Currently the Artistic Director of Garsington Opera Douglas Boyd has also held the positions of Music Director of L’Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Chief Conductor of the Musikkollegium Winterthur, Music Director of Manchester Camerata, Principal Guest Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Partner of St Paul Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of City of London Sinfonia. In 2020 he received the highly prestigious Grand Vermeil Médaille de la Ville de Paris for services to music, in recognition of his work as Music Director of L’Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.

Originally an oboist and one of the founding members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Douglas’s formative musical training was under musicians such as Abbado and Harnoncourt, who remain a significant influence on his style and approach to this day.

In the UK Douglas Boyd has conducted all the BBC Orchestras, the Philharmonia, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Royal Northern Sinfonia. On the continent he has worked with, amongst others, the Bergen Philharmonic, Basel Sinfonieorchester, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, as well as Munich Chamber Orchestra and Kammerakademie Potsdam.

Further afield he has conducted the Nagoya Symphony Orchestra in Japan, Hong Kong Philharmonic and with many of the symphony orchestras in Australia including a complete cycle of Beethoven Symphonies with the Melbourne Symphony as well as the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos with Paul Lewis. In the 2022/23 season he conducted the complete Beethoven Symphonies with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and returned there in 23/24 and will go back again in 25/26 as well as working with the Queensland Symphony.

Douglas appears regularly in North America where he has worked with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Pacific, Sacramento, Seattle, Utah and Virginia Symphony Orchestras.  In Canada he has appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and National Arts Orchestra in Ottawa.

On the concert platform he enjoys a close working relationship with eminent soloists including Jonathan Biss, Steven Isserlis, Anthony Marwood, Viktoria Mullova, Fazil Say, András Schiff, Mark Padmore, Emmanuel Pahud and Alissa Weilerstein.

Operatic engagements have included Die Zauberflöte for Glyndebourne Opera on Tour, Salieri’s La Grotto di Tronfonio for Zürich Opera Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito with Opera North and with the Potsdam Winteroper conducting Britten’s Rape of Lucretia.  Productions at Garsington Opera have included Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan Tutte, Eugene Onegin, Capriccio, Silver Birch (Roxanna Panufnik, world premiere), Il barbiere di Siviglia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well as concert performances of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Haydn’s The Creation with Ballet Rambert and concert performances of Fidelio. In 2022 he conducted the world premiere of the new community opera, Dahlia, by Roxanna Panufnik and a new production of Rusalka at Garsington.  The production of Rusalka also appeared as part of the 2022 Edinburgh International Festival.  Future titles with Garsington include Pique Dame, Fidelio, La traviata and Barry’s The Importance of being Earnest.

During his tenure as Artistic Director of Garsington Opera he has secured the Philharmonia Orchestra and English Concert as the resident orchestras, forged partnerships with Santa Fe Opera and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and is widely recognised for his leadership in shaping the company into a world-class, internationally renowned festival, reflected in their nomination in the 2019 international opera awards.

Douglas Boyd’s recording of the Bach Concerti for DG marked his recording debut as director/soloist and he has since gone on to build an extensive conducting discography.  His recordings with Manchester Camerata of the complete Beethoven Symphonies and Mahler Symphony No 4 (on Avie) and Das Lied von der Erde have received universal critical acclaim. He has also recorded Schubert Symphonies with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra on their own label as well as several recordings with Musikkollegium Winterthur. His recordings with L’Orchestre de Chambre de Paris include ‘Intuition’ with Gautier Capuçon for the Erato label, and a disc of Haydn Symphonies which was released in 2021.

Recent and future highlights include concerts with the Aalborg Symfoniorkester, Auckland Philharmonia, Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, BBC Symphony, Philharmonic and National Orchesta of Wales Orchestras, Colorado Symphony, Musikkollegium Winterthur, North Carolina Symphony, New World Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfonia do Porto, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Gävle Symfoniorkester,  Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Utah Symphony, Sacramento Symphony and L’Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine.

Council Chair

Artistic Director of Vanguard

Shefali Pryor grew up in Sydney where she graduated with First Class Honours from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. During her studies she participated in numerous programs with the Australian Youth Orchestra and was a member of the Sydney Sinfonia. Upon graduating she joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Second Oboe.

In 2004 and 2005 she was granted leave in order to study with Stefan Schilli at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. Not long after her return to Australia she was appointed Associate Principal Oboe. In 2006 she won the Other Instrumental category of the Symphony Australia Young Performer Awards. She has performed as soloist with the Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmanian symphony orchestras, including performances with violinist Nigel Kennedy in 2006.

Shefali Pryor has performed as guest principal with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia, and as a casual musician with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. She is a founding member of the Sydney Omega Ensemble and has performed with the Australia Ensemble, Sydney Soloists, and Southern Cross Soloists as well as with the staff of the Sydney Conservatorium, where she teaches oboe.

She is also the Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's Vanguard program for young philanthropists.

Olli Leppäniemi studied clarinet with Yehuda Gilad in Los Angeles, Hans-Christian Bræin in Oslo and with Reijo Koskinen at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. His first teacher – Jorma Lautanen in the Lappeenranta Music Institute, Finland – was also a major influence.

Leppäniemi works as Principal Clarinet in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and also the Tapiola Sinfonietta, Finland. Previously he has held tenured Principal Clarinet positions in the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway as well as the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland. Leppäniemi has appeared as guest principal clarinet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra of London and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He is also Principal Clarinet of the Finnish Chamber Orchestra.
 
In 2009 Leppäniemi became the first Finn to win the first prize in the Carl Nielsen International Music Competition. Since then Leppäniemi has appeared as soloist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Copenhagen Tivoli Symphony Orchestra and Danish National Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leif Segerstam, Juanjo Mena, Karina Cannelakis and Olari Elts.

A keen chamber musician, Leppäniemi has appeared extensively in different venues around the world. He feels always enthusiasm and passion when taking on a new chamber music project.

For the past five years Leppäniemi has worked as Artistic Director of Crusell Music Festival.

Olli Leppäniemi performs on Buffet Crampon clarinets.

New Zealander Todd Gibson-Cornish was appointed Principal Bassoon of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2016.

An in-demand Guest Principal, Todd has performed with many of Europe’s leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Oslo Philharmonic, Sinfonia of London, the Hallé, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (London), BBC Symphony and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

He has performed at the BBC Proms and on tour throughout Europe, Asia and the United States under conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Antonio Pappano, Klaus Mäkelä and Daniele Gatti. In Australia, he has also toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Concerto appearances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra include the Australasian premiere of Christopher Rouse’s Bassoon Concerto, Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto, and Vanhal’s Concerto for two bassoons (with Matthew Wilkie). He has also performed Jolivet’s Bassoon Concerto with the NZSO National Youth Orchestra.

Committed to education, Todd has given masterclasses at leading institutions including the Royal College of Music (London), Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester) and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

A passionate chamber musician, Todd has performed at festivals and venues including the Martinborough Music Festival (NZ), UKARIA Cultural Centre (Adelaide), Ensemble 360 (UK) and Les Concerts du Zeppelin (France) and at the House of Lords with the ASMF wind quartet. He is Co-Artistic Director of the Cambridge Chamber Music Festival in New Zealand.

Todd graduated in 2016 with First Class Honours from the Royal College of Music, where he studied under Joost Bosdijk, Andrea de Flammineis and Julie Price. He was a Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Scholar, supported by a Douglas and Hilda Simmonds Award, and was awarded the prestigious Tagore Gold Medal for his outstanding contribution to the RCM – presented to him by HRH King Charles III.

Terrey Arcus AM Chair

Sam was recently Principal Horn with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, which followed a three-year tenure as Principal Horn of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.

During his time in the UK, he performed as a guest Principal Horn with numerous leading symphony orchestras. In the Southern Hemisphere, he often collaborates as guest Principal Horn with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and played a significant role in the 2016 Ring Cycle in Melbourne.

Sam has made numerous commercial recordings for the film and pop industries, including albums with Sting, Sam Smith, and Florence & the Machine, and soundtracks for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Interstellar, The Martian, and the James Bond film Spectre. He has also contributed to scores for television and video games, including the Halo franchise. He has recorded on the LSO Live label and numerous live BBC Radio 3 broadcasts and as Principal Horn on the Deutsche Grammophon, Dutton Epoch, and RPO record labels.

Some of Sam's career highlights include performing with Sting at iconic venues such as the Hollywood Bowl, New York Met, and MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He also played Principal Horn on the Star Wars In Concert tour across America, Canada, and Europe with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

As a soloist, Sam has performed concertos by Haydn, Mozart, Hoffmann, Franz Strauss, and Richard Strauss, as well as Schumann’s Konzertstück on Principal Horn. He recorded John Rimmer’s Horn Concerto with the NZSO, and his performance of Mozart’s Fourth Horn Concerto with Sinfonia Viva was broadcast on Britain's Classic FM. Samuel also toured this concerto with the NZSO in 2016.

Sam's previous teachers include Richard Kennedy, Beccy Goldberg, Julian Plummer, Martin Owen, Michael Thompson, and Richard Watkins. He has given masterclasses at the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, and the Royal Northern College of Music. Currently, he teaches horn at the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University Wellington.

Besides music, Sam has been an extra in the hit Bollywood movie Blue and appeared on four UK television quiz shows, including Countdown.