Robin Page is Musical Director and Principal Conductor of Thames Sinfonia and the period instrument Purcell Orchestra in London, and has conducted orchestras throughout the UK. Abroad he has given concerts and made recordings with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Nordic Chamber Orchestra, Amor Artis Orchestra of New York and various orchestras in Hungary and Bulgaria. Robin has also conducted a host of 'Last Night of the Proms' and open-air concerts with a wide range of artists including the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Humphrey Lyttleton, George Melly and many other stars.
Recording film scores is an important aspect of his work, with the demands of delivering a recording of the highest standard in a very short space of time being a challenge which he particularly enjoys. Robin has recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and a variety of orchestras in Eastern Europe. He is Music Advisor to Greek composer Aphrodite Raikopoulou, whose new score to Murnau’s classic silent film, Faust, was premiered in 2012 at the Royal Festival Hall with the Philharmonia Orchestra to great critical acclaim.
Robin’s strong commitment to Scandinavian music has resulted in many acclaimed performances of the works of Sibelius and Nielsen, notably giving the inaugural concert of the UK Sibelius Society. He has also explored the Swedish repertoire less familiar to UK audiences, giving the first UK performances of many Swedish works by composers such as Stenhammar, Börtz, Lidholm and Rosenberg. He gains much inspiration from time spent at his family’s retreat, deep in the Swedish forest.
Robin’s musical career began with singing. As a chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford and then as a Choral Exhibitioner at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, he came under the influence of such great figures from the English Choral tradition as Bernard Rose and David Willcocks. It was therefore quite natural that his career as a conductor should include choral music alongside his work with orchestras. He was Musical Director of Kingston Choral Society for over 25 years, in addition to conducting a number of other choirs including the London Symphony Chorus and the Halle Choir.
Working with young people is also an important part of his musical life, with his conducting students winning awards at conservatoires in the UK and Europe. Robin was Professor of Conducting at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall from 2003-6 and has worked with students at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In addition to teaching conducting, Robin has taught music history, musicianship and orchestration at Thames Valley University and Kingston University, and lectured on the history of music for film at the University of Aberdeen.
