Thomas Blunt conducts Messiah.

Thomas Blunt has built a versatile and wide-ranging career conducting in theatres and concert halls across the world, with a repertoire ranging from Bach to contemporary music.

With a strong background and training in singing he has a particular skill and passion for working with voices, with an intuitive sense of creating drama through music. He studied at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music in London, and was the first ever British participant of the prestigious Allianz International Conductors' Academy, where he worked with the London Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras. 

He enjoys a close relationship with Glyndebourne, where he began his career as Chorus Master and has since conducted L’elisir d’amore, Falstaff, La cenerentola and Il barbiere on the Tour. During this time at Glyndebourne Thomas formed a close collaboration with Music Director Vladimir Jurowski, resulting in his appointment as Jurowski’s Assistant Conductor with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has since conducted the LPO in performances at venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Sala São Paulo, where the LPO were joined by the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo for Bruckner’s Mass in E minor. For OSESP he has since conducted Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Bach's Cantata Wachet auf, and Brahms's Requiem.

He has conducted Jephtha for Welsh National Opera, Don Pasquale and La traviata for Longborough Festival Opera, Madam Butterfly for Iford Arts, La cenerentola for Opéra national du Rhin, and the world premiere of Dave Maric’s Ghosts at the Linbury Theatre / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In 2014, he made his Swiss debut with Ariadne auf Naxos at Konzert Theater Bern, and was subsequently appointed First Kapellmeister for the following season. During his tenure he conducted a highly successful new production of Die Zauberflöte as well as performances of La Cenerentola, and has since returned to Bern as a guest conductor for Lohengrin.

Other concert work includes appearances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur, and the St Endellion Festival.

Aside from his work with Jurowski at Glyndebourne and the LPO, Thomas has also assisted conductors such as Iván Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and worked for Opera North, Opéra de Lyon, La Monnaie, and the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano.

Recent and future highlights highlights include Rigoletto for the Glyndebourne Tour, The Magic Flute for Welsh National Opera, Don Giovanni for Longborough Festival Opera, Idomeneo for Royal Danish Opera, concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Das Lied von der Erde with Fifth Door Ensemble at Opera Holland Park, concerts with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and a performance of Messiah with Welsh National Opera Orchestra.