(Credit: Edmond Choo)

English Touring Opera has announced the appointment of Gerry Cornelius as the company’s new Music Director.

In his new position, Cornelius will work closely with English Touring Opera’s Director, James Conway. The company is currently establishing a new Music Advisory Panel, to ensure that a diverse range of musical influences and opinions will guide decision making.

In a statement, Cornelius said, “I am hugely honored and excited to be taking up the role of Music Director with ETO and joining such a vibrant company of artists, producers, technicians, and opera lovers. Mindful of my distinguished predecessors, the artistic excellence of the company but also of the devastating time we have been through, I cannot wait to fully immerse myself in the company’s culture and join its plans to burst back to making live performances of great opera and theatre across the country as soon as possible. Having already relished the fact that I live close to the company’s iconic London venue at Hackney Empire, I am now even more keen to get out of lockdown so that I can also visit ETO’s new home at Mountview in Peckham, very close to where I went to school and spent [or wasted] a lot of my time as a youngster.”

Cornelius recently conducted Verdi’s “Macbeth” at the English Touring Opera and has also conducted at the English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, English National Ballet, Hallé Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and London Sinfonietta. He is currently the Principal Guest Conductor of the English National Ballet.