Stephen Bell

Stephen Bell, french horn

Born in Bury, Lancashire, Stephen Bell studied conducting at the Royal College of Music under the renowned conductor Norman Del Mar, before taking up the position of Principal French horn with the BBC Concert Orchestra. He is also a founder member of Britten Sinfonia and solo horn with the Haffner Wind Ensemble of London, with whom he has made several recordings for BBC Radio and commercial release together with successful tours to the USA, Scandinavia and throughout the UK including festival appearences at Cheltenham, Aldeburgh, the BBC Proms and a critically acclaimed debut in New York. He has also appeared as soloists with many of the UK’s leading orchestras (including Northern Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra and English Symphony Orchestra) and has peformed Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with numerous tenors and the Britten Sinfonia in concerts and broadcasts. He also plays guest principal horn with major UK orchestras including the LSO, Philharmonia, RPO, BBC Symphony and LPO.

In recent years, Stephen has found himself increasingly in demand as a conductor for a wide variety of leading orchestras whom he now regularly conducts, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Halle, Britten Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra, Guildford Philharmonic, Brighton Philharmonic, London Gala Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, London Concert Orchestra, Manchester Concert Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia and Elgar Chamber Orchestra. A busy conducting schedule now affords Stephen the opportunity to conduct a diverse repertoire both at home and abroad, in venues such as Istanbul, Toronto and London.

Stephen’s trademark presentation of concerts demonstrates an extraordinary aptitude for communication with audiences of all genres, which has led to exciting conducting projects with an eclectic range of artists, including instrumentalists Guy Johnston, Stephen Hough, Roger Chase, David Childs, David Pyatt, the Lindsay String Quartet, Tamsin Waley Cohen, Masa Tayama, Vilde Frang, Thomas Gould, Murray McLachlan, Andrew Nicholson, Alexander Somov, John Scott, Mark Simpson, Leland Chen, Clio Gould, Jonathon Plowright, Evelyn Chang and singers Hayley Westenra, Katie Melua, Tony Hadley, G4, the BBC Singers,  Mark Wilde, Nicola-Jane Kemp, Sian Cothi, Andy Abraham, Lynton Atkinson, Aled Jones, All Angels, Blake, Janis Kelly, Brian Kennedy, The Celtic Tenors, Bibi Heal, The OperaBabes, Ray Quinn, Alfie Boe, Teatro, Camilla Roberts, Bonaventura Bottone, Susan Bullock, Alison Buchanan, Naomi Harvey, Rachel Nicholls, Juliet Pochin, Fiona Hammacott, Tom McVeigh, Pamela Hay, Will Martin and Victoria Hart. Some past seasons’ highlights include the Queen’s Jubilee Concert at Chatsworth House, the Royal Festival Hall tribute concert for Stanley Black, the Westminster Abbey Memorial Concert for Alastair Cooke and the award-winning Pitch Perfect at Wembley for BBC television’s Children in Need. 2005 and 2006 saw Stephen conducting the televised BBC Proms in the Park in Manchester with the BBC Philharmonic and the 2008 Doctor Who Prom marked Stephen’s hugely successful Royal Albert Hall Proms debut.

Stephen’s discography includes critically acclaimed CDs on the ASV, Naxos and Dutton labels. He released his first disc with the Elgar Chamber Orchestra, for Sanctuary Classics, of which critic Ivan March wrote in the international magazine, The Gramophone, ‘Stephen Bell’s accompaniments with the excellent Elgar Chamber Orchestra could not be more polished…’  His most recent discs have echoed this initial success, including two with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring the instrumental works of the English composer Roderick Elms. He also has extensive broadcasting experience, frequently conducting orchestras such as the BBC Concert Orchestra, Halle and Ulster Orchestra for BBC Radio, Classic FM and BBC television, for programmes such as the well-loved Friday Night is Music Night and BBC Children in Need.

A busy 2008/2009 season will include a series of 12 concerts with the London Gala Orchestra including guests Alfie Boe, Hayley Westenra, All Angels, Paul Potts and Teatro and further engagements with the Royal Philharmonic, Ulster, Brighton Philharmonic, Guildford Philharmonic and Halle Orchestras. For further details, please see www.stephenbell.info or email enquiries@stephenbell.info

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