Ensemble in 2021, Sheen has also made his return to the Lucerne Festival Academy as a conducting fellow. He also works as a composer, often conducting premiere of his own works.

Rachel van Walsum, Maestro Arts director and co-founder, said: ‘I’ve been following [Jack’s] career closely over the last few years and have been hugely impressed not only by the sheer quality and range of his work as a conductor and composer, but also the integrity and commitment he brings to everything he does. He shares our vision of bringing varied art forms together, and his impressive track record of putting this idea into action makes him a truly 21st-century artist.’

Sheen is also an active force for cross-arts collaboration, co-directing the London Contemporary Music Festival (LCMF) alongside writer and curator Igor Toronyi-Lalic as well as co-founding the LCMF Orchestra. Sheen’s debut album, Sub, written for Octandre Ensemble will be released this year.

Talking about his practice, Sheen said: ‘I really value wide perspectives on all art and believe that the next important step for classical music is to bring it into dialogue with wider cultural conversation, rather than changing the art itself or the rituals that surround it.’

Jack Sheen will be conducting London Sinfonietta in a programme including the world premiere of his own work Phant Heap Render, on 2 December at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.