Tim grew up in Northamptonshire, studied first at the University of Nottingham, and moved to Edinburgh in 2017 to study a PhD. Whilst a student, he took conducting lessons from Jonathan Tilbrook in Nottingham, and William Conway and Richard Lewis in Edinburgh. He also conducted a variety of student ensembles, including Nottingham University Sinfonia and Edinburgh University String Orchestra. Highlights include conducting both orchestras on several tours in the UK and abroad, and presenting one of the first performances in the UK of Stenhammar’s orchestral rhapsody, Midvinter.Since graduating, Tim has been employed to conduct the university orchestras on a more professional basis, taking Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra in Autumn 2022 and stepping in at short notice to conduct both the University Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia in their 2023 summer concert after both regular conductors were unable to do so. In Autumn 2023, he conducted a filmed performance of Massenet’s Méditation from Thaïs featuring a young violinist, which aired that November on the Channel 5 programme “Meet the Experts” (S1 E23).
In October 2023, Tim founded the amateur orchestra Aurora Ensemble, based in Edinburgh, with the aim of promoting classical music by composers who are rarely played by amateur orchestras, especially women. Giving the spotlight to under-represented groups and instruments is a strong part of Tim’s ethos as a conductor: integrating such works alongside established favourites is one way of enthusing players and audiences alike, providing opportunities to play or hear works which might otherwise be left undiscovered. He also has a particular interest in Nordic composers. Recent concerts have featured works by Munktell, Coleridge-Taylor and Llyn-Owen, alongside Elgar, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky.
Further, Tim has a strong interest in musical outreach, sparked by work in primary schools and care homes whilst a student. He ran for several years the successful Edinburgh University Music Society Education Project, which culminated in delivering a series of workshops of his own devising to over 200 children in primary schools across Edinburgh.
