Interview: 'I LOOK FOR ANARCHIC SOLOISTS': TOM FETHERSTONHAUGH on celebrating Fantasia Orchestra's 10th anniversary season at Smith Square Hall

Tom Fetherstonhaugh – founder, conductor and artistic director of the Fantasia Orchestra – is somewhat of a prodigy. A decade ago, he started the orchestra at the tender age of 18 with a group of friends at Cardinal Vaughan School in west London. Not just a passing childhood fancy, this year the orchestra – home to some of the most promising and innovative young classical musicians – celebrates its 10th anniversary season at Smith Square Hall in London with a bold and varied programme.

Fetherstonhaugh's conducted four BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, including the Fantasia Orchestra's Proms debut in 2024, with a concert of folk songs and dances with brothers Braimah and Sheku Kanneh-Mason. This year Fetherstonhaugh was selected as one of the BBC Proms' Ten Artists under 30, revisiting the Royal Albert Hall with the Fantasia Orchestra for a Relaxed BBC Prom and Late Night Concert, featuring star percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.

He debuts soon with the London Philharmonic at The Congress Theatre in Eastbourne; and will then be working with the Britten Sinfonia, Welsh National Opera and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, where he led 70 performances as assistant conductor from 2022-24. He's delighted to return to the BSO for 12 concerts next year.

BroadwayWorld spoke to Fetherstonhaugh about singing at the Prince and Princess of Wales's wedding, how he enjoys working with soloists in a collaborative way and what audiences can expect from Fantasia's upcoming Smith Square Hall season.

When did you become interested in music and what did you do before you kicked off the Fantasia Orchestra?

I started with the Suzuki method of violin playing when I was four. I also learned to play the piano and organ.

I was a chorister at Westminster Abbey from the ages of 7 to 13. I boarded on site and sang at eight services a week, as well as touring internationally and doing recordings. I sang solos for the Pope, Obama, and at the Prince and Princess of Wales's Royal Wedding. It was an incredible experience and an amazing musical education. I learned how to sight-read, manage my time and prepare. When you're a chorister, you're a professional musician by the age of 10 in a way. It's a way of setting you up for life. I then went to Merton College at Oxford University and after that studied conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music.

What inspired you to become a conductor?

When I was at Westminster Abbey, we were on tour in Moscow. Our choirmaster said he'd be arriving late. He said to me, "You'll take the rehearsal." I was 13 and a senior chorister. I led the rehearsal and thought it was amazing and incredible.

You were in Year 13 at school when the Fantasia Orchestra was formed. How did this happen and how did things evolve?

It began with a group of us wanting to put on a concert for fun. The orchestra's named after Tom Tallis's "Fantasia on a Theme," a piece we played at that first performance. Things evolved really rapidly from school student to professional. People have come and gone over the past 10 years, but a good handful of us are still with the orchestra. Some have moved on and become doctors and lawyers. There's been an evolution where we've discovered new people.

What's it like to be a conductor?

It's a huge responsibility being in front of an orchestra, leading everything on stage in a thrilling concert. You must be incredibly well prepared and need deep humility to recognise orchestra members and soloists have probably played the pieces many times before. You need to listen and open your mind to their years of experience – but your job is to have the final say. You make judgements about whether an idea fits into your wider plan.

Does playing in different venues make a difference when it comes to conducting?

Yes, interpretations change and you need to be flexible. If you're in a building with boomy acoustics, you need to slow the tempo and if it's a dry place you speed the tempo up.

What is your ethos when working with the Fantasia Orchestra and soloists?

The idea behind Fantasia is to have a repertoire and different traditions in dialogue with each other. Fantasia tries to put on concerts that appeal to a wider audience. We give people a hook to come. Some might not have heard much classical music, but they will have heard of Cat Stevens, Kate Bush and George Harrison.

I like to work with artists who are keen to explore these different forms of music. I'm always looking for fabulous soloists who are a bit anarchic and into cross-genre programming like we are.

What can we expect in the 2026/27 10th anniversary season at London's Smith Hall Square?

The new season opens with percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and the orchestra playing Vivaldi, Steve Reich's "Different Trains" and a reimagining of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights". Then cellist Guy Johnston and actor Dame Sheila Hancock take the audience on a musical tour through the traditions of Britain and Ireland in February, with a blend of Enya, Sandy Denny and Elgar. In French Connections, pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason and the orchestra offer us Ravel and Satie alongside Aretha Franklin and Margaret Bonds. In our June concert, which has a seasonal summery feel, the soloist is violinist Elena Urioste. She plays Richter's recomposed version of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" and Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings".

Fantasia Orchestra's Smith Square Hall 2026/27 Season starts with Percussive Power, starring Dame Evelyn Glennie, on 29 November. The season runs until 18 June. Tickets are available from www.fantasiaorchestra.com