George Vass
English conductor George Vass was born in Walsall on 9 May 1957. He studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music, and made his professional conducting début at St John's Smith Square, London at the age of twenty two.
Vass has been artistic director of the Presteigne Festival since 1992, and from 2004 until 2009 he was artistic director of London's Hampstead and Highgate Festival. He is founder artistic director of Orchestra Nova, and currently serves the Bushey Symphony Orchestra and St Albans Choral Society as music director.
He has recorded music by Stephen Dodgson, Cecilia McDowall and Donald Francis Tovey and has commissioned and premièred works by David Matthews, John McCabe, Paul Patterson, Hilary Tann, Adrian Williams, Ian Wilson and Hugh Wood.
Further information: www.georgevass.co.uk
A selection of articles about George Vass
Classical music news - The Innocent Fields - Recent items of interest, including the Presteigne Festival, Jonathan McPhee adapting Wagner, Nick Hely-Hutchinson's Perfect Pitch podcast, the Stabat Mater music calendar and a study of unusual vocal techniques
Profile. Connecting the Natural and Human Worlds - Ona Jarmalavičiūtė talks to the Welsh composer Hilary Tann
Ensemble. Very Effective - Igor Stravinsky's 'The Soldier's Tale' at the Presteigne Festival, reviewed by Keith Bramich
CD Spotlight. Extremely Well-crafted - British music for oboe and strings, heard by Patric Standford. '... a particularly valuable contribution to the catalogue.'
CD Spotlight. Ingeniously Crafted - Orchestral music by Donald Tovey, heard by Stephen Francis Vasta. '... the Malmö Opera Orchestra plays handsomely for George Vass.'
CD Spotlight. Grandest Lines - Donald Tovey's cello concerto, heard by Robert Anderson. '... satisfyingly masterful.'
CD Spotlight. Impressive Singing - Vocal and choral music by Cecilia McDowall, heard by Patric Standford. '... attractive, lyrical and sometimes forceful ...'
CD Spotlight. Striking Individuality - Choral music by Cecilia McDowall, reviewed by Howard Smith. '... clarity and conviction.'
CD Spotlight. Brightness and fidelity - Choral music by Cecilia McDowall, appreciated by Patric Standford. '... a composer who deserves to be heard as widely as possible.'
Ensemble. Congress of passions - The Finchley Choral Society Centenary Concert, reviewed by Keith Bramich
Ensemble. Coming of age - Keith Bramich at the twenty-first Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts
Presteigne notes - News from the continuing Presteigne Festival in Wales
A vacation in Welsh border country - Keith Bramich introduces our six day visit to the Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts