William Lai Named Gentleman Jack Conductor Fellow by Northern Ballet

In late 2025 Northern Ballet announced recruitment for a Gentleman Jack Conducting Fellowship, to run February – September 2026. The company will welcome William Lai to this role which will see him receive mentorship and training and conduct performances of Gentleman Jack across the UK. Hong-Kong born Lai serves as the Principal Conductor of the Gramophone Orchestra in Hong Kong and was the Orchestra Prize winner of the 5th International Conducting Competition University of Almería in Spain, a finalist in Germany's elite Forum Dirigieren programme and a semi-finalist of the 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in Poland.

Northern Ballet is committed to artistic excellence and supporting emerging talent across their work and this initiative was designed to offer early-career conductors hands-on experience and mentorship within a touring professional ballet company. Lai will rehearse, tour, and conduct live performances as part of Northern Ballet's artistic team working under the mentorship of Associate Conductor Daniel Parkinson and Artistic Director Federico Bonelli. The Fellow will develop the skills, insight, and confidence required for a future career in conducting for ballet, which is a highly specialised skill. The Fellowship has been supported by Jerwood Foundation, who are known for their support of the UK arts ecology, specifically in supporting emerging talent.  

Daniel Parkinson, Northern Ballet's Associate Conductor said, “I'm delighted that after a competitive audition process, William Lai has been selected as Northern Ballet's first Conducting Fellow. This scheme marks an exciting step in Northern Ballet's continued commitment to nurturing emerging artistic talent. I look forward to supporting and mentoring William as we produce our next full-length ballet, Gentleman Jack."

William Lai said, "I'm genuinely excited to join Northern Ballet for the creation of Gentleman Jack. I've always felt a deep pull towards ballet conducting - the extraordinary energy of the dancers and musicians pushes the music to flourish in ways only this art form allows. I believe Gentleman Jack has the potential to become a defining classic for Northern Ballet, and I'm proud to help shape Peter Salem's musical world for the story. Working alongside Daniel Parkinson and Federico Bonelli on a production of this scale is exceptional and I hope our audiences will feel the same spark that drives us: to create something truly extraordinary.” 

With choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and a new score by Peter Salem, Gentleman Jack will premiere in spring 2026 in Leeds before being performed across the UK. Continuing Northern Ballet's masterful canon of creating stories that connect, the ballet will bring to the stage the life of the 19th century icon, Anne Lister.