Established in the early 1980s as the orchestra of Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, the orchestra of Birmingham Royal Ballet became the Royal Ballet Sinfonia when the dance company moved to Birmingham and became Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1990. Under music director Koen Kessels, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia is Britain’s busiest ballet orchestra. In addition to its role with Birmingham Royal Ballet, the orchestra performs for The Royal Ballet and tours with leading ballet companies including Paris Opéra Ballet, New York City Ballet and The Australian Ballet and, more recently, Het Nationale Ballet, Queensland Ballet and Acosta Danza. The Sinfonia has performed with the National Opera Studio and Opera North, and for the Voices of Black Opera competition.

Recordings include the ballets Far from the Madding Crowd, Edward II and Cyrano and Edward Loder’s opera Raymond and Agnes. The orchestra performed Stephen Montague’s The King Dances in the 2015 BBC4 documentary The King Who Invented Ballet.

For more information, visit www.brb.org.uk/sinfonia.

Photo: Caroline Holden

Andrew Penny was born in Hull and entered the Royal Manchester College of Music in 1971. As a postgraduate he was the first holder of the Rothschild Scholarship in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music. He also studied with Sir Edward Downes and at the BBC Conductors Seminar in 1985.

Since 1992 he has made over 50 recordings for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels. Much of the repertoire is British music and includes symphonies by Arnold and Havergal Brian, film music by Vaughan Williams and Walton, theatre music by Sullivan and Holbrooke, and light music by Coates and Arnold. His complete cycle of Arnold’s nine symphonies was produced in time for the composer’s 80th birthday in October 2001 and became BBC Music Magazine’s top recommendation.

Penny has been on the instrumental music staff at Hymers College since 1977 and is the longest serving musical director of the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra, retiring in May 2022 after 40 years. He was awarded the MBE for services to music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2014.

Maestro’s Musings – Jeremy Siepmann talks to the British conductor Andrew Penny